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Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) is a set of conditions that result from the continual use of tools that require repeated movements. Common tools include computer keyboard and musical instruments. The exact cause of the inflammation has not been clearly identified. It is believed that several factors are to blame including mechanical fatigue of the ligaments, tendons, and soft tissues.

Differential diagnosis depends upon the site of the inflammation and it includes the diagnosis of Achilles tendon injuries, tendonitis, Ankle degeneration, Acromioclavicular degeneration, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Anterior cruciate laxity, Gamekeeper's thumb, Elbow degeneration, Neck pain, Knee degeneration, Shin Splints, Suprascapular nerve compression, and tendinopathy. Carpal Tunnel is a very well known problem. Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex Injury, or TFCC, is injury of a little, cartilage-like area in the joint of the wrist. Symptoms include pain on the wrist's ulnar side, a clicking sound, and reduced grip power. Osteonecrosis of the lunate bone in the wrist in those with systemic sclerosis will also result in wrist pain. Osteonecrosis represents a significant reason for wrist pain, more so in scleroderma patients. A positive test for scaphoid compression confirms the presence of the fractured scaphoid in those with no visible fracture in the first x-ray studies.

The scaphoid shift test is accepted as a definitive test for scaphoid instability using pressure against the scaphoid tubercle. Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) also known as median neuropathy at the wrist is the compression of the median nerve at the wrist leading to pain in the hand. Although most cases occur without a known cause, repetitive activities often cause Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Although the cause of painful dorsal wrist ganglia remains unknown, a correlation between a painful dorsal wrist ganglion and wrist joint abnormality has been established. An injury to scapholunate ligament that maintains the proximal pole of the scaphoid adjacent to the lunate and stabilizes the palmar rotation force of the scaphoid against the dorsal rotation force of the lunate includes scaphoid fracture and dynamic scapholunate instability.

To diagnose a syndrome such as De Quervain's tensynovitis (where tendons in your thumb become inflamed and swollen, greatly limiting movement of the thumb), an x-ray of the bone will be needed. These x-ray images can help a doctor determine the appropriate diagnosis and subsequent treatment of joint pain in the hand or wrist.

Though the true prevalence and natural history of intercarpal ligament injuries are not known, Scapholunate injuries have been reported to occur in association with distal radial fractures. Distal lunate joint instability due to dysfunction of the distal radio-ulnar joint is commonly encountered in patients with rheumatoid disease or following fracture to the distal radius. Hamate fractures constitute 2% of all carpal fractures related to sports activities involving racquets, bats, and clubs. The hamate bone is a triangular bone composed of both a body and a hook.