TFCC Tear Questions & Answers

The most common cause of a TFCC tear is a fall on an outstretched hand (FOOSH), with palms facing down (pronated). The force from the fall exceeds the TFCC's capacity, which leads to a tear. This can also happen during sports which involve rotation of the wrist such as golf, tennis, hockey, and basketball (to name a few!).

A TFCC tear is a tear of the triangular fibrocartilage complex. Think of the TFCC as a trampoline that covers an area between the radius and ulna (two forearm bones) which has a tear in the middle (central) or outlying (peripheral) area. Pulling on the two forearm bones pulls the tear further apart (ouch!).

Yes! TFCC tears are one of the most common causes of ulnar-sided wrist pain. TFCC tears are especially painful in the weight-bearing position during activities such as pushups.

Pain with weight-bearing (pushing yourself up from a chair or the floor) and rotation (opening a jar) are two of the most common symptoms TFCC tear patients experience.

TFCC tears are extremely common. Your likelihood of experiencing a TFCC tear increases with age as well as participation in sports that expose the wrist to a lot of force (baseball, tennis, golf, basketball, hockey, etc.).

TFCC tears do heal, but you need to create a supportive environment for it to happen!

Yes! TFCC tears can and do heal without surgery. It's well documented in research, and the thousands of happy WristWidget® users worldwide speak as testament to this!

TFCC surgical repairs are ONLY recommended to cases who have not responded to conservative treatment for a period of 6 months (this includes using the WristWidget™ protocol and treatments such as physiotherapy) and/or have a weight-bearing tolerance of less than 20lbs.

Step 1: Know what you're fixing - Perform the weight-bearing test to confirm injury severity (non-digital scale please).

Step 2: Follow the WristWidget™ protocol and monitor weight-bearing tolerance and symptoms (don't rush this).

Step 3: Gradually reintroduce exercise and physical activity to pre-injury levels (WristAbility can help).

Step 4: Give yourself a pat on the back, you've done it!

At WristWidget®, we recommend that everyone who suspects that they have a TFCC tear start by performing the weight-bearing test.

1. Know what you're fixing - Perform the weight-bearing test to confirm injury severity (non-digital scale please).
2. Follow the WristWidget® protocol and monitor weight-bearing tolerance and symptoms (don't rush this).
3. Gradually reintroduce exercise and physical activity to pre-injury levels (WristAbility can help).
4. Give yourself a pat on the back, you've done it!

TFCC tears can worsen if not taken care of. It's important to take action (early action is always best) and address the cause to prevent this from happening.

TFCC tear treatment, depending on severity and symptoms, can take anywhere from 2-6 months to regain the same level of function you had prior to injury. (Note: this is longer than the healing phase)

TFCC tears generally heal within 3 months of appropriate care.

Ask any person with a TFCC tear and they will tell you, "it's serious!". TFCC tears can have a significant impact on a person's quality of life due to pain and discomfort. Although TFCC tears are not life-threatening, they are very real and serious for which appropriate care is recommended.

We recommend using the weight-bearing test, performed with a non-digital scale, to test and track TFCC tear severity and healing progress.