The scapholunate ligament is an important ligament in the wrist. It can be injured a number of ways, including falls onto the wrist and twisting injuries. Pain in the middle of the back of the wrist after these injuries is a warning sign. At times a tear is clear from examining the wrist with particular provocative manoeuvres. X-rays and MRI scans help confirm a tear.

Some acute or new tears can be repaired. This involves arthroscopic surgery suturing the ligament back in place and repairing a complex of injured ligaments.

Many tears cause more damage to the ligament and result in the ligament not being repairable. In that case a reconstruction is needed. Many reconstructions can be done with arthroscopic or mini open techniques to repair, tighten, or reattach damage ligaments.

Ligament repair or reconstruction can have a long recovery time, often 3 to 6 months. The end result is a strong wrist but sometimes with less movement than before the injury. The goal is to be able to return to doing push ups on a flat palm after the injury and repair/ recon.