What type of joint is the wrist?

The wrist joint is a complicated one. Some of your joints are called ball and socket joints because, like with the hip, the ball of the hip fits into the socket, and allows you to swing your leg. Other joints are hinge joints, like the elbow, where you can move your joint up and down as it would with a hinge.

The wrist is considered a hinge joint but it is more complicated than the elbow because you can also move the wrist from side to side in limited motion. Like the foot, the wrist joint has several bones leading away from it. In the hand, these bones are called carpals and these are the bones in your fingers. Other than your foot, the other joints in your body only have one or two bones entering or exiting.