My carpal boss is pretty painful, but so is the area around the bony lump. it's very sensitive especially to touch. what could that possibily mean? might there be any tissue or ligaments or tendons around the bump damaged too? i'm having an mri soon?

Difficult to determine the cause of the swelling based on this description. Could be swelling, calcification, nerve, soft tissue, or other cause of sensitivity. An examination by a physician will help narrow the diagnosis, and an MRI will provide detailed information of the tissues involved.

If you have been diagnosed w/ carpal boss at the back (dorsum) of your hand, then you have hypertrophy of the base of 1 of your metacarpals (usu the 2nd) & this results in marrow edema & pain at the junction of the carpal bone. Additionally, you may develop soft tissue edema, bursitis, and extensor tendon problems. MRI is helpful to diagnose carpe bossu syndrome and is treatable by a hand surgeon