You likely take your hands for granted until something goes wrong. Pain in your hand and wrist can disrupt daily life, impeding your work and everyday tasks like cooking and getting dressed in the morning. Life is more stressful when it’s difficult to button a shirt, use a washcloth, or grip a frying pan.
Our board-certified orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Jonathan Shults, with Coastal Empire Orthopedics, can promptly diagnose the reason for your hand or wrist pain and start you on a course of treatment that restores your range of motion and relieves your discomfort.
The following are some of the more common reasons for chronic wrist and hand pain and types of effective treatments for it.
Your median nerve, which runs down your arm into your hand, is the culprit if you’re diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome. Nerve compression causes pain as the nerve moves from your arm through a narrow tunnel into your wrist.
What’s causing the compression? Nine tendons move through the carpal tunnel with the median nerve. The tunnel is bound on all sides, so there’s no flexibility to expand when the tissue around the tendons becomes irritated.
Any repetitive hand or wrist movement that occurs over a long period can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome. Your tendons can become irritated and swell, putting pressure on the nerve.
We use a range of treatments for carpal tunnel and the other conditions causing hand and wrist pain noted below. You can take over-the-counter pain relievers temporarily and use ice packs to help relieve swelling and inflammation.
We can provide a splint or brace to keep your hand in a neutral position during the day and while you sleep. If you’re in severe pain, we can administer a steroid shot. Some patients choose platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatment. Physical therapy helps you strengthen your hand and regain range of motion.
You need to be a full partner in your healing, and you’ll need to rest your hand. We can provide a note to your employer recommending modifications to your work environment. Your therapist teaches you gentle stretches and exercises to keep your muscles strong and help prevent future pain.
You may have de Quervain tenosynovitis if your chronic pain involves your thumb and wrist. Two tendons near the base of your thumb become irritated, swell, and then can’t glide easily when you move your thumb and wrist. We use the same type of treatments for de Quervain’s disease as we do for carpal tunnel syndrome.
Do you swing a squash or tennis racquet repeatedly? Using the same repetitive motions in your hand can lead to tendonitis; you may have tiny tears in tendons or the tissues covering them. Recovering from tendonitis takes patience. Tendons aren’t well vascularized.
A trigger finger or thumb means you can’t straighten out your finger or thumb without pain after you bend it. Your tendons and the tissue surrounding them are inflamed.
Trigger finger is often caused by people in occupations who perform repeated movements of the thumb or finger. Musicians, farmers, industrial workers, and carpenters are at higher risk of developing the condition. In addition to the type of treatments for the conditions discussed above, Dr. Shults can perform minor surgery to release the tendon if needed.
Call Coastal Empire Orthopedics or book an appointment today through our online portal for chronic hand or wrist pain and all your orthopedic needs.
