Have you ever flicked your wrist and… ouch! Is that your wrist in pain? Has it been recurrent? Are you unable to move your hand? Do you need to see an orthopedic surgeon? Follow below for the potential causes and treatments for wrist pain.

Wrist Pain

Your wrist is one of the most complex parts of your body. It’s a combination of muscles, cartilage, tendons, bones, important nerves, arteries and veins. If your wrist is hurting a lot, then you will feel it from your fingers all the way down to the base of the palm. It can be uncomfortable to deal with.

There can be a lot of things that can lead to bad pain in the wrist. The pain can be a mixture of sharp, pinching, dull, and radiating, but it’s overall very frustrating and it’s not the best thing to deal with, at times.

Causes Of Wrist Pain

Wrist pain can be due to a lot of things. Some of the causes are as follows:

Arthritis

A condition of the bones in which they can severely deteriorate and cause a lot of pain in joints, is known as arthritis. Arthritis is one of the top causes of joint pains and since your wrist is also a joint, it’s not safe from the pain either.

Arthritis can either be age-related or genetic, but the bottom line is that your wrist, along with other joints, might be in extreme pain. If that’s the issue, then you need to consult with a doctor right away.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Since your wrist houses a lot of important nerves, the median nerve being one of them, it’s always under attack of certain hiccups and bumps. The median nerve, when pinched or compressed, because of any accident or injury, can lead to radiating pain in the wrist, all the way up and down your arm.

It’s uncomfortable and it can also lead to numbness and loss of sensitivity, so you’ll be unable to feel anything if the nerve is compressed beyond measure. This condition is known as carpal tunnel syndrome. It can affect your fingers and thumb, aside from the palm and wrist and your hand will be rendered useless.

Gout

This is another joint disorder, but it’s also related to the levels of uric acid in your body. If you’re a fan of processed meats, in general, then gout is something that you can experience down the road.

The excess of uric acid can deposit itself in the bones, mostly in the joints and you know what that means. Your fingers, wrists, ankles, and other joints are directly targeted by this disorder. This can lead to a lot of pain and swelling, and it’s not comfortable in any sense of the word.

Injury

Your wrist can hurt a lot because of a general injury too. If you fell really hard, and the hand took most of the impact, then you better believe that you’ll feel the pangs of pain in your hand from time to time.

This is quite common as it is dangerous because your wrist can only take so much force and impact. The unfavorable cherry on top would be if you let it be and not let a hand doctor or elbow specialist Woodbridge see it. This can cause potential dislocation of the wrist and it can lead to chronic pain for the rest of your life.

Tendinitis

Your wrist has many tendons and therefore it’s at risk of developing tendinitis. Tendinitis is the swelling or inflammation of the tendons. Tendons are springy masses of flesh that hold the muscles snuggly to the bones.

They’re also responsible for the movement of the wrist and rotating it, without any rubbing or friction, so they’re really important and if they’re swollen, then things can take a painful turn. It can be due to old age, bad posture, overuse of the wrist, keeping a lot of tension in the fingers, and so on.

Symptoms Of Wrist Pain

Here are some symptoms of wrist pain, so that you know exactly what you’re dealing with.

• You will feel obvious pain in your wrist, with an increase in intensity if you try to move it too much.
• There might also be swelling on the inside of the wrist, under the palm and it can be uncomfortable.
• Your grip will worsen a lot and even if you try to hold onto something with all your might, you’ll find your grip loosening and it will eventually let go of the object you’re trying to hold.
• There might also be swelling on your fingers and they will hurt if you try to close them in a fist.
• Making a fist or flexing your fingers will be a lot harder with pinches of pain assaulting your hand.
• You might see redness in the wrist area too, and if you touch it, then it will feel tender, and swollen and it will hurt a lot too.
• This symptom is also pretty common, but when you touch your painful wrist, you’ll feel warmth to the point where you might think you have a fever, but it’s the inflammation that’s causing your wrist to turn hot to the touch.
• Sometimes, the pain can be unbearable to the point where you will lose sensitivity and sensation in the wrist and that’s alarming, so that’s your sign to go and get checked by a doctor immediately.

Treatments For Wrist Pain

Now that you have a good idea about the causes and symptoms of wrist pain, here are some treatment options that you can try:

Pain Medication

Pain medication will save the day. If the pain you’re feeling is either a sprain or a minor injury that doesn’t need a lot of looking after, then pain medication will do the trick for you. Just take them as prescribed by the doctor and you’ll be good to go.

Ice

Icing is another thing that will make a world of difference in the pain you’re feeling. If you don’t have an ice pack on hand, then taking some ice and wrapping it in a muslin cloth will do the trick. Your brain won’t be able to register the pain, when there’s a cold block of ice soothing your skin around your wrist.

Braces

Wearing a wrist brace will keep the chances of dislocation away and keeping the wrist tight in one position will help to ensure that the bone heals and there’s no other hazard of you getting injured.

Pain Shots

Pain injections can also do the trick, but since they’re steroids, you want to keep the use to a minimum.

Surgery

Surgery can also be done, in case of carpal tunnel syndrome. In the surgery, the median nerve is opened up by force to get rid of the compression and the pain subsides almost instantly.

Physical therapy

Physical therapy and light exercise can also alleviate the pain in the wrist.

Conclusion

Now you can rest assured that your wrist pain is treatable and once you know the cause you get to the bottom of treating it. Visit a hand injury doctor Woodbridge for diagnosis and a treatment plan for wrist pain relief.