A Helping Hand

Daily routines hampered by inflammation and discomfort are not something to overlook. Overuse injuries in the hand and wrist can occur on the job, at home, or during sports. Learn more about the conditions and the treatment options available for hand and wrist pain.

According to Dr. Trevor Lynch, hand specialist at Southern California Orthopedic Institute, the repetitive use of the tendons and ligaments surrounding your wrist could result in the pinching of a nerve or inflammation around your wrist joint. These two symptoms are better known as carpal tunnel and wrist tendonitis.

Wrist tendonitis, also known as tenosynovitis, is characterized by the irritation and inflammation of the tendons surrounding the wrist joint. The wrist has tendons that cross over each other and over the bone. When those tendons thicken and constrict from overuse, making movement of the tendons difficult and painful, often times the result is tendonitis.

However, if the symptoms involve numbness, tingling, or weakness the condition could be carpal tunnel syndrome. Pressure in the carpal tunnel compresses the median nerve and causes the nerve to function improperly thus resulting in numbness and weakness, not to mention pain.

“Treatment options for both of these overuse injuries are close to the same. The most conservative treatment options are attempted first and if those prove unsuccessful, surgical options may be considered,” says Dr. Lynch.

Listed below are both conservative and surgical treatment options for these conditions:

Conservative treatment options would include:

• Wrist braces
• Icing
• Anti-inflammatory medications
• Cortisone injections

Surgical treatment options would include:

• Removal of inflamed tissue (tendonitis)
• Carpal tunnel release
• Endoscopic carpal tunnel release

To find out more about overuse injuries in the hand and wrist, or to schedule an appointment with an orthopedic specialist at Southern California Orthopedic Institute call (877) 952-8484.

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