Wrist Pain Coventry & Birmingham

Wrist pain can occur for a number of different reasons. These include, wrist fractures sprains and carpal tunnel syndrome; diagnosing the problem can sometimes be difficult, so here is some information on how to analyse your wrist pain.

You may suffer from wrist pain after a fall, and you may find yourself to be bruised and sore. Sometimes, a fracture may be misdiagnosed as a bad sprain (an injury to the ligaments), and the pain, limited movement, and weak hand grasp in the affected arm is ignored. Your wrist is probably fractured rather than sprained if you have:

• persistent pain
• swelling near the wrist
• changes in finger movement
• numbness

Usually, an X-ray can confirm the diagnosis. Once the fracture is diagnosed, appropriate treatment begins.

A fractured wrist may also be a sign of underlying problems such as:

• low bone density
• poor balance
• vision/hearing problems
• Wrist Sprains

Wrist sprains occur when the wrist is forcefully bent backwards, tearing the ligament that connects the bones of the wrist. Symptoms include wrist pain with motion, swelling, bruising, and tenderness over the injury site. X-rays should be taken to rule out a fracture. In some cases, an MRI or CT scan is done to determine the extent of the ligament injury.

Treatment includes splinting, ice, and rest. Prevention includes being careful on wet floors that may cause slipping.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Coventry & Birmingham

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome affects the wrists, an injury that can prevent people from working, and making the wrists and hands very painful. This is a wrist condition that can result in chronic wrist and hand pain.

Carpal: Across the back of the wrist, eight small irregular bones (called carpals) are aligned in 2 rows forming a letter "C." There is a tough ligament attaching across the inner side of the wrist that forms the carpal tunnel.

Tunnel: An opening through which something passes through. Nine tendons of the muscles of the forearm that move the fingers along with the soft median nerve pass through this narrow tunnel. This tunnel is about the size of your little finger.

In carpal tunnel syndrome the median nerve becomes either compressed, irritated or swollen, resulting in pain. Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition in which the median nerve becomes irritated and swells. During the swelling the pressure in the canal increases leading to further irritation and compression of the nerve. This leads to more swelling and nerve irritation.

What are Carpal Tunnel Syndrome symptoms?

Typical symptoms of carpal tunnel Syndrome include parenthesis (abnormal sensations) such as tingling and numbness in the thumb and index and middle fingers on the palm side, night pain, weakness in grasping, thumb and index finger pinching, and other thumb movements' clumsiness, such as awkward hand movements and dropping things with increased weakness.

What treatment is available for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Before commencing the treatment patient should be evaluated for the cause of the nerve swelling. Some systemic conditions such as under active thyroid can lead to the swelling of the tendons, thus putting pressure onto the median nerve.

Patients should also be evaluated for possible compression of the nerves at the neck, shoulder and elbow levels that can also present itself as a pain and weakness in the wrist. In majority of cases of wrist and hand pain and weakness the primarily cause is compression of the nerve root at the neck level that forms nerves of the arm and hand. That's why some patients still experience symptoms of carpal tunnel even after the surgery or cortisone injections were performed.

Cold laser therapy applied over the carpal tunnel has proven to be very effective in reduction of swelling and pain management. Please contact us if you require further information. (See our Cold Laser Therapy Section under Inflammatory conditions.)

Fractured Wrist Coventry & Birmingham

In women, the occurrence of a fractured wrist increases at menopause and plateaus after age 55. This is most likely related to the rapid loss of bone in the years following menopause. Since men don't experience menopause, the incidence of wrist fracture in men remains fairly constant.

A fractured wrist occurs most often in women who are relatively healthy and active and have good reflexes. In fact, the majority of wrist fractures occur outdoors during the winter months when snow and ice make walking treacherous, and falls are common.

The wrist is made up of two bones in the lower arm, the radius and ulna, plus the small bones of the hand. The most common time when a fractured wrist occurs is when a person extends an arm to break a fall. The hand and forearm take all the weight and force from the fall, and one of the wrist bones breaks.

Colles Fracture

Colles fracture is the most frequent type of fractured wrist, which can occur when a patient falls on an outstretched hand. Pain accompanies wrist flexion, and there is usually tenderness, swelling, and bruising over the injury site. Some fractures are denoted by deformity of the bone. X-rays are needed to confirm the fracture.

Treatment includes a splint or cast for four to six weeks followed by range-of-motion and forearm strengthening exercises. Surgery may be needed if the bone does not heal correctly.

Prevention of a fractured wrist includes wearing wrist guards during activities such as inline skating, skiing, and skateboarding, where falling on an outstretched hand has a higher possibility.

Scaphoid Fractures

Scaphoid fractures occur when a person falls on an outstretched arm and the palm of the hand hits the ground, causing pain on the thumb side of the wrist, and pain with subsequent wrist motions. Digital-X-rays must be taken to diagnose this condition. Treatment includes a splint or cast for four to six weeks, unless the fracture occurred in the middle portion of the bone, in which case surgical intervention may be needed to stabilize the fracture. The blood normally supplied to the inner structure of the bone is not good enough to help heal the bone, because of this the bone may then require surgery.

There are no specific risk factors or diseases that increase one's chance of a fractured wrist. Wearing wrist guards during biking, in line skating and snowboarding will decrease the risk of a fractured wrist. After cast removal, avoid heavy lifting and activities with a high risk of wrist impaction. Sometimes hand therapy is prescribed to increase strength and range of motion if the patient has been in the cast for an extended period of time.