Thursday, March 3

Common Sore Wrist Causes and Treatment Methods

By Tom Nicholson


Amongst all the joints in our body, the wrist is probably the most useful and the most complex of them all. For one thing, your daily activities most often depend on the dexterity and strength of your wrist. For another thing, your wrist is made up of an intricate network of eight carpal bones, five metacarpal bones and two forearm bones, all tightly packed and connected with nerves, blood vessels, and ligaments. As such, whenever you experience a sore wrist, you had better hop on to its treatments pronto.

Why Worry?

Why all the fuss about a simple sore wrist, you might ask? When you do not seek treatment from either your physician, at home or both you run some serious risks with your dexterity and strength. The problems can multiply three fold from something minor to actual loss of use. Think about all the times you use your wrist each day and how an injured or inflamed joint could cause serious issues.

Also, common activities like working at your desk for hours, engaging in sports like golf and tennis, playing musical instruments and even washing the dishes can aggravate the pain of a sore wrist that you have previously overlooked. Ultimately, you will have to deal with more complicated, more expensive, and more painful consequences for your indifference. So, as early as possible, listen to your wrist. You will be amply rewarded with longer, better and healthier service from one of the most important external body parts we can possibly have.

How?

Pain in your wrist can be brought on by many different things, such as an injury to the location, constantly performing the same motion or trauma. To determine the possible cause of your pain your physician will ask you a series of questions about the frequency and location of the pain as well as your history and any medicines you might currently be taking. Your doctor should be thorough and ask many questions to find the right diagnosis.

There are several medical conditions that result in a sore wrist. Things like ganglion cysts, arthritis, carpal tunnel and tendonitis can all cause pain and inflammation of your wrist joint. You can also bring on the pain by typing at your keyboard for long hours or playing certain sports. Any time you are engaging in repetitive motion you need proper form and support to prevent pain or injury. Another possibility is a sprain or cracked bone in one of the 15 bones of the wrist.

You should know that many of these causes are closely connected to one another. Any type of repetitive motion such as typing, that is done without the benefit of hand exercises and for long periods can result in this type of injury or inflammation of the wrist.

Treatment Options

You want to have the correct diagnosis before you begin treatment for a sore wrist. The wrong treatment is as bad as no treatment at all! Some instances will call for a RICE protocol such as in case of a sprain, while carpal tunnel syndrome may need surgery.

The best person to advise you on a proper course of treatment is your personal physician. That being said the RICE, (rest, ice, compression and elevation) is nearly universal treatment both for first aid and after care. If it is arthritis you are dealing with you may have to make some lifestyle changes as well. Talk with your doctor about the pros and cons of treatment particularly when it comes to surgery, medications and cortisone shots. These can be quite painful not to mention expensive.

A sore wrist can be truly painful in more ways than one. Nevertheless, if you pursue the correct medical treatment and attend to personal care it is a pain you can leave in the past.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment