Healthfx Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy for Elbow and Wrist Pain
If you have pain in your wrist when carrying a bag, turning a doorknob, or experience numbness in your fingers, you may require treatment. Wrist pain can be caused by a sprain, traumatic or overuse injury, or due to a medical condition (ex: arthritis).
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Some injuries are minor and heal quickly on their own, but other injuries can cause chronic pain and require ongoing medical care.
Common causes of wrist pain include:
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
The carpal tunnel is a small boney tunnel in the wrist that has multiple tendons and a nerve called the median nerve passing through it.
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When the muscles in the hand become overused, these tendons can become inflamed and compress the median nerve as it passes through the carpal tunnel. This can cause numbness into the middle and index fingers, as well as the thumb and weakness in the hand. Night-time symptoms are common among people who sleep with their wrists bent and symptoms can wake you up. Other causes include hormonal changes during pregnancy, and health conditions such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and thyroid gland imbalance. Women and seniors are the most likely to develop carpal tunnel syndrome.
De Quervain’s tenosynovitis
This condition is an inflammation of the tendons on the side of the wrist at the base of the thumb.
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Symptoms include pain and swelling at the base of the thumb, a sticking sensation in your thumb when you move it, and pain during activity that requires repetitive thumb or wrist movement such as working in the garden, and playing golf or tennis.
Arthritis of the wrist joint or base of thumb (CMC joint)
Wear and tear, an injury or aging can all contribute to the development of arthritic symptoms, such as swelling, redness and pain,
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as well as chronic symptoms such as joint enlargement, deformity or chronic loss of movement, and being unable to grip.
Wrist sprain and a subluxed bone
This is caused by falling on an outstretched hand, or when punching something with force.
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The ligaments in the wrist can become over-stretched and/or a small bone in the wrist may shift or sublux.
Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex Tear (TFCC)
The TFCC is a cartilage structure located on the small finger side of the wrist that cushions and supports the small wrist bones in the wrist.
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The TFCC keeps the forearm bones (radius and ulna) stable when grasping with the hand or when the forearm rotates. An injury or tear to the TFCC can be traumatic when falling on an outstretched hand or degenerative, occurring over time.
Symptoms of TFCC include:
Physiotherapy treatment
Management of the above conditions has been proven to be helpful in relieving pain, speeding up recovery, and rehabilitating chronic issues.
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Treatment involves education, self-care management, exercise therapy, manual therapy, other treatments such as soft tissue release and laser therapy can also help. Splinting of the wrist can be helpful for carpal tunnel syndrome and other acute injuries, as well as a TFCC strain.
A registered physiotherapist can conduct a skilled assessment and examination of your condition and recommend the appropriate treatment.
To book an appointment, Call Us today at (416) 346-7929 or contact us here.