You use your hands and wrists a lot. Whether it’s for writing, typing, or doing any sort of work with your hands, you better believe that your wrist is engaged at all times. Well, your wrist can also get injured, and here is everything you need to know about wrist tendonitis and when to see a GP or orthopedic surgeon.

Wrist Tendonitis

Your wrist, believe it or not, doesn’t only contain a whole channel of nerve endings, but a lot of small muscles and cartilage as well. They are responsible for you being able to flex your fingers and move your wrist.

Well, as complex as the joint is, there can also be a lot of issues with it, and some of the issues can be with the very tendons.

Wrist tendonitis is the inflammation of the tendons in the wrist that basically connect your lower arm to your fingers and palm.

Even though you might feel like wrist tendonitis won’t be so painful, when you go ahead and do different work like lifting something with your wrist or making a fist, then it will hurt a lot. Wrist tendonitis is really common to occur and it can occur at any age.

The injury gets severe if you are engaging your wrist in strenuous activities a lot and not giving it a rest. Afterwards, things can take a turn and this is not what you want to do. This is why consulting with a doctor as soon as you feel the symptoms is necessary.

Causes Of Wrist Tendonitis

There can be a lot of causes of wrist tendonitis. Some of them include:

Stress On The Wrist

A lot of stress on the wrist. Remember, the tendon is just as elastic as any muscle or cartilage. If you put a lot of stress on it then there might come a point when the tendon can get torn and the result will be severe pain and inflammation around the entire wrist.

Sports Which Involve Excessive Use Of The Wrists

If you play a lot of sports and are engaging your wrist a lot like throwing something or catching something that is coming down with a force, then you are more susceptible to wrist tendonitis.

The impact of throwing or catching something is going to put a lot of stress in the same area over and over, and the thin elastic tendon can get torn or severely injured.

An Accident

The wrist can also break if you’ve been in an accident or something like that. That is painful enough, but if you don’t give your wrist rest and start doing work all of a sudden or if your wrist hasn’t healed properly, then you might be at risk of wrist tendonitis. This is bad and you can render your wrist useless if you’re not too careful.

Putting A Lot Of Weight On The Wrist

Putting a lot of weight on your hand or wrist can also lead to wrist tendonitis. A lot of the time, people will lean on their wrists too much when they’re lying down or they can throw their arms in a very awkward position.

So, this can also lead to stress on the tendons in the wrist and that can lead to a lot of problems, one of them being wrist tendonitis which can be extremely painful. If you are resting your head on your hand, make sure to not do it for too long otherwise, your wrist will be at risk of injury.

Symptoms Of Wrist Tendonitis

Now that you know what wrist tendonitis is, and how it is caused, here are some of the very common but important symptoms to look out for. When you know the symptoms, you can point them out and see a doctor immediately. If you’re an athlete, you should consult your sports medicine doctor Woodbridge.

Pain

First of all, and this is the most obvious one, you will feel a lot of pain in your wrist. You can feel pain as it is, or you might feel a sting of pain when you try to move your wrist, rotate it or try to make a fist. Even if you move your fingers, the wrist will feel very painful, to the point where you’ll have to stop.

Tender Feeling

You will also feel a very uncomfortable and tender feeling on the inside of your wrist. This mainly happens when you are writing something, holding something with your wrist using too much force, and other things like that. You will want to stop doing whatever you’re doing because the feeling is just too uncomfortable.

Stiffness When Rotating The Wrist

When you try to rotate your wrist, you will feel stiffness. The movement won’t be fluid and you will also hear a distinct popping sound. Your wrist naturally does make a sound when you rotate it to release tension and that is mostly a click or crick. But this will be a distinct pop.

Swelling

Your wrist might also feel swollen and red. There will also be tenderness radiating up your fingers, which is very weird and uncomfortable.

Loss Of Grip

You will also have a hard time gripping things. When you go ahead and close your palm to make a fist, you will see that the grip is very loose and you will most likely drop whatever it is you’re holding.

Treatments For Wrist Tendonitis

Here are some very effective treatment options for wrist tendonitis. Remember to always consult with a doctor first and it’s advised to not self-medicate. Whatever a doctor prescribes, you can use it as suggested.

Medication

The pain can be managed with painkillers and medication. The tendon is capable of healing itself, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t have to go to a doctor for it. They will prescribe you pain medicine to help you breathe through the pain and make it easier for you to do normal life activities involving your hands.

Physical Therapy

You can also consider physical therapy. Sometimes, all the wrist needs is a bit of stretching and light exercise and it can heal over time. This is something that has been helpful to a lot of people, so this is definitely something you can discuss with your doctor.

Hot And Cold Compression

Hot and cold compression can also do wonders for your wrist. The alternating hot and cold temperature will alleviate the pain, reduce swelling and it will just leave you feeling amazing after a couple of minutes.

Rest

Giving your wrist rest is extremely important. This is not something that you should take lightly. Rest will solve 80% of the problems. Your body is capable of naturally healing itself, so give it a much needed break. It will make all of the difference. You might also want to put your wrist in a splint or support so that you don’t move it the wrong way.

Keep The Wrist Elevated

Lastly, keeping the wrist elevated will also reduce the pain. Pain will normally shoot up when blood circulates in the area. So, you want to ensure that you’re not triggering the pain. Keep a pillow underneath the wrist and you’ll feel the difference right away.

Conclusion

Wrist tendonitis can be painful and your hand will be left as good as nothing if you don’t treat it right away. So, if you experience the symptoms mentioned above, don’t delay your visit to a hand injury specialist Woodbridge.