Are you experiencing problems with your wrist or hand? Do you feel pain or stiffness after working with your hands for any length of time? Do you have trouble carrying or grasping objects? Have you noticed swelling and throbbing in your wrists?
If you’re like many people, you’ve probably dismissed your pain time and time again. But have you ever considered that you might be suffering from something more serious, like tendonitis?
What Is Tendonitis?
Tendonitis is the inflammation of a tendon or tendon sheath (lining) due to injury, overuse, infection, or even disease. Tendons are the fibrous chords that attach your muscles to your bones around a joint and are very important for movement. Tendonitis can occur anywhere in the body, but most often appears in the elbow, shoulder, hip, knee, heel, and of course, wrist.
Tendonitis: Hand and Wrist Issues
Hand and wrist tendonitis is inflammation of the wrist tendons connecting the muscles of your lower arm and fingers to the carpal bones.
While the cause of hand and wrist tendonitis isn’t the same for every person, it is most often due to repetitive movements, overuse, injury, or strain of the wrist joint or wrist tendon. Chronic tendonitis might be due to consistent typing, texting, playing sports, playing video games, writing, hammering, and other activities relying on wrist movement. Wrist tendonitis might also be due to age, poor posture, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, misaligned joints, or an injury.
Tendonitis Symptoms
The inflamed tendons can cause wrist swelling, muscle stiffness, pain and soreness, limited motion, and wrist weakness.
You may have wrist tendonitis if you feel a grinding sensation whenever your wrist joint moves. This is often accompanied by various degrees of throbbing pain while moving the hand and wrist, but the pain can also be present while at rest. Another common symptom is a popping sensation when you move your fingers or wrists (also known as “catching”).
These symptoms result in difficulty performing certain movements or tasks. Simple things like opening a door, lifting a child or pet, or unscrewing the lid of a jar can be a painful affair.
How to Relieve Pain
You can reduce pain from tendonitis a number of ways. The first step would be to avoid repetitive motion and movements involving the injured tendon. You could try icing the wrist or taking anti-inflammatory medication to reduce swelling. A wrist or hand brace is also a good idea to help avoid further injury.
One of the most important, beneficial, and necessary ways to reduce swelling and pain is some good old fashioned rest. Don’t push yourself, and be sure you listen to your wrist’s pain signals.
If the tendonitis does not improve, you should seek the care of an experienced doctor. They might recommend occupational or physical therapy as a method to help you regain the use of your fingers by improving mobility, range of motion, and strength. They might also recommend injections or surgery if absolutely necessary.
Academy Orthopedics Can Eliminate Your Wrist Pain
The best way to accurately get your wrist tendonitis diagnosed and to end your pain is to come see us here at Academy Orthopedics.
We treat every patient like family. Our dedicated staff will listen to all of your concerns and give you the time and attention you deserve.
We proudly serve the Cumming, Duluth, and Buford areas of Georgia, and would love to help you today.
Give us a call at 770-271-9857 or reach out online to set up your appointment so you can put your wrist pain behind you. We look forward to hearing from you soon.