Wrist Pain: Causes & Treatment
Medically Reviewed By : Dr Sravya, MBBS, MS
Introduction
Have you been struggling with wrist pain while doing your daily activities? Trust me wrist pain leaves you in discomfort. It may or may not have any underlying medical conditions, but you should see the symptoms and the severity of the pain before deciding to see your doctor. Wrist pain may be due to a sprain or any sudden injuries. Wrists that are sprained do not need any medical treatment. An ice pack or a topical ointment works for sprains but any sudden injury caused to the wrist requires immediate medical attention. It is crucial that your healthcare provider evaluates the cause of wrist pain. To learn in detail how a wrist is sprained or injured let us delve into the anatomical structure of the wrist.
The anatomical structure of the wrist:
The wrist is a complex joint known as a radiocarpal joint connecting the forearm and the hand. It is known as a condyloid joint which means the surface of the joint where the bone meets.
It is made up of bones arranged in two rows: distal (upper) radius, ulna, 8 carpal bones, and proximal (lower) 5 metacarpal bones.
Causes of wrist pain:
Causes of wrist pain may have various reasons. It may be associated with long-term problems like:
- Repetitive stress: It is often a chronic condition and is caused due to repetitive work that causes your muscles to strain and results in painful wrists. Pain that feels like burning, aching, or throbbing, stiffness, and weakness.
- Arthritis: Wrist arthritis is one of the most common causes of wrist pain. It causes swelling, painful joints and results in numbness of the wrist. 3 types of arthritis affect your wrists. They affect even the simplest of your daily activities by making them difficult for you.
Some of the common types of arthritis associated with wrist pain include:
- Osteoarthritis: It develops due to wear and tear in the wrist and it affects people as they age. However, young people may also suffer from this. The protective cover of the bones wears away with time and since it has no blood supply, it does not heal or regenerate and hence fades away causing the bones to rub on each other causing painful and stiff joints.
- Posttraumatic arthritis: It is caused when someone is injured due to a broken wrist or ligament tear. This results in direct injury to the protective covering of the bone or delayed wearing as there is a difference in the way the bones move.:
- Rheumatoid arthritis: This is a common cause of wrist pain. It is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects multiple joints in the body. It starts with smaller joints like wrists. Our body’s immune system fights the infection caused, but here, as there is no real infection, it damages the normal tissues in the body due to infection and softens the bones.
- Carpal tunnel syndrome: The median nerve is pressed and as a result, a narrow passageway is formed between the bones and the ligaments on the palm side. This is one of the reasons for wrist pain. People with diabetes or metabolic disorders are more likely to suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome. People whose work involves excessive typing and repeated flexing of wrists are also prone to carpal tunnel syndrome.
- Fractured wrist: A fractured wrist can be caused by falling, injuries while playing sports, and motor vehicle accidents where vehicles crash on one another and bones may break into pieces. It may cause aching or disability in some cases, so it is important to see a doctor immediately.
- Joint dislocation: A bone is pushed away from its original place caused by falls, injuries, trauma, or certain medical conditions that weaken the bones.
- Ganglion cyst: A non-cancerous lump or mass formed in the hand can cause wrist pain. These are fluid- filled cysts and usually appear on the back of the wrist. If painful, they affect the function, otherwise are harmless and disappear or change the size.
- Tendonitis: Tendons are a strong part that connects forehand muscles to your hand bones. An inflammation of these is known as tendonitis and is caused due to playing video games, texting, or writing. In short, all the activities that cause stress to the wrist result in tendonitis.
Wrist Pain Treatment:
Wrist pain treatment may vary from a simple ice pack to surgery depending on the
degree of damage to your wrist.
- If you have been diagnosed with repetitive strain injury to your wrist, doctors may recommend you rest, ice, compression, or elevation which has an acronym RICE. Rest lets the inflamed muscles heal. In some cases, anti-inflammatory medicines like ibuprofen and muscle relaxants may be prescribed. You may be asked to apply heat or ice packs for strains to the wrist.
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed for arthritis.
- If diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome, you may be asked to apply ice packs to reduce swelling. Nonsurgical treatment options include corticosteroids, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or wrist splinting. But, if a patient has severe symptoms and does not respond to the medicines, doctors may advise surgeries including endoscopic surgery or open surgery.
- For a fractured wrist, wearing a cast or a splint for five to six weeks is the line of treatment usually given. But if the fracture extends to the joints it is fixed by using a small plate and screws.
- When your joint is dislocated you may be asked to wear a splint to hold your joint in place. Medications may work to fight pain and inflammation. But, if the dislocation has caused damage inside your body, surgery may be needed to fix it.
- Ganglion cysts may not require treatment but you should avoid moving the joints as activity may result in cyst regrowth. Draining the fluid from the cyst helps but this does not stop cyst regrowth. If all these fail, you can opt for surgery. But even after surgeries, cyst regrowth is possible.
- Treatment for tendonitis includes rest, ice, anti-inflammatory drugs, and cortisone injections.
Conclusion
The wrist is a complex joint in our body and it is made up of 8 bones. A painful wrist hinders your day-to-day activities and leaves you in discomfort. It may have several reasons including injury from falling with outstretched hands, stress to the wrist, or any underlying medical conditions like arthritis (osteoarthritis, post-traumatic arthritis or rheumatoid arthritis), ganglion cysts, and tendonitis. For the pain associated with sprained wrists or repetitive stress on wrists, the treatments include applying heat packs or ice packs or taking medications like anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants, corticosteroids, or cortisone injections.
Wrist pains associated with injuries eg; broken bone or bone dislocation are treated by prescribing wearing casts. In case, if there is damage to your other body parts or depending on the severity of the wrist pain and its underlying cause, your doctor may use surgical treatments like endoscopic surgery or an open surgery. You should immediately see a doctor for wrist pains that are severe, but painful wrists caused due to strains do not always need treatment. They can be resolved at home with simple remedies. Before deciding the treatment yourself, check the symptoms and severity and see the doctor for a severe wrist pain to avoid any further complications.