The Wrist is made up of eight bones, multiple ligaments, tendons and other soft tissues.
As we use our wrists is most day to day activities, they can become sore through overuse (repetitive strain) or injury.
Rest and pacing your activities, and sometimes wearing a wrist support or splint can be effective in managing this without the need for any other intervention.
If your pain does not settle in 6 weeks, you may need to seek further advice and can refer to physiotherapy through the self referal method.
It is important to contact your medical practice if:
- Your wrist pain came on following a fall or trauma.
- Your think you may have broken your wrist.
- You have pins and needles, numbness or weakness in your hand.
- You have swollen or stiff fingers.
Osteoarthritis of the Hand
What is osteoarthritis?
It is estimated that around 8.75million people in the UK have seen a doctor about osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis starts with the roughening of cartilage. If this happens, the body can put in place a ‘repair’ process to try to make up for the loss of this important substance. The following can then happen:
- Tiny bits of extra bone, called osteophytes, can grow at the ends of a bone within a joint.
- There can be an increase in the amount of thick fluid inside the joint.
- The joint capsule can stretch, and the joint may lose its shape.
Sometimes, the early stages of osteoarthritis can happen without causing much pain or trouble. However, it can lead to irritation inside a joint, as well as pain and stiffness.
What are the symptoms of Hand Osteoarthritis?
- It can affect hands and wrists, particularly the joints at the ends of the fingers or at the base of the thumb.
- It can cause pain and stiffness, and make it difficult to use your hands and wrists properly.
- Osteoarthritis can cause bony lumps to develop on the hands, particularly on the fingers.
Wrist Fracture - If you have broken your wrist, then these exercises will help get it moving again in the early stages.
Finger Fracture or dislocation - If you have broken or dislocated your finger, then these exercises will help get it moving again in the early stages.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
If you have pain or tingling in the wrist, the palm of your hand and/or into the thumb, index and middle fingers, it may be that you have Carpal Tunnel syndrome. This is an irritation of the tunnel on the inside of your wrist, through which your median nerve passes. This Carpal Tunnel leaflet provides information and advice on how to manage this.
De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis (DQT)
What is DQT?
DQT is an inflammation of the sheath (or tunnel) that surrounds the two tendons that move the thumb. These tendons run between the wrist and the thumb and this is where the pain is felt. The sheath becomes inflamed and sometimes thickened which makes thumb movements and some wrist movements painful.
It is thought that DQT is mainly caused by overuse such as a repetitive movement or sport. It is more common in females than in males.
What are the symptoms of DQT?
- Pain near the base of the thumb
- Swelling at the base of the thumb into the wrist
- Pain on pinching, grasping and moving the wrist side to side.
You don’t normally need a scan to diagnose this problem and a health care professional will make a diagnosis from a history and specific tests.
This leaflet provides more information regarding DQT, how it can be managed and exercises that can help.