The wrist joint is very important for the he alth and normal functioning of a person, since it is he who is responsible for the movement of our hand. Therefore, if your wrist joint hurts, you should not turn a blind eye to it. It is better to immediately deal with the causes of this phenomenon and urgently begin treatment in order to restore its normal painless functioning.
Symptomatic manifestations of pain
Before you begin to find out the causes of pain in the joint on the wrists, you should understand for yourself what kind of pain you feel and what other symptoms accompany it. First of all, you need to pay attention to:
- severe sharp pain that makes it impossible to even move your arm;
- appearance of swelling and redness in the wrist area;
- muscle weakness in the arm that accompanies pain;
- problem with the motor ability of the hand;
- reaction of the wrist to a change in the time of day or a change in the weather;
- cases when the wrist joint hurts when bending or unbending the arm or fist;
- cases of pain when moving the forearm.
- numbness or discomfort in the hand that happens from time to time.
Causes of pain
However, wrist pain is not always the result of a person developing a particular disease. For example, in the wrist joint, discomfort often occurs in pregnant women due to a sharp weight gain, so it immediately disappears after childbirth. But in most cases, it is very important to know why the wrist joint hurts, in order to quickly get rid of this discomfort.
- Injuries and muscle strains often cause wrist pain and can even lead to inflammation or bleeding in the area.
- Tenditis or styloiditis occurs when the wrist is constantly loaded and performs a series of repetitive movements. So such a disease often manifests itself in athletes who are engaged in rowing, golf or tennis, machinists, builders, workers in agriculture and the mining industry.
- Tunnel syndrome occurs due to prolonged monotonous hand movements and an uncomfortable position of the hand. Often people who spend most of their time at the computer suffer from it.
- Arthrosis can occur as a result of a poorly healed fracture, age-related changes or constant overload of the joints of the hands.
- De Quervain's disease can occur in people who constantlyloaded the thumb, for example, tailors or pianists.
- If the wrist joint hurts on the left hand and this pain is given up, plus shortness of breath, pressing pain in the chest, nausea, excessive sweating, a feeling of fear or anxiety, then this may be a symptom of coronary heart disease or myocardial infarction.
- If pain in the wrist is accompanied by pain or discomfort in the spine, knees or ankle joints, this may be the cause of the development of connective tissue diseases - rheumatoid arthritis, gout, systemic lupus erythematosus or ankylosing spondylitis.
Diagnosis of disease
And now we finally figured out why a person has a sore wrist joint. How to treat it now? But there is no need to rush into this, because a real diagnosis, and therefore the right treatment, can only be made by an experienced specialist - a neuropathologist or orthopedist. First of all, the doctor will carry out a thorough examination of the patient, paying close attention to his wrist and radioulnar joints in order to identify their deformation and visually assess the degree of damage. Then the doctor will interview the patient, ask him to clench his fists and move his hands in order to accurately assess the nature of the pain during movement.
However, if such an examination does not give the doctor an accurate understanding of why the patient still has pain in the wrist joints of the hands, treatment should not be carried out, but an additional diagnosis of the condition should be carried out. To do this, the specialist may prescribe an electromyography to the patient, whichwill allow diagnosing the functional state of the tissues and muscles of the joint, radiography, ultrasound, diagnostic puncture, CT, MRI or arthroscopy, which will allow you to see damage to the inside of the wrist joint.
Joint injuries and sprains
The most common reasons why wrist joints can hurt are injuries and sprains caused by falls or bruises. In such cases, the pain, especially at the very beginning, will be acute, and after a while it will either increase or subside. And in addition to it, the wrist may stop working and a swelling forms on it. The first step in such a case is to stop the bleeding if an open wound appears during a fall or blow, and then an urgent splint will be needed on the wrist joint and anesthetized with cold. After that, you need to urgently go to the clinic so that the specialist can assess the degree of damage to the joint and prescribe the appropriate treatment.
Tunnel Syndrome
Many people who lead a sedentary lifestyle and spend a huge amount of time at the computer have another reason why their wrist joints hurt - this is a carpal tunnel syndrome, which is also called wrist syndrome. Such a disease is manifested by the appearance of discomfort in the wrist area, frequent pains in it, as well as numbness of the arm and weakness in it. And all because of the work at the computer, the patient has a pinched nerve, which provokes pain and swelling of the tendons. In that case, you needtry to sit less at the computer and at least give your hand a little rest without overexerting it.
Arthritis
Still very often when asked why the wrist joint hurts, the doctor will answer that this is due to arthritis, which manifests itself in the form of an inflammatory process in the joint capsule. In addition to pain, arthritis is also characterized by an increase in the skin temperature of the wrist, swelling, swelling, redness, and dysfunction of the joint. At the first signs of this disease, it is better to go to a doctor who will prescribe an MRI and a biochemical blood test to the patient, which will allow the disease to be detected even at the earliest stage. And then, taking into account the cause of the disease and its stage, treatment will be prescribed. In acute arthritis or its exacerbation, the doctor will simply try to immobilize the joint and prescribe antibacterial and anti-inflammatory drugs, and in case of a chronic disease, he will explain how to monitor the wrist and what exercises to do to keep it in good condition.
Arthrosis
There are also a considerable number of people who have pain in the wrist joint due to arthrosis. This disease is characterized by cracking in the affected area and pain in the joint when it is in motion, which immediately stops when the wrist is at rest.
The problem is that it is best to try to identify this disease at an early stage, since in the future it can lead to serious destruction and deformity of the fingers, which threatens with serious problems. Moreover, at an early stage itthe disease can still be cured by electrophoresis, massage, manual therapy, ozokerite or cold compresses, and in the future it will be possible to get rid of arthrosis only through surgical intervention.
Gygroma
Separate mention should be made of those people who have pain in the wrist joint, a bump appears on the wrist and numbness of the hands is periodically felt. This phenomenon is typical for people who perform frequent repetitive hand movements, athletes who heavily load their hand, and people who often injure it.
At first, this bump is almost invisible, but over time it can grow up to 5 cm and cause terrible pain. Therefore, even though a hygroma is a benign tumor, having noticed a seal in the wrist area, you should consult a doctor who will either remove the formation surgically or prescribe a special treatment, under the influence of which the tumor will resolve.
Medicated treatment
And now, finally, we know why the wrist joint hurts. How to treat only him, it remains to be seen. And it is very simple if you go to the doctor, and then relentlessly follow his instructions.
First of all, he will conduct a thorough examination of the patient, and then prescribe him the appropriate treatment and prescribe drugs that need to be taken so that the joint returns to normal. As a general therapy, the patient can be prescribed painkillers, antitumor and anti-inflammatory drugs, as well as vitamins that will help strengthen immunity and improvefunctioning of ligaments and bones.
If the patient is diagnosed with "De Quervain's disease", then the doctor may prescribe a drug with hormones, such as "Kenolog" or "Diprospanoma". If the patient suffers from infectious arthritis, he will be prescribed antibiotics, and in case of connective tissue diseases, the patient will have to take glucocorticoids or cytostatics.
Physiotherapy
But not always, if you have pain in the wrist joints of your hands, you can cure this pain with medication. Sometimes, in addition to drug treatment, the doctor may prescribe physiotherapy to his patient, which is simply necessary for de Quervain's disease, arthrosis and carpal tunnel syndrome. In this case, the patient will need to undergo a full course of procedures:
- electrophoresis;
- paraffin treatment or mud treatment;
- magnetotherapy or laser therapy;
- UHF therapy.
True, if a patient has systemic lupus erythematosus or rheumatoid arthritis, physiotherapy will be categorically contraindicated for him, as it will only exacerbate the disease.
Surgery
Most often, doctors try to eliminate pain and cure the disease with a course of procedures or medications. However, it often happens that patients come to them too late, when the disease has already reached its peak and has developed so much that it can only be cured by surgery, otherwise it will develop further.more, and then the consequences will be the most deplorable.
tendon to restore the efficiency of the hand, as well as in severe cases of arthritis or arthrosis.
And, of course, surgery is necessary for fractures, torn ligaments and intra-articular injuries of the wrist joint, because without this operation a person simply cannot move his arm, and the pain will be completely unbearable.
Massage and exercise therapy
A very important place in the elimination of pain in the wrist joint is occupied by exercise therapy and a special massage, which contribute to the complete restoration of their previous performance. Especially should not be neglected exercises and massage for those patients who have injured their joint or suffered from arthrosis or carpal tunnel syndrome.
In addition, therapeutic exercises are essential for those patients who suffer from arthritis, only it should be performed only during the period of remission, since during the period of acute pain it is better to keep the hand motionless so as not to aggravate the situation.
Prevention
And so that we do not think what to do if the wrist joint hurts, it is better to simply prevent this pain from appearing by following a few simple recommendations. Especially thisconcerns those people who are at risk for wrist problems.
- You need to pick up any objects with the whole brush, and not just your fingers.
- While working with vibrating objects and playing sports, you should wear specialized gloves that will provide support for your wrist.
- While working at the computer, you should take breaks for 5-10 minutes every hour in order to rest your hands.
- Always warm up before exercising.
- When working at the computer, make sure that your hands are in the most comfortable and anatomically correct position.
- Periodic exercises should be performed to strengthen the wrist joint.
- At the first sensations of discomfort in the wrist, you should give your hands a rest or, at least for a while, change the type of load.
