The most active parts of the human body are the hands. The wrist connects the hand and forearm, and is constantly in motion, so joint bruises often occur. Since the wrist consists of a large number of small bones, it is difficult to identify what kind of lesion has occurred: a fracture, tendon sprain, dislocation or bruise of the joint. To prevent the occurrence of consequences and loss of mobility of the wrist, seek medical help immediately after injury and start treatment in a timely manner.
Pathogenesis of injury
Contusion of the wrist joint (code S60 according to the international classifier of diseases) occurs under the action of a moving object that has kinetic energy. Fabrics have different resistance to such exposure. Loose fiber and soft muscle are most susceptible to damage, less so are fascia, tendons, dermis and ligaments. Tears, sprains occur in the tissues, and some areas are crushed. Small vessels are damaged, blood flows into the muscles and subcutaneous fatfiber, forming hemorrhages (bruises). Aseptic inflammation occurs, the volume of fluid increases in the interstitial space, swelling is formed.
In the event of a bruise of the wrist joint (in ICD-10, as already mentioned, it is assigned the code S60), with damage to vessels of a larger diameter and severe bleeding, hematomas are formed that fill the limited cavities with blood. With bruises, not only superficial tissues are sometimes damaged, but also internal structures: cartilage, joint capsule and synovial membrane. Blood cells that have entered the joint cavity disintegrate and are absorbed into the tissues surrounding it and cartilage. As a result, they lose their elasticity, which can subsequently lead to synovitis and arthrotic changes.
Bruised wrist
The most common injury is a contusion of the wrist joint (ICD-10 code - S60). This results in limited mobility of the joint and severe pain. One of the most common triggers for injury is a fall. Due to the loss of balance, the individual, in order to facilitate a collision with the ground, involuntarily puts out his arms and leans on them with his whole body. You can also be injured after a blow to the palms. In this case, soft tissues are bruised, which are pressed against the bones. The risk group includes babies and the elderly, i.e. persons whose coordination of movements is impaired, as well as athletes involved in skating and skiing, weightlifting and martial arts.
Contusion symptoms
Severe injuryof the wrist joint (according to ICD-10 - S60), is always accompanied by pain, but unlike a fracture, in which there is increasing pain and loss of functionality, there is no complete restriction of the mobility of the hand. There are three degrees of wrist bruising, which have the following symptoms:
- Mild - characterized by mild pain, a small hematoma, while the joint has no deformation and mobility is not limited.
- Medium - there is a noticeable soreness associated with the load. Appears moderate bruising and slight mobility restrictions.
- Severe - a painful pulsation is felt in the hand, redness of the skin, a large hematoma.
When providing first aid in case of injury to the wrist joint (according to ICD-10 - S60), you must:
- If the skin is damaged, treat the wound with alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or Riciniol emulsion, which will reduce swelling and anesthetize the damaged joint.
- Immobilize the hand. For these purposes, use a medical or elastic bandage, applying a fixing bandage to the damaged area. The brush should be lifted and hung on a scarf.
- Apply ice to the affected area using an ice pack or frozen product. Keep cold for no more than twenty minutes. Take a break for a quarter of an hour and repeat the procedure again, and so on several times.
- Severe pain can be relieved by taking analgesics.
- Accompany the victim to the emergency room, where he will be provided with the necessary assistance.
Diagnosis for bruises
In case of injury of the wrist joint (ICD code - S60), the following procedures are necessary:
- Interrogation of the patient - the doctor, during a conversation with the patient, identifies the circumstances of joint damage, listens to complaints. In addition, finds out whether first aid was provided.
- Visual examination - when examining the site of damage, palpation is performed, the amplitude of active and passive movements is determined, pain, redness, abrasions, hematomas are noted.
- X-ray is prescribed - this is the most accessible and informative method for examining a contusion of the wrist joint. The picture allows you to determine the position of the joint, exclude or confirm dislocation and fracture. Often, radiography makes it possible to plan treatment tactics.
- If soft tissues are damaged, CT or MRI is prescribed, as well as ultrasound to clarify the diagnosis.
- Arthroscopy is the best option for diagnosis, when the doctor can conduct a visual examination of the internal structures of the joints.
After all examinations and clarification of the diagnosis, the patient is prescribed appropriate therapy.
Treatment of wrist injury
Treatment should begin immediately after injury and diagnosis. Timely measures will relieve pain, accelerate healing and prevent adverse effects. For this you need:
- Medications. For the treatment of a damaged joint, painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs are used in the form of an ointment:Heparin, Ortofen, Venolife, Diclofenac, Lyoton.
- Means to eliminate hematomas - "Badyaga", "Comfrey".
- Using a bandage. For fixation, it is possible to use an elastic bandage and other orthopedic devices, which, depending on the injury, are used from three to ten days.
- Two days after a wrist injury, thermal procedures are used for treatment. For this, a special heat-saving bandage is suitable. The product is good because, in addition to limiting movements, it warms, massages the limb, relieves swelling, improves blood circulation and enhances the effect of therapeutic ointments.
- For heat treatment, you can apply a tissue bag with s alt heated in a frying pan, a heating pad, or make paraffin applications to the wrist joint. The procedure is performed twice a day.
- Warm baths. Add sea or table s alt to the water and warm your wrist at a temperature not exceeding 38 degrees.
- Therapeutic exercise. With a bruise of the left wrist joint, as well as the right one, it is possible to use exercise therapy. Helps prevent muscle atrophy, normalize tendon function, improve blood circulation.
- Massage. With the help of massage movements, the mobility and efficiency of the hand are restored, pain is relieved.sensations, blood circulation improves, and hence the nutrition of tissues. Massaging begins from the fingertips to the wrist, making light strokes and rubbing.
- Applying an elastic bandage to the joint.
- Restriction of loads. With a bruise of the right wrist joint (according to ICD 10 code S60), you should give up writing and drawing for a while. Athletes are advised to stop training, and musicians to engage in professional activities until full recovery of working capacity. In addition, the affected arm must be protected from heavy lifting. If the recommendations of doctors are not followed, undesirable consequences are possible.
They are applied at least three times a day to the damaged area in a thin layer and lightly rubbed. With intense pain, analgesics are prescribed inside: Baralgin, Analgin, Ketonal.
Treatment with folk remedies
To relieve symptoms of a bruised wrist joint at home, use the following folk remedies:
- For warming compresses, infusions of oregano, calamus, hemlock, burdock, coltsfoot are used. To prepare them, take a tablespoon of a crushed dry plant, pour a glass of vodka and infuse for five days in a dark place.
- Wrap a sore spot with fresh cabbage or plantain leaves.
- Effective baths and lotions prepared on their own using herbal decoctions: St. John's wort, lavender and chamomile.
Complications after bruises
After a wrist injury, the following complications are recorded:
- Contusion of the palmar surface - causes contusion of the ulnar and median nerve. In this area, they are located close to the surface of the dermis. In this case, there is pain of a shooting nature inphalanges and their sensitivity is disturbed. They hardly begin to move, and the brush takes the form of a clawed paw. In some cases, surgery is required to cut the carpal ligaments.
- Zudeck Syndrome - occurs when a severe injury or improper treatment. Trophic vascular disorders develop. The hand and wrist become very swollen, the surface of the skin is cool and shiny, bluish in color, and the nails are brittle and thin. An x-ray examination reveals osteoporosis. For its treatment, complex therapy is used, using painkillers, vitamin complexes, vascular agents, muscle relaxants, acupuncture, physiotherapy, massage and exercise therapy.
Wrist sprain
Bruising of the ligaments of the wrist joint is most often the result of an injury during sports activities, less often - a fall on the street or at home. The consequences can be serious problems up to the development of deforming osteoarthritis. Wrist sprains cause severe pain and stiffness of movement. These inconveniences make it difficult to perform daily work. Symptoms of a wrist sprain are:
- redness of the damaged area;
- swelling;
- diffuse pain of medium intensity. It increases on palpation;
- increase in volume;
- possible bruising;
- restriction of movement in the joint.
WhenIf you experience pain, you should go to the emergency room, the doctor will examine you and send you for an X-ray, which excludes bone fractures and torn ligaments. When spraining it is necessary:
- Create peace for the hand: limit movement in the joint for up to four weeks, do not endure heavy loads, with severe pain, a cast is applied. If the left wrist joint is injured (according to the ICD - S60), all the necessary functions will have to be temporarily performed with the right hand.
- Apply cold - use a heating pad or ice pack to relieve puffiness. Hold for 20 minutes, take a break for a third of an hour and repeat the procedure until the ice is completely melted.
- General anesthesia - take Pentalgin for three days.
- Local anesthesia - apply anesthetic ointments to the affected area. You can use the cream "Dolgit".
- Wear an orthosis on a sore joint or bandage it with an elastic bandage.
Bruising of the upper limbs in children
Often the cause of a bruised wrist joint in babies is a fall from a swing, a bicycle, from a stroller, from a feeding chair. In older children, outdoor games and sports lead to injuries. Soft tissue injury is always the result of a fall or impact. The child cries out in pain and stops moving the arm, leaving it slightly bent along the body. Typical symptoms of bruising:
- severe pain;
- skin redness;
- swelling;
- probably bruising;
- limited arm movement.
For child first aidrequired:
- Treat existing skin lesions with hydrogen peroxide;
- Make a fixing bandage on the wrist and hand. It is better to raise the arm by bending it at the elbow;
- Apply cold to the damaged area for seven minutes, then repeat the procedure after a 15-minute break. Ice wrapped in a towel can be used to cool down.
After rendering assistance, the child must be shown to a traumatologist. He will find out the cause of the pain, if necessary, prescribe an x-ray and treatment.
Physiotherapy and hydrotherapy in the treatment of the wrist joint
Research shows that the use of physio- and hydrotherapy, various ointments, massages, exercise therapy in the early stages of treatment contributes to the rapid restoration of injured tissues, the reduction or complete elimination of pain, swelling and restoration of working capacity. In most cases, with a bruise of the wrist joint (disease code S60), microcirculation and tissue metabolism are disturbed. In the treatment of bruises and injuries, the most commonly used:
- Electrophoresis - the introduction of drugs using electric current through the dermis and mucous membranes. With the help of electrophoresis, an anti-inflammatory, analgesic, absorbable, antibacterial and stimulating tissue regeneration effect is achieved. To increase the permeability before electrophoresis, warming procedures are carried out. Sometimes solutions containing several drugs that enhance the effect are used.each other.
- Diadynamic currents (DDT) - use different frequencies with short and long periods. With their help, drugs are administered, and wave currents have an analgesic effect.
- Sinusoidal modulated currents (SMT) - have a high frequency and penetrate deep into tissues, have anti-edematous, analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects.
- Magnetotherapy - A low frequency alternating magnetic field has a beneficial effect on body fluids, reducing swelling and pain.
- Inductotherapy - a high-frequency alternating magnetic field penetrates deep into the tissue up to eight centimeters and promotes metabolic processes in them.
- UHF-therapy is an alternating electric current of ultra-high frequency, which is used to speed up metabolic processes and tissue regeneration.
- Ultrasound - mechanical vibrations accelerate regeneration processes, have an anti-inflammatory effect, reduce swelling and relieve pain.
Wrist brace
For people who do a lot of operations with one hand after a bruised right or left wrist, doctors advise wearing a brace for a while. To do this, use the B. Well rehab W-244 model. It is universal, it is possible to adjust the level of fixation. The bandage is used to limit the movement of the hand, as a result, pain is reduced, swelling subsides. The degree of compression is regulated independently, according to the sensations, and the loop, which is fixed on the thumb, does not allow it to move. The developers are constantly collaborating with traumatologists, orthopedists, rehabilitation specialists and neurologists, improving the model.
Conclusion
Contusion of the wrist joint is the most common hand injury. The disease is accompanied by severe pain and impaired mobility of the limb. For a quick recovery of the hand, it is necessary to provide first aid on time and correctly, to carry out qualified treatment using medicines, folk remedies, physiotherapy, massage and exercise therapy.
Every wrist injury should be treated. With the help of modern rehabilitation measures, any consequences of injuries are minimized. The main thing is to contact the doctor in a timely manner for the provision of qualified assistance.
