With eight small bones attached to a movable joint, the wrist is a very complex structure. If you factor in the ligaments, tendons, muscles, and nerves it’s no surprise that the wrist is one of the most commonly injured areas in the upper body. If you have recently suffered from an injury, please don’t hesitate to contact a NY Wrist Specialist and get the healing process started today!
If you’re suffering from wrist pain, then it’s important to know some of the common wrist problems that cause wrist pain. While we recommend making an appointment with us at OrthoManhattan to see a top NY wrist specialist, we also want to make sure you’re informed by sharing 6 common wrist problems that may be causing you wrist pain and why.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome can cause pain, numbness, and tingling in your arm and hand. This is caused when the median nerve, which is one of the major nerves in the hand, is compressed as it travels through the wrist. It’s important to see a doctor if you believe you may have carpal tunnel syndrome because early treatment will help ensure it doesn’t get worse over time.
Ganglion Cysts
A Ganglion cyst is a lump that occurs nearby joints or tendons around the hand or wrist. Ganglion cysts are noncancerous masses and will not spread to other areas, but can cause pain, tenderness, and decreased muscle tone. These cysts can occur in patients of all ages, and while there isn’t one known cause, they may form due to injury, arthritis, or joint or tendon irritation.
Arthritis of the Wrist
While there are many forms of arthritis that can affect the wrist and hand, the most common ones we see are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Typically, we only see osteoarthritis in the wrist if the patient has a previous injury. Rheumatoid arthritis is a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues, so if it’s found in one wrist, it’s usually affecting the other one too. The most common symptoms of arthritis of the wrist are pain, stiffness, swelling, or numbness.
Wrist Fracture
A wrist fracture is the medical term for a broken wrist. This occurs when you break or crack one or more of the bones in your wrist. The most common cause of a wrist fracture is due to someone trying to catch themself during a fall and landing on their wrist. Common symptoms include severe pain – specifically when gripping or squeezing your hand or wrist, swelling, bruising, tenderness, and an obvious deformity such as a bent wrist.
Kienbock’s Disease
Kienbock’s disease occurs when the blood supply to one of your wrist bones is cut off. This disorder is the gradual collapse of one of the smaller bones in the wrist and typically affects young adults. Early on, it’s common for people to think this is a sprained wrist because the most common symptoms are a painful and swollen wrist, stiffness, tenderness, and decreased grip strength.
Sprains and Strains
Sprains and strains are caused when there is an injury to a ligament, muscle or tendon in the wrist. Sprains range from a tiny tear in a ligament to a complete tear detaching the ligament from the bone, which is why there are three grades of sprains to determine the severity. The three grades of sprains are grade 1 (mild), grade 2 (moderate), and grade 3 (severe). Symptoms of a sprain or strain are usually swelling, bruising, tenderness, a feeling of popping or tearing, and warmth inside the wrist.
If you’ve recently suffered a wrist injury or are getting sick and tired of living with wrist pain, make an appointment with a NY Wrist Specialist at OrthoManhattan. Either give us a call or submit a contact form in the top right corner of this page – appointments are available in-person as well as from the comfort of your own home via TeleVisit.