Wrist Pain

Wrist joint is a complicated joint formed by union of multiple bones consisting of radius, ulna and carpal bones and metacarpal bones. Wrist joint pain is one of the most common entities in the present day. Acute Wrist pain can be due to fractures or sprains . Long standing or chronic pain can be due to recurrent stress, arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome. For proper treatment, accurate diagnosis of the wrist joint is very important.


Causes

The important causes of the wrist joint pain are as follows:

  • Osteoarthritis
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Carpal tunnel syndrome
  • Fracture
  • Sprain
  • Kienbock disease
  • De quervain’s synovitis
  • Repetitive motion syndrome
  • Tendinitis
  • Bursitis
  • Ganglion cysts
  • Triangular fibrocartilage complex injury
  • Repetitive stress

Clinical Presentation

Sign and symptoms
  • Pain
  • Difficulty in simple movements of wrist
  • Stiffness
  • Weakness in hand grip
  • Numbness or tingling in hand
  • Click sound on wrist movement
Diagnosis
  • X-ray
  • MRI
  • CT scan
  • Nerve conduction studies
  • Arthroscopy

Treatment

  • Analgesics
  • Ice packs
  • Rest of wrist joint
  • Splints
  • Steroid injections
  • Exercises
  • Surgery