Elbow and wrist pain

 

Common wrist pain may be due to a number of different conditions:

  • Carpal Tunnel syndrome 

    • A common occurrence in pregnancy, overuse activities, scar tissue from previous injuries, arthritis and fluid retention. 

    • Occurs when there is compression to the tunnel that houses nerves to the hand and creates numbness, tingling, pain and weakness to the grasping aspects of the hand. 

    • Typically it is worse at night, perhaps after a day of wrist use such as computer work or manual labour. 

    • This is a gradual process, and your symptoms can worsen over time as the tunnel swells and gets more compressed. 

    • The best recommendation is to start non-invasive treatment early, as surgical treatment may be used as a last resort. 

  • Dequervains’s Syndrome

    • Pain on the thumb side of the wrist 

    • Hurts when you use your thumb for grasping, pinching, making a fist and turning your wrist 

    • Causes associated with overuse injuries. It can be common in new mothers to repetitively lift babies 

    • There may be swelling at the site of pain 

    • Your thumb may feel stuck in one place

    • Caused by the thickening and swelling of the thumb tendons reducing its capacity to glide and move easily. 

  • Carpal Laxity/ Instability 

    • Injury or loss of normal alignment to the bones of the hand and wrist, which lead to a change in range of motion 

    • Usually after a traumatic injury, but can go unnoticed if the injury was not that serious 

    • Over time this change in alignment reduces the range of motion at the joints, can irritate the supporting ligaments and joint capsule and causes pain and inflammation. 

    • More common in young to middle-aged populations 

    • Commonly associated with a fracture 

    • Causes include acute injury, chronic repetitive stress, and micro-crystal deposits from another disease. 

    • Another common cause is after falling on an outstretched hand 

  • Scaphoid Fracture 

    • The most common bone to be fractured in the wrist 

    • Usually result from a fall on an open hand 

    • Usually only occur in age 10 years or older 

    • Appears as tenderness over the scaphoid bone (the base of the thumb) and with any kind of loading or movement 

    • It may not show up on x-ray