Causes Of Wrist Pain

Causes of wrist pain can vary largely and range from birth problems to pain in the wrists due to injuries and arthritis. Research and studies related to the same have shown that specific diagnosis in approximately 70 percent of patients with wrist pain is possible and easy. These include all kinds of patients like those with spontaneous onset of wrist pain or the ones who had a vague or distant history of trauma. Even the patients whose activities consisted of repetitive loading could be due to a carpal bone nonunion or from a vascular necrosis.

It has been seen that the hand and wrist can be palpated for trying to localize tenderness as per the specific anatomic structure. There are also various tests that can help support specific diagnoses and these include Finkelstein's test, the grind test, the lunotriquetral shear test, and many more. It should be remembered that when the diagnosis remains unclear for these wrist pains or in cases where clinical course does not improve with conservative measures, then you should include methods like ultra-sonography, technetium bone scan, and computed tomography along with magnetic resonance imaging determine the exact cause of the pain.

This would also help you to assess the situation and understand why you are experiencing the pain and the cause of the same. Remember that if these studies are negative and clinically significant and the wrist pain continues then you should refer to a specialist for further evaluation and include processes like cineroentgenography, diagnostic arthrography or arthroscopy. It has been seen that the regular physicians are usually the ones to evaluate and treat a patient with wrist pain.

The wrist consists of a complicated group of bony articulations and soft tissues which many physicians diagnose as tendonitis or wrist pain and that too without identifying the true pathology of the condition. There are many challenges in understanding this complex of joints presents but with time physicians are gaining a better understanding of wrist pathophysiology and its diagnostic capabilities.

Basically the causes of wrist pain can be divided into three categories, which are mechanical, neurologic, and systemic. There are also many psycho-social factors that have a great influence on wrist pain. The other reasons for the rise of wrist pain in recent times are the dawn of the computer age. With frequent use of the wrist and hand for the mouse and keypads, wrist pain has become the most common complaint involving the upper extremity.

The proximal rows of bones in the wrist are the scaphoid, lunate, triquetrum, and pisiform and these are largely responsible for wrist pain dues to strain and other damages to internal tissues. The causes of wrist pain are normally due to simple mistakes like lifting heavy things, or exercise that out too much pressure on the wrist. Physiological factors are the most common causes of wrist pain and they can create internal and external damages to the risks.

In most of the cases, physiotherapy is the ideal method for getting rid of these pains but in cases like fractures, alternative medicines and even drugs are used to get rid of the pain.

• Cassandra Bagley
• 20/03/2009, 8:59 PM
• 0 Comments