Wrist Pain

Hand pain can have various causes, ranging from minor injuries to underlying medical conditions. Dr Arthur Turow treats a variety of wrist conditions. Here are some common causes of wrist pain:

• Sprains and Strains: Wrist sprains occur when the ligaments in the wrist are stretched or torn, often due to a sudden impact or a fall on an outstretched hand. Strains involve the overstretching or tearing of tendons or muscles in the wrist.
• Fractures: Wrist fractures are breaks in the bones of the wrist, typically resulting from a fall onto an outstretched hand. The two most common types are a distal radius fracture or a scaphoid fracture.
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: This condition arises from compression or irritation of the median nerve as it passes through the carpal tunnel.
• Tendinitis: Tendinitis refers to the inflammation of a tendon, which is the tissue that attaches muscle to bone. In the wrist, tendinitis commonly affects the extensor or flexor tendons.
• Arthritis: Osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and other forms of arthritis can affect the wrist joint, finger joints and thumb joint, resulting in pain, swelling, stiffness, and limited range of motion.
• Ganglion Cysts: Ganglion cysts are fluid-filled cysts that often develop around the wrist joint or tendons.
• De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis: This condition involves the inflammation of the tendons on the thumb side of the wrist, causing pain, swelling, and difficulty with thumb and wrist movement.

Other less common causes of hand pain include infections, vascular conditions or referred pain from other areas (such as the neck or upper back).