Why Chiropractic Care & PEMF Therapy Are A Great Choice For Wrist Pain
Wrist pain is very common, especially with our patients that work on computers all day or that participate in sports like golf or tennis. While common, wrist pain can have a lot of causes.
Taking action sooner rather than later can speed up results and minimize the recovery time. Wrist pain that leads to weakness, where you are dropping things or having trouble with grip should not be ignored and should be followed with a chiropractor or medical doctor as soon as possible.
What Bones Make Up The Wrist?
The wrist is a fairly complex joint that connects the hand to the forearm. It is a collection of multiple bones and joints, including the radius and ulna (the bones that help make up the elbow joint). Additionally, there are 8 carpal bones that interconnect and can be the cause of recurring wrist pain.
The bones of the hand, called the metacarpals, also make up the bones and joints of the wrist. Any or all of these bones and joints can be inflamed or misaligned, leading to pain.
What Causes Wrist Pain?
Wrist pain may be due to several conditions:
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - a condition that occurs when a ligament in the wrist thickens and puts pressure on the median nerve. This pressure can cause pain, numbness, and weakness in the hand. Repetitive movements including lifting, typing, or using equipment that vibrates may also cause carpal tunnel syndrome.
Arthritis - this refers to inflammation of the joints. Osteoarthritis causes the cartilage between the bones within joints to wear away, also called "wear and tear" arthritis. This condition is also referred to as degeneration can affect a wide range of joints, including the wrist and spine. Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune disease where the body’s own immune system breaks down otherwise healthy tissues.
de Quervain's Disease - also referred to as de Quervain’s tenosynovitis or tendinosis. In this condition, swelling of the tendons and tendon sheaths around the base of the thumb leads to pain in the thumb, wrist, and hand. This condition is often associated with an injury to the area or overuse.
Repetitive Strain Injury - repetitive strain injury occurs from repetitive tasks such as typing. Overworking the joint can cause it to swell, putting pressure on the surrounding nerves and leading to wrist pain.
Services That Work Best For This Condition
(Click on the image to learn more)
How Should Wrist Pain Be Treated?
If you have wrist pain, what should you do about it? How do you get relief in the shortest time possible?
Rest
The key component in allowing this condition to heal is rest. If it is an overuse type of injury so it is important to refrain from the activity that caused it such as computer use, golf, knitting, heavy weights or sometimes even gardening. By minimizing the use of the wrist with the provoking motion there is less chance for further injury. If no rest is given to the area then sometimes ligament or tendon tears if severe enough will require surgical intervention. This will lead to an extended recovery for a problem that typically heals in a couple of months.
Chiropractic Adjustments
The first treatment that would take place would be a chiropractic adjustment to the joints of the wrist. More than likely, one of the 8 carpal bones is not moving properly and would need to be given the proper motion to assure that the tendons that connect to the joint can relax. The elbow and hand joints would be adjusted as well if necessary. Following the adjustment(s), electronic/muscle stimulation to the affected and cryotherapy will be done to help calm the area and reduce inflammation, if needed.
Kinesiotaping & PEMF Therapy
Kinesiotaping will be applied to help stabilize the elbow joint as well. Pulsed electromagnetic therapy, also known as PEMF, is an effective therapy that will aid the elbow joint to help the body itself to heal faster. Injuries like Golfer’s elbow will get better with time but the PEMF therapy energizes the cells inside the body, which make up all of our tissues like tendons and ligaments, to a higher energy level. This promotes the body’s ability to repair and heal quicker.
Exercises
Along with corrective treatment there will be at-home exercises that can be performed to help to strengthen and stretch the muscles surrounding the wrist joint. It is important to know that these exercises will need to be done even after the pain has subsided because wrist pain can easily be re-aggravated due to it being on overuse type injury. It is typically recommended to do the exercises daily in the initial stages, then even once the pain has subsided it is best to perform the movements around three to four days per week.
Bracing
There are also supports and braces that can be used as aids to lessen the symptoms felt with wrist pain. A supportive brace is thought to restrict the overuse of the muscles in the forearm and wrist but it is not a perfect solution. These muscles can still be overused so the best option is to wear the brace but still minimize the movements that provoked the pain in the first place.
Consistency
The key to all of the treatment that is given to help this condition is consistency. It took time to acquire the injury so it will certainly take time to fix it. A treatment plan will be created in order to acquire optimal results and return to the activities that caused the injury in the first place.
Will Taking Medication Help?
Most general practitioners and orthopedists will recommend taking a NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory) medication as a front line treatment to help reduce the pain. This medication can be effective in the initial stages but the problem is that it does not correct the underlying issue.
Getting a thorough examination and treatment to help heal the soft tissues associated with the injury is the best way to get rid of the problem. Merely depending on a medication to fix the problem is not a long-term solution.
Don't continue to suffer with wrist pain and allow it to affect your daily activities.
Let CORE Chiropractic help you get back on track with personalized chiropractic care, stretching & exercise recommendations, PEMF therapy and a custom treatment plan. Call today for your consultation, or schedule an appointment online.