Hand & Wrist

Every day, our hands and wrists can become strained due to the endless tasks we use them for. These injuries can cause pain, stiffness, and limited mobility. Many hand and wrist conditions will respond well to conservative treatments such as therapy, injections, or medications. However, in some instances, surgery is necessary. If you are in need of surgery, you can feel confident that our experienced and specialized staff will attend to every detail to make sure that your experience before and after surgery will exceed your expectations.

What is it?

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a condition brought on by increased pressure on the median nerve at the wrist which can cause pain, numbness, and tingling in the hand, arm, and fingers. The nerve enters the fingers through the carpal tunnel. Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when pressure builds and pinches this nerve.

Symptoms

In addition to pain, numbness or a tingling sensation, patients sometimes notice a weaker grip, occasional clumsiness, and dropping items more often during their regular activities.

Treatment Options

Symptoms can often be relieved without surgery. If symptoms from carpal tunnel do not improve or become severe, surgery may be needed to make more room for the nerve and alleviate the symptoms.

What is it?

This condition involves “pulleys” and “tendons” that are located in your hand, and allow the fingers to bend. Pulleys are like rings that the tendons run through, being held close to the bone. Trigger finger occurs when one of these pulleys becomes inflamed, prohibiting the tendon from moving freely. Trigger finger may be caused by a number of things including arthritis, gout, and diabetes.

Symptoms

The symptoms of trigger finger include discomfort at the base of the finger where it joins with the palm. The finger will lock at the knuckle for various periods of time.

Treatment Options

There are various treatment options for trigger finger, depending on the severity of the problem. Treatments include reduction of activity, anti-inflammatory medication, steroid injections and even surgery.

What is it?

Thumb fusion surgery is necessary with the cartilage that protects the joint wears away. When this cartilage wears away the joint becomes arthritic. This can cause immense pain and even loss of use.

Symptoms

You may be a good candidate for joint fusion surgery if you’re experiencing joint pain due to arthritis caused by severing wear of the cartilage. This can be diagnosed by a board-certified Physician, such as Dr. Jeff Smith.

Treatment Options

Thumb Fusion Surgery fuses the bones together to prevent further wear and alleviate some of the pain. The surgery lasts about 90 minutes and may be done under a general or local anesthetic.

What is it?

Arthritis is a general disease that can affect multiple tissues inside the body’s joints. The joint is where two bones meet, and arthritis occurs when the tissues that protect that joint become inflamed or begin to wear away. The affected tissues could be cartilage, tendons, ligaments, muscles or synovial membranes.

Symptoms

Symptoms of arthritis can include pain in the joints that comes and goes, but increases over time and when being used. Another symptom may be the loss of range of motion in the joint accompanied by swelling or grinding and cracking noises.

Treatment Options

Arthritis is treated in a number of ways including steroid injections, anti-inflammatory medicine, and even surgical treatments.

What is it?

The radius bone is the larger of the two bones in the forearm. The distal end refers to the end of the bone that is closest to the wrist. This is the most commonly broken bone in the body, and it can break in a variety of ways. It may be caused by falling on an outstretched arm, other physical trauma, or osteoporosis.

Symptoms

The symptoms of this fracture are rather obvious. Immediately, you’ll feel pain and tenderness in the area of the break accompanied by bruising and swelling shortly thereafter.

Treatment Options

To be safe, any suspected bone break should be treated at an emergency room or urgent care center. From there, the doctor can decide whether the bone can be set and put in a cast or if it needs to be operated on – this depends on the severity of the break.

What is it?

Ganglion cysts are quite common, and they usually occur on the hand and wrist near joints or tendons, most commonly appearing on the top of the wrist and the base of the finger. It’s a bump that is raised with clear fluid.

Symptoms

You’ll notice a raised area of the skin that is filled with clear liquid.

Treatment Options

There are many treatment options for cysts, which include allowing the cyst to disappear on its own, prescription of anti-inflammatory medicine or even surgical options.

What is it?

Flexor muscles are tendons that bend the fingers. Extensor tendons allow the wrist to be moved and straightened. These are common injuries that are usually caused by a deep cut to the hand or wrist. Cuts can be the result of recreational activities, occupation, etc.

Symptoms

Tendon injuries can be caused in a variety of ways including jamming a joint or sustaining a deep cut that servers the tendon. The injury will be accompanied by localized pain, swelling and tenderness.

Treatment Options

The treatment for these injuries depends mostly on the severity of the injury. Completely severed tendons require surgery to be repaired, but partially-torn tendons may be treated using non-surgical options.

What is it?

Tendonitis, simply put, is the inflammation of the tendons, many times affecting the hands and the wrist. Many times, tendonitis can be attributed to overuse syndrome or the use of the same body part over and over again.

Symptoms

Symptoms of this condition include pain, swelling and other forms of discomfort. You may even develop cysts.

Treatment Options

The symptoms of tendonitis may subside with rest, anti-inflammatory medication, steroid injections or surgery in serve cases.