Wrist arthritis is a disease that involves inflammation of the wrist joint and causes pain and stiffness to the point that simple everyday functions become difficult and painful.
As with other types of arthritis, there is no fundamental treatment for wrist arthritis. However, there are treatment options that can relieve the symptoms of the disease. Other treatment options can slow its progression.
If they receive timely and proper medical advice, many people suffering from wrist arthritis are able to keep the symptoms under control and lead active and relatively normal lives.
The wrist is a complex joint that is actually the intersection of 10 bones:
To help the wrist bones glide smoothly over each other inside the joint, a healthy bone is covered with a slick cartilage. The cartilage serves as a cushion between the bones as we move our hands and wrists in various ways.
There are two primary kinds of arthritis that affect the wrist – osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and post traumatic arthritis.
Osteoarthritis is a wear and tear disease that damages the bones in the wrist and gradually destroys the smooth cartilage that covers the ends of healthy bones. This causes the bones to rub directly against each other, causing the pain and stiffness noted above, as well as long term joint damage. Wrist osteoarthritis tends to appear on one side i.e. either the left or right wrist only.
Rheumatoid arthritis is another common form of wrist arthritis and is an auto immune condition that causes the body’s immune system to malfunction and start attacking the lining of joints (the wrist joint in this case). Most cases of rheumatoid arthritis of the wrist tend to appear simultaneously in both the left and right wrists.
This type of arthritis develops after a traumatic injury to the wrist that either:
Posttraumatic arthritis can develop years after the causative injury and may appear even though the initial injury has received proper treatment.
Although wrist arthritis may be present in a patient, it may not cause symptoms in all cases. In addition, if they are present, the symptoms can vary widely from one patient to another. Even in a particular patient, wrist arthritis symptoms can vary in severity from one day to another.
Having said this, the typical symptoms of arthritis in the wrist (when present) are the following:
If you are experiencing some or all of these symptoms, we suggest that you talk to your doctor and schedule a formal diagnosis. As with many health conditions, early awareness of the presence of wrist arthritis is one of the keys to successfully managing the condition.
To make a formal diagnosis of the cause of a patient’s wrist pain and stiffness, a doctor will likelyreview the patient’s medical history, looking in particular for previous wrist injuries.
The doctor will also probably ask the patient to describe the symptoms in detail, how they vary over the day and what (if anything) makes the pain worse.
The next likely step will be a physical examination of the patient’s hand and wrist to check for things like lost range of motion, joint instability or swelling. Finger and thumb mobility, as well as nerve function, will also be evaluated. The goal here will be to eliminate other conditions for which the symptoms may be very similar such as carpal tunnel syndrome (which is caused by damage to the median nerve of the wrist).
If the doctor is still not fully certain, the following tests may be requested:
As mentioned earlier, there is no fundamental cure for wrist arthritis that will reverse the underlying cause.
However, doctors can suggest a range of measures to reduce the severity of its symptoms and to slow the progress of the condition.
There are noth non surgical and surgical treatment options.
Doctors will initially try to manage wrist arthritis using non surgical approaches. These may include:
If the conservative treatments described above do not succeed in relieving wrist arthritis symptoms, doctors may then suggest a range of surgical treatments for consideration. The shared goal of surgical treatment options is to eleiminate or reduce bone on bone contact within the wrist.
These options may include:
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Treatment for wrist pain, general wrist support
The Bio Skin Boomerang comfortably provides compression and support to treat wrist pain for minor wrist problems. The wrap is easy to apply and is universal left or right. Constructed of Bio Skin’s patented, Ultima 2SL™ material, the Boomerang is comforatble to wear, while providing optimal wrist support. Bio Skin is hypo-allergenic and 100% neoprene free and latex free, so you don’t have to worry about skin irritations.
Mueller Sports Medicine Compression Gloves help relieve the pain associated with arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome.
Wrist brace for carpal tunnel syndrome and more
The Bio Skin DP2 Cock-up Wrist brace was designed to be the most comfortable and functional wrist brace ever. Constructed with Bio Skin`s patented Ultima 2s material, the DP2 features a thin layer of ultra-soft micro-fleece against the skin, which wicks moisture away from the body, keeping you cool and dry. There are no laces and the straps don`t need to be threaded through loops to be tightened, so the brace can easily be applied with one hand. The dorsal and palmar stays are removable and can be reshaped by hand to customize the shape of the brace. The DP2 is low profile and allows full use of your fingers, while limiting motion in the wrist to ease the pain caused from carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, sprains, and bursitis.
Wrist brace for carpal tunnel syndrome and more
The Bio Skin DP3 Cock-up Wrist brace was designed to be the most comfortable and functional wrist brace ever. Constructed with Bio Skin`s patented Ultima 2s material, the DP3 features a thin layer of ultra-soft micro-fleece against the skin, which wicks moisture away from the body, keeping you cool and dry. There are no laces and the straps don`t need to be threaded through loops to be tightened, so the brace can easily be applied with one hand. The dorsal and palmar stays are removable and can be reshaped by hand to customize the shape of the brace. The DP3 is low profile and allows full use of your fingers, while limiting motion in the wrist to ease the pain caused from carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, sprains, and bursitis.
The McDavid Hyperblend Wrist Support combines the supportive qualities or perforated neoprene and the compression of advanced knit materials to produce a lightweight wrist brace with superior compression to other traditional wrist supports.
Memory Foam Squeeze Balls are similar to putty in pliability and “workability” and feature 3 colour coded resistance levels.
The Pro hand Exerciser is suited for larger hands and has 5 colour coded resistance levels. It uses heavier tension than most other hand exercisers.
The McDavid Wrist Brace / Adjustable has a medical quality splint that adds further support and stability. It also incorporates hook and loop closures for custom fit and comfort.
Level 3: Maximum Protection – Relieving pain from conditions such as carpel tunnel, arthritis, tendonitis and sprains
