When it comes to your body joints one is more important than all the rest, it is the wrist. This complex joint is used in nearly everything you do on a daily basis so your dexterity and strength are important. The wrist is composed of several bones, five metacarpal, eight carpal and two forearm bones. These are all meshed together in an intricate pattern that includes ligaments, nerves and blood vessels. The bottom line is this, if you have a sore wrist you should get it taken care of immediately.
What is the Big Deal?
You may be surprised by the strong emphasis on seeking adequate treatment for your sore wrist, whether that is home remedies or medical attention. The simple answer is when you hesitate to seek treatment the problems can quickly escalate. Imagine life without the strength or dexterity to do common every day things, this could affect your quality of life significantly.
Any common activity can further irritate a sore wrist, things like hours working on a computer, tennis, golf, washing the dishes, walking the dog or even playing an instrument can further injure a sore wrist. When it is all said and done, you can end up with more pain, frustration, complicated and expensive procedures should you choose to ignore a painful wrist. Take care of this most important joint and you will have long healthy use of it.
How?
Pain in your wrist can be brought on by many different things, such as an injury to the location, constantly performing the same motion or trauma. To determine the possible cause of your pain your physician will ask you a series of questions about the frequency and location of the pain as well as your history and any medicines you might currently be taking. Your doctor should be thorough and ask many questions to find the right diagnosis.
Medical conditions like tendonitis, arthritis, ganglion cysts and carpal tunnel syndrome are all possible culprits when you have a sore wrist. Repeating the same motion on a consistent basis can also bring on wrist pain. When you do any motion repetitively like tennis or typing for a long time with no support and improper form you run a risk for injury. You could have also sprained or cracked your wrist in a fall.
Keep in mind, however, that these causes can be strongly interconnected. For example, carpal tunnel syndrome often results from repetitive motions like typing at a keyboard for long periods of time without the benefit of simple hand exercises.
Care
You want to have the correct diagnosis before you begin treatment for a sore wrist. The wrong treatment is as bad as no treatment at all! Some instances will call for a RICE protocol such as in case of a sprain, while carpal tunnel syndrome may need surgery.
Your doctor is in a best position to tell you about the right treatment regimen for you. However, the RICE (Rest, Ice, Compress, and Elevate) protocol is a universal application for first aid and after-care. Lifestyle changes can also be prescribed especially in cases of arthritis. Surgery and medications (cortisone and pain relievers) should be thoroughly discussed with your doctor as pain in the physical and financial sense will be experienced.
A sore wrist can be truly painful in more ways than one. Nevertheless, if you pursue the correct medical treatment and attend to personal care it is a pain you can leave in the past.
Tom Nicholson has spent years helping carpal tunnel sufferers. You can follow this link to find out more regarding having asore wrist.