HAND AND WRIST CARE AT THE ORTHOPEDIC INSTITUTE
AT POMONA VALLEY HOSPITAL MEDICAL CENTER
Maybe you’ve injured your finger while playing sports, repeated stress has caused carpal tunnel syndrome your hand, or you fell onto your wrist from a bicycle. Hands and wrists enable you to do what you do every day. When something goes wrong in the 27 bones in the hand and wrist—not to mention the muscles, tendons, and ligaments attached to them, you want to find a solution.
Hands can do tasks that require a broad range of movement, and precision, like gripping. And they allow us to have a sense of touch. But they’re vulnerable, too, with tendons, nerve fibers, blood vessels and thin bones right under the skin.
Your wrist, or carpus, needs to move like an acrobat: side to side, forward and backward, up and down, and it must bend and rotate. It must be a bridge to sustain force that goes from the arm to the hand.
If you’re having problems with your hand or wrist, you could be feeling pain or numbness, or seeing swelling. Whatever causes you worry or discomfort, it’s always wise to seek appropriate care earlier, rather than later. We can help.
Conditions Affecting the Hand and Wrist
These are just some of the conditions that can cause your wrist pain and discomfort.
- Arthritis
- Bone Tumor
- Bone Lesion
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- De Quervain’s tenosynovitis
- Dupuytren’s contracture
- Fracture
- Ganglion cyst
- Nerve compression: radial, medial, and ulnar
- Osteolysis
- Osteoporosis
- Sprains
- Tendon injury
- Tendonitis
- Trigger finger
Nonsurgical Treatments for Hand and Wrist Conditions
- Ice or cryotherapy
- Rest or modification of activities
- Splinting or immobilization: These restrict movement that allows you to heal faster.
- Over-the-counter pain relievers: Those most often used include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as naproxen or ibuprofen. Acetaminophen can ease pain but not inflammation.
- Corticosteroids: These may be injected into the joint to provide temporary pain relief and reduce swelling but are not always successful. Injections are usually limited to four times annually.
- Platelet-rich plasma: This injection is made from your blood cells called platelets, that contain growth factors to help injured tissue heal faster. The blood is taken from your arm.
- Physical therapy: Committing to a program and following directions may increase range of motion and flexibility and diminish pain.
Surgical Treatments for Hand and Wrist Pain
- Carpal tunnel release
- Trigger finger release
- Extensor tendon incision
- De Quervain’s tenosynovitis release
- Guyon’s canal decompression
- Arthroplasty
- Fracture repair
- Hand reconstruction
- Nerve repair
- Tendon repair
- Wrist and distal radius fracture repair
Minimally Invasive Surgery
If your surgeon performs a minimally invasive procedure, that means less of the tissue in the hand and wrist hip will be cut, using smaller incisions that disturb less of that tissue. Your surgeon will determine if you are a suitable candidate for this type of procedure, which provides you these advantages:
- Shorter recovery time
- Less postoperative pain
- Less trauma to the tissues around your joint
- Less scarring and less blood loss
- Quicker rehabilitation
Because the function of your wrist and hand are so important to your daily life, you want to entrust care of them to the most skilled orthopedic surgeons. Our orthopedic care team looks forward to helping you determine the best course of treatment for your hand or wrist, and your lifestyle.
After Your Surgery
Making the decision to have surgery is an important one, and our care for you doesn’t stop there. Our surgical team will guide you through your hand and wrist recovery and rehabilitation, and ensure your post-operative experience goes smoothly.
We are here for you before, during, and after your procedure, to answer any questions you may have, no matter how detailed.
