At a glance
What it is
Pain in the wrist from sprains, fractures, repetitive stress, arthritis, or nerve compression.
Symptoms
Varies by cause — dull ache, tingling, pins-and-needles; precise location guides diagnosis.
Approach
Accurate diagnosis first, then a tailored plan from injections and technology to hands-on rehabilitation.
Understanding wrist pain
Wrist pain is often caused by sprains or fractures from sudden injuries. But wrist pain can also result from long-term problems, such as repetitive stress, arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome. Because so many factors can lead to wrist pain, diagnosing the exact cause can be difficult, but an accurate diagnosis is essential for proper treatment and healing.
Symptoms
Wrist pain may vary, depending on the cause. For example, osteoarthritis pain is often described as being similar to a dull toothache, while carpal tunnel syndrome usually causes a pins-and-needles feeling or a tingling sensation, especially at night. The precise location of your wrist pain also provides clues to what is behind your symptoms.
Causes
Damage to any of the parts of your wrist can cause pain and affect your ability to use your wrist and hand.
Injuries
Sudden impacts and repetitive stress
- Sudden impacts — wrist injuries often occur when you fall forward onto your outstretched hand. This can cause sprains, strains and even fractures. A scaphoid fracture involves a bone on the thumb side of the wrist. This type of fracture may not show up on X-rays immediately after the injury.
- Repetitive stress — any activity that involves repetitive wrist motion, from hitting a tennis ball or bowing a cello to driving cross-country, can inflame the tissues around joints or cause stress fractures, especially when you perform the movement for hours on end without a break. De Quervain's disease is a repetitive stress injury that causes pain at the base of the thumb.
Arthritis
Joint degeneration and inflammation
- Osteoarthritis — this type of arthritis occurs when the cartilage that cushions the ends of your bones deteriorates over time. Osteoarthritis in the wrist is uncommon and usually occurs only in people who have injured that wrist in the past.
- Rheumatoid arthritis — a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks its own tissues, rheumatoid arthritis commonly involves the wrist. If one wrist is affected, the other one usually is too.
Other conditions
Nerve compression and cysts
- Carpal tunnel syndrome — this develops when there is increased pressure on the median nerve as it passes through the carpal tunnel, a passageway in the palm side of your wrist.
- Ganglion cysts — these soft tissue cysts occur most often on the part of your wrist opposite your palm. Ganglion cysts may be painful, and pain may either worsen or improve with activity.
- Kienbock's disease — this disorder typically affects young adults and involves the progressive collapse of one of the small bones in the wrist. Kienbock's disease occurs when the blood supply to this bone is compromised.
How it is treated
Treatments for wrist problems vary greatly based on the type, location and severity of the injury, as well as on your age and overall health. At Alimran Medical Center, we may recommend any of the following treatments.
Interventional procedures
- Pulsed radiofrequency
- Botox injections
- Acupuncture
- Regenerative medicine treatment (Prolotherapy)
- Ozone injection
- Sigma
- Steroid injection
Physiotherapy
- Electrical stimulation
- Short and long wave
- Laser therapy
- Ultrasonic therapy
- Magnetic therapy
- Exercises
Manual therapy
- Chiropractic
Related reading
Book a consultation
The secretary schedules first appointments during clinic hours; please have prior imaging, operative notes and a current medication list available at the time of the call.
This page provides general information about wrist pain and is not a substitute for individual medical assessment. If your symptoms are severe or worsening, contact a clinician promptly.