Talk about being attentive to my care! After my fall, Dr. Riley was with me throughout it all. A very patient doctor who will explain everything in full detail (as many times necessary.) Thank you for all you do doctor.
I've always been a very active person. After years of aching shins, I decided to take a leap and go see a local physician. It turned out I was experiencing a stress fracture! I am so glad I went to see Dr. Riley before it got worse. He suggested orthotics and to give it a rest on the sports for a bit. Thanks doc, is now better than ever!
Dr. Riley is the absolute BEST surgeon around! I wouldn't trust anyone else with my care. After exhausting all of the possible options for my knee without surgery. He allowed me to finally come to the conclusion that it is time. I am now a year pain-free!
Since I can remember I've played baseball. Due to pitching for so long, I had to retire my glove for about a year while I recovered from my UCL surgery. Even though the recovery path was long, I'm now back to playing the sport I love. Dr. Riley was nothing short of a miracle worker! I recommend him to everyone, you can't go wrong.
Why do I have wrist pain?
It is common for wrist pain to be caused by sprains or fractures from an injury. Due to the fact that wrist pain can result in long-term issues, it’s important to be properly diagnosed. These long-term issues which could stem from a sudden injury are as follows, arthritis, repetitive stress, and carpal tunnel syndrome.
Depending on the cause of your wrist pain, the pain level and description may vary. The pain described is typically similar to a dull toothache, pins and needles sensation or tingling.
Wrist Pain Causes
Wrist pain often occurs from sudden impacts injuries, such as falling forward onto an outstretched hand. A fall such as this can cause strains, sprains, and even fractures.
Another type of injury could result from repetitive stress. This occurs from any activity which involves a repetitive movement. An example would be hitting a tennis ball, this can inflame the tissue around joints or cause a stress fracture. Often this happens when you are performing movement hours upon hours without a rest in between.
Below you will find some of the most common wrist pain causes:
Osteoarthritis:This disease occurs from wear and tear of the joints. Pain and stiffness in joints could be the cause of hand osteoarthritis. The older you are, the more likely you are to experience this condition. Women are also twice as likely to experience osteoarthritis than men.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A patient who experiences numbness, tingling or weakness in the wrist is usually experiencing carpal tunnel. When you have carpal tunnel it is due to excess pressure in your wrist and on the medial nerve. When infammation occurs it's typically due to an underlying medical condition. Which will cause swelling and painful wrists.
Ganglion cysts: Ganglion cysts typically develop along the tendons or joints of your wrist or hands. These particular cysts are noncancerous and are usually painless. Although, if a cyst presses on a nerve it can cause tingling, pain, numbness or muscle weakness.
Kienbock’s Disease: This disorder typically affects young adults. Kienbocks disease involves the progressive collapse of small bones in the wrist. It occurs when the blood supply to the bone is in jeopardy.
Tendonitis: Wrist tendonitis is a very common condition and is caused by repetitive daily stress. This condition often occurs with playing sports, typing on a computer, writing or physcical work.
Wrist fracture: A wrist fracture can occur in any of the 10 bones surrounding it. Although any of the ten bones can break, the most common wrist fracture is in the radius. This type of fracture occurs from an injury such as falling and landing on a hand stretched out.
Non-operative Wrist Treatments
A cortisone injection may help to relieve pain and inflammation in a specific area of your body. This injection typically includes a corticosteroid medication and a local anesthetic.
The trigger point injection (also known as TPI) is used to treat pain in certain areas in the body that contain knots of muscle that form when muscles don’t relax.
Platelet Rich Plasma injections may help damaged tissue when plasma is injected into the damaged tissue to stimulate your body to grow new healthy cells and promote healing.
Surgical Wrist Procedures
This procedure is performed by your surgeon cutting the ligament around the carpal tunnel to release pressure from the median nerve and relieve wrist pain. Following the surgery, the ligament will reattach itself but does so with more room for the median nerve to pass through.
When surgical options are necessary, the surgeon will remove the cyst and the stalk which attach the joint or tendon.
This is another surgical option for people suffering from Kienbock’s Disease. This particular procedure is used to help stop the disease from progressing further. At times, removing or grafting a piece of bone is necessary. This will relieve pressure on the lunate.
During a wrist tendonitis procedure, the surgeon will make a small cut near the affected area. Next, any scar tissue in the surrounding area will be removed which gives the tendons greater mobility. If necessary the surgeon will then make sutures.