Your wrist is a vital part of your body. You need your wrists for fine motor skills such as typing, driving, and even turning a light on or off. If your wrist is swollen and stiff, you may struggle with even basic activities that require the use of your hands.
Wrist pain and injury aren’t uncommon, especially if you use your hands a lot in your job or day-to-day life. In one study, nearly a quarter of people with physically demanding jobs or who were involved in sports experienced wrist pain in the last year. Swelling is often the body’s response to an injury and is an attempt to prevent further harm. If your wrist is swollen, there may be something more going on. Find out what physical therapy treatments can help swollen wrists and the conditions that may be causing this symptom.
Physical therapy for a swollen wrist
Physical therapy is an excellent resource to treat your swollen wrist. While there may be many different causes for a swollen wrist, the right exercises and treatments can help ease swelling and get your mobility back. Here are some physical therapy methods your physical therapist may use to treat your swollen wrist:
- Manual therapy — Manual therapy is a hands-on form of treatment. Your physical therapist will use their hands to carefully move and manipulate your wrist and other joints. The goal of this treatment is to stretch your joints and muscles to release tension and increase mobility. With manual therapy, your physical therapist can use stretches and pressure to help you move your joints in ways that may be challenging due to swelling or other injuries.
- Therapeutic exercise — If you’ve been injured, the damaged joints, muscles and tissue in your body may weaken due to disuse. Targeted therapeutic exercises can help you not only regain strength in your wrist, but also achieve better:
- Flexibility
- Balance
- Endurance
- Stability
Your physical therapist will evaluate your injury and show you how to do specific exercises that can help you regain your mobility and strength. Therapeutic exercises are typically used as one part of a larger physical therapy treatment plan.
- Electrical stimulation — Electrical stimulation is another form of physical therapy that can stimulate nerves and help with pain, flexibility and range of motion in the wrist. This treatment method uses self-adhesive electrodes that are placed around the injured area. These electrodes allow electricity to pass through the affected area, which can disrupt pain sensors and bring you relief. There are different kinds of electrical stimulation, so your physical therapist may choose a specific kind depending on your condition.
- Joint mobilization — Joint mobilization is a specific type of manual therapy that can be particularly helpful with wrist injuries and swelling. Your physical therapist will apply skilled force, direction and technique to gently move and manipulate your wrist joint. This is helpful if your wrist injury makes it more difficult for you to move your hand on your own. The goal of this treatment is to reduce pain, improve your range of motion and improve the way your joint moves altogether.
- Trigger point therapy — Trigger points are “knots” or stiff, tense areas of the body that occur mainly due to stress, injury or illness. Trigger point therapy aims to release those trigger points by using firm yet gentle pressure on specific areas of the body. While some trigger points may be harder to find than others, trained physical therapists can use a manual kneading motion to find and release the trigger points that may be contributing to your pain. The goal of this treatment is to release tension and stress, relieve pain, and reduce the possibility of further tissue damage.
These physical therapy treatment methods can often be used together to stimulate healing. Your physical therapist will evaluate your wrist and develop a unique treatment plan designed around your condition and limitations.
Top causes of a swollen wrist
A swollen wrist can be a symptom of many different conditions ranging from mild to serious. Swelling is often a sign that your body is trying to protect certain tissue from further injury, but it might not be clear what damage has occurred. Let’s look through a few common conditions that may cause your wrist to swell{
- Sudden impacts — When someone takes a tumble, their natural inclination is often to brace themselves with their hands. While this can protect the rest of the body, it increases the chance of sprains, strains and even fractures in the hand and wrist area. A scaphoid fracture can occur in the bone on the thumb side of the wrist. It may not appear on an X-ray right away but can cause pain and swelling. If you think you have a fracture or break in your hand, see your doctor immediately.
- Repetitive stress — Any activity that involves repetitive wrist movements can irritate the tissue in and around the joints. This includes:
- Playing tennis
- Performing on musical instruments
- Typing
- Driving
- Performing assembly line work
The longer you do these activities without a break, the more likely you are to injure yourself in some way. Repetitive stress injuries can cause pain at the base of the thumb and pain and swelling in the wrist area.
- Rheumatoid arthritis — This kind of arthritis is a disorder where the immune system attacks its own body. Joints and other tissue can be affected by rheumatoid arthritis, including the wrists. Pain, swelling and stiffness aren’t uncommon with this condition, and if one wrist is affected, the other one usually is as well.
- Osteoarthritis — The ends of your bones are covered in cartilage to cushion them and ensure smooth and painless movements. Over time, osteoarthritis can cause that cartilage to break down and degenerate. While osteoarthritis in the wrist is uncommon, it usually occurs in people who have injured their wrist in the past.
- Carpal tunnel syndrome — The median nerve passes through the carpal tunnel, a passageway in the underside of the wrist. When there’s increased pressure on the median nerve, it can cause carpal tunnel syndrome. Pain, weakness, and swelling in the wrists and hands can occur with this condition.
- Ganglion cysts — These are soft tissue cysts that most often occur on the part of the wrist that’s opposite your palm. They are noncancerous but can be painful. Your pain may either worsen or improve with activity.
- Sports participation — Sports that involve impact or repetitive stress on the wrist can cause wrist injuries and swelling. Sports that are more likely to cause wrist injuries include football, bowling, gymnastics, golf, tennis and snowboarding.
- Repetitive work — Overworking your wrists and hands can cause wrist pain and swelling. Even activities such as knitting or cutting hair can lead to wrist pain if done forcefully and often enough.
- Pregnancy — Pregnancy can cause retention of fluids, which may lead to swelling in multiple areas of the body. This is most common in the legs and feet, but it can affect the wrists and carpal tunnel area as well.
- Kienbock’s disease — Kienbock’s disease is a rare condition in which the blood supply to the lunate, a small bone in the wrist, is interrupted. This can cause the bone to deteriorate and even die. This disorder typically affects young adults and can include wrist pain, stiffness and swelling.
These are just a few of the things that may be causing you wrist pain. To receive a formal diagnosis, see your doctor so they can examine your injury and make sure it isn’t a fracture or other serious condition.
Wrist swelling and pain can stop you from doing the activities you once loved, but it doesn’t have to. Our team at Panther Physical Therapy can help you find the right treatment plan to get you back to swinging a golf club or knitting your favorite projects.
If you’re ready to take control of your wrist swelling and pain, call us or request an appointment today.