Tendonitis of the wrist affects millions of Americans everyday. This condition is more prevalent now as more and more people lead lives behind the screen of a computer or smartphone. This type of lifestyle leads to your wrist having to do repetitive motions throughout the day.
The wrist is made up of many tendons, nerves, ligaments, arteries and muscles. Tendons are what allow your hands to move. This is where repetitive motion can aggravate the tendons causing them to become inflamed, which then causes you pain and discomfort.
Causes
Tendonitis is caused by overuse, acute trauma or both. The most common cause being repetitive finger or wrist movement. Your daily activities, work or even a hobby can cause you to develop this condition.
Examples of actions that cause tendonitis:
- Work – Sitting at a computer without periodic breaks. Also if your desk is not set up ergonomically it can strain your wrists.
- Cell Phone – Using your smartphone to text or email for long periods of time.
- Sports – Activities where you have to throw a ball constantly without taking a break.
- Hobbies – Any hobby that requires repetitive motion such as needlepoint, crochet or gardening.
Treatments
Treating tendonitis is fairly easy. Most doctors will normally recommend resting the wrist, taking anti inflammatory medication, icing the area and making modifications to the position of the wrist when performing repetitive motions.
Here is a more indepth explanation of the treatment steps:
- Pinpoint the issue – Determine the action or activity that is causing the pain
- Rest – Make sure to rest the wrist by either not performing the activity that caused the issue or wear a brace that immobilizes the wrist.
- Medication – Take anti inflammatory medication.
- Ice – Ice the wrist periodically throughout the day.
- Modify action – Learn to use proper wrist alignment when performing the activity that caused the tendonitis. For example: arrange your desk in an ergonomic friendly manner so your wrist is in proper alignment thus reducing the chances of aggravating the tendons.