Treatment for Hand, Wrist, and Elbow Conditions

With hand, wrist, or elbow pain and weakness, everyday tasks like opening a door, typing on a keyboard, or even combing your hair can be difficult.

The hand and wrist are delicate networks of bones, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage. Because they're so essential to living, they're also vulnerable to injury. Pain in the hand, wrist, and elbow can be caused by trauma or from various health conditions. Whether your pain is caused by an injury, accident, or repetitive strain on your joints, Kelsey-Seybold can help reduce hand, wrist, and elbow pain and get you back to doing everyday activities pain free.

Hand, Wrist, and Elbow Conditions We Treat

We take a multidisciplinary approach to treating these common conditions:

Arthritis

Arthritis is the inflammation of one or more joints. A joint is the area where two bones meet. Arthritis can be in the hand, wrist, or elbow.

Carpal tunnel syndrome

This is a condition in which there is excessive pressure on the median nerve. This is the nerve in the wrist that allows feeling and movement to parts of the hand. It can lead to numbness, tingling, weakness, or muscle damage in the hand or finger.

Trigger finger

Trigger finger occurs when a finger or thumb gets stuck in a bent position, as if you were squeezing a trigger. Symptoms may include finger stiffness, tenderness, or a bump in the palm base of the affected finger, a finger locked in a bent position, or a popping sensation as you move your finger.

Nerve injuries

Nerves can be damaged by pressure or overstretching. Injury to a nerve can stop signals to and from the brain, causing the hand, wrist, or elbow to not work properly.

Tendonitis

Tendonitis is the inflammation of a tendon that connects the muscles to the bones. It's usually caused by overuse or injury.

Ganglion cysts

These soft tissue cysts form on the part of your wrist opposite your palm. Smaller ganglion cysts seem to cause more pain than larger ones.

Kienbock's disease

This disorder typically affects young adults and involves the progressive collapse of the small bones in the wrist. It usually occurs when the blood supply to this bone is compromised.

Tennis elbow

Tennis elbow is a painful condition that occurs when tendons in your elbow are overworked due to repetitive motions of the arm or wrist. Symptoms may include pain and weakness when shaking hands, turning a doorknob, or holding a coffee cup.

Bursitis

Bursitis is the swelling and irritation of a bursa, which is a fluid-filled sac that acts as a cushion between muscles, tendons, and bones. It's often the result of overuse, trauma, gout, or infection. Tenderness around the joint and swelling are clear indicators of bursitis.

Hand, wrist, and elbow injuries

Hand and upper extremity injuries may be due to many factors including repetitive motion, a sports injury, an accident, a work-related injury, or a congenital disorder.

Sprains and strains

A sprain is a stretch and/or tear of a ligament, the fibrous band of connective tissue that joins the end of one bone with another. A strain is an injury of a muscle or tendon.

Diagnosing Hand, Wrist, and Elbow Conditions

When diagnosing your injury or condition, our Orthopedics specialists will evaluate your complete medical history and conduct a physical exam. They may ask about symptoms and level of pain and may take X-rays or do a CT scan for a closer examination of your injury. This type of information will help develop an individualized treatment plan.

Treatment for Hand, Wrist, or Elbow Conditions

Our treatment techniques help restore function, range of motion, and strength. Often, problems with the hand, wrist, or elbow require only nonsurgical care, such as splinting, rehabilitation, or injections. If the pain or injury is too severe for conservative treatment, your orthopedic physician may recommend surgery. Based on our years of experience, we offer a wide variety of surgical options, including:

• Elbow joint replacement
• Fracture fixation
• Nerve decompression
• Endoscopic carpal tunnel release
• Wrist arthroscopy