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Exercises for wrist tendonitis

May 24th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Here are some excellent exercises for wrist tendonitis:

As soon as the pain subsides, begin a program to strengthen the wrist and increase its range of motion. The four exercises described below are recommended by Lyle Micheli, M.D., author of The Sports Medicine Bible. Start slowly and work up to 15-30 repetitions for each exercise, three times a day.

Put your forearm on a table, palms facing in, wrist hanging off the edge. Keep your fingers straight as you turn your hand/palm down as far as possible, then back to the starting position.

Put your forearm on a table, palm against the surface. Rotate your forearm and wrist so that the back of your hand touches the table.

Rotate your wrist in a circle, then change directions and rotate again.

Wrist Tendonitis: Coping With The Injury And Preventing A Recurrence

May 20th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

A few years ago, when I was attending a marketing class, I had to stop writing, because my arm hurt too much - it felt just like a throbbing toothache. By the next day, my entire forearm was red and swollen. I went to a doctor, then a physiotherapist, and learned I had wrist tendonitis, which is also known as tenosynovitis.

Wrist tendonitis is a common form of RSI (repetitive strain injury), and it’s very prevalent and painful among people who use computers, as well as athletes, and anyone who performs the same tasks every day. Tendons join your muscles to your bones, and there are many tendons in your wrists.

Tendonitis occurs when the tendons become inflamed, and with wrist tendonitis usually only one tendon is inflamed, however two or more may be involved.

What To Do If You Have Wrist Tendonitis

As a first step, go and see your doctor for a definite diagnosis. Your doctor may send you for physiotherapy, or he may give you some exercises to do. He will recommend that you rest your injury, and this is vital.

However, it’s impossible to rest your wrists completely. You need your hands and arms for everything you do. So if the pain’s very bad, use a wrist splint for a few days, until the inflammation subsides. Wrist splints are widely available. The splint supports your wrist while the tendon recovers.

I’ve found that icing is very effective. Whenever I get a recurrence, I ice my wrist by wrapping an ice bag around my wrist and forearm for a few minutes every hour or so. This definitely helps, and the swelling goes down sooner than it does without treatment.

Once the swelling and pain are gone - this usually takes a few days - start exercising your shoulders, arms and wrists.

Wrist Exercises - Try Hand Weights And Yoga

You should use the exercises your therapist has given you, because everyone’s different. However, I’ve found that weight lifting with small hand weights works for me. I use the hand weights every day. I also do some yoga stretches every day. I’m convinced that this combination keeps my tendonitis at bay.

Staying Pain Free With Wrist Tendonitis

Most wrist tendonitis injuries are completely treatable with rest and exercise. I know that as long as I remember to do my stretching and weight lifting exercises, wrist tendonitis stays away. If I’m foolish enough to forget to do my exercises, it returns.

So if you’re currently suffering wrist tendonitis, try the RICE treatment (rest, ice, compression, elevation), then be sure to do your exercises every day, and you never need to have a recurrence.

Wrist Tendonitis - how to cope

April 14th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Wrist tendonitis is a condition which can cause a great deal of pain and inflammation over time, and there are some helpful solutions to this common problem.

What Is Wrist Tendonitis And How Can I Help Heal This Condition?

Wrist tendonitis is an inflammation of the wrist joint that can cause irritation and swelling in the joint itself, causing stiffness and muscle tension to occur. The person living with this condition has a hard time grasping objects and holding their hands in a certain position because of the pain. This condition can result from an overuse of the wrist or an overexertion over time, such as by playing a sport requiring lots of wrist action, such as racquetball or basketball. The consistent wear and tear that is put upon the joint causes a chronic inflammatory response to an already susceptible joint. Some people’s joints are more prone to developing inflammation due to a number of factors such as diet, exercise, health and age.

There are many helpful remedies when dealing with a case of wrist tendonitis.

Often, taking a break from using the wrist often helps to calm the irritation and pain. Using cold packs or warm packs on the wrist can be helpful as well. The cold pack is generally recommended for a wrist that is red and swollen, to help reduce any swelling that may be present. Taking over-the-counter medications can be an effective short-term treatment to help eliminate the pain, yet for long term, this is not a recommended choice. Pain killers are sometimes prescribed as well, but it is not wise to take them for long periods of time either.

Homeopathic remedies and analgesic creams can be massaged into the wrist for helpful relief, as well as soaking the wrist in salt water.

Magnesium is known for its pain reducing qualities as well, and calcium calms and soothes joints also. Eliminating inflammation causing foods from one’s diet can often eliminate wrist tendonitis as well, such as dairy products which people are often allergic to. With the proper care and help, wrist tendonitis can not only be helped but healed as well.

Wrist tendonitis: painful scourge of the computer age

March 6th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

How’s your wrist? If you wrist is sore and the pain keeps you awake at night, you may have wrist tendonitis.

What is the Most Effective Wrist Tendonitis Treatment?

As computers become ever more important elements of the work place and everyday life, incidents of wrist tendonitis are on the rise.

This form of tendonitis, which involves the inflammation of tendons around the wrist, is also referred to by doctors as tenosynovitis and involves swelling and pain around the joints.

Tendonitis of the wrist is very common in all adult age groups and there are numerous wrist tendonitis treatment options to choose from, depending on the symptoms and the severity of the pain. The most basic form of treatment can be to simply apply ice to the wrist. This not only decreases swelling, but can also help increase blood flow to the muscles and tissues. One of the most common forms of treatment includes preventing movement of the wrist by placing it in a cast or a splint. This type of wrist tendonitis treatment is based on the notion that the inflamed tendons are overused and will best heal if allowed to rest by immobilization.

Treatments for wrist tendonitis

Many patients will use both over the counter and prescription anti-inflammatory drugs in conjunction with other forms of wrist tendonitis treatment, in order to help reduce the swelling and to better manage the pain. In more painful and severe cases, cortisone injections, administered by health care professionals, can also help reduce the symptoms of tendonitis. Nevertheless, it is important to limit this form of wrist tendonitis treatment and resort to it as infrequently as possible, as overuse may damage and weaken the tendons. If all other options have failed, or have not provided adequate relief, surgery may also be considered and this may involve the removal of damaged tissue.

Essential oils for wrist tendonitis

Last thing at night, try rubbing your hands and forearms with a few drops of chamomile essential oil mixed with a tablespoon of olive oil (or any other common oil). The chamomile relieves pain and heat in wrist tendonitis. You can also drink chamomile tea - it’s soothing, and will help you to sleep, as well as relieving the pain.

How to Prevent Wrist Tendonitis

As with so many other conditions, the best form of wrist tendonitis treatment is to take simple preventative measures. It is often wise to set up your computer work station in such a way as to minimize the strain placed on your wrist when typing. This includes ensuring that you are sitting at a good height and that your hands are in a natural position when typing. Purchasing a specially-designed keyboard or one with a simple wrist pad can help alleviate any strain placed on the wrist when typing. Although your hands should not rest on these pads while typing, it is a good idea to take periodic breaks and rest them on the pad during this time. Ideally, both the keyboard and the mouse should be below the user’s elbow and it is better not to raise the back of the keyboard when typing.

Hand and wrist exercises for wrist tendonitis

Once the attack of wrist tendonitis is over, it will tend to recur. You can lessen the severity of further attacks by doing hand, arm and shoulder exercises.

Copyright © 2007 Fix Tendonitis

Credits: The Stretching Handbook | Matteo Turchetto | Andreas Viklund