Wrist Tendonitis, Wrist Tendonitis Treatment

Tendonitis of the wrist is quite common among athletes; over a quarter of all athletic injuries involve injuries to the wrist or hand. Overuse injuries to the wrist usually involves tendonitis, tenosynovitis, stress fractures and tunnel syndromes (ie. carpal tunnel syndrome). The wrist provides positioning and support for the hand, combining strength, specific positioning and stability with a wide range of movement.

Tendons in the wrist are closely attached to the joint, and this results in high tension in these tendons when powering wrist movement. The anatomy of the wrist is essentially unstable, relying on the restraint of many tendons, muscles and ligaments to prevent collapse of the carpal bones. Any condition affecting the function of the wrist tendons will definitely result in a reduction of grip strength.

Injury to tendons in the wrist typically originate from work related movement (usually from forceful repetitive actions) or from sport activities that involve forced, repetitive overuse of the write. Clarity in determining cause is difficult, as factors such as gender, neurogenic (nerve), hormones and mechanics influence the level of risk for wrist tendonitis.

The inflammation phase of your injury will continue until the damaging forces no longer continue. Continued damage will cause chronic inflammation, secondary adhesion and general degeneration of the tendon. The tendon sheath itself with probably be injured as the tendon swells, increasing the pain of the condition. When treating the wrist tendonitis, rest the area (meaning do NOT workout this area other than stretching), apply ice for 10-20 minutes at a time for at least 3 times a day. Do this to the injured area for the first day to 3 days. Moist heat may be used after the acute swelling is improved and rest prevents further muscle injury. Ice will reduces initial inflammation and swelling and the moist heat circulates blood through the area to speed the healing process. This can be further helped by the use of ultrasound applications over the affected area, as it reduces swelling quickly and increases blood flow to the area. If the patient gradually starting flexing and mobilising the area, the tendon and muscle will probably heal closely back to normal.

However, this is not what typical person does; they may ice once or twice and rest a bit, but most often just take some Advil or Tylenol and continue to commence their activities, further damaging the tendon. If the strain was minor, their body may be able to heal the tendon and tendon sheath normally. Unfortunately, this is not the usual result because the injured tendon is being used instead of rested. Because of the stress on the muscle, their body heals the injured muscle fibers by binding them together with fibrotic adhesions or scar tissue. This is done in an attempt to prevent further damage to the injured area. It is a normal protective response of their body.

To prevent this the patient should apply ultrasound treatment on the area up to three times daily. Ultrasonic energy will naturally "work" the tendon, increasing its flexibly while softening and breaking down scar tissue - which is not something you want in your tendon. Scar tissue is inflexible (non-elastic), and can quickly lead to reinjury of the tendon later down the road.

An Infrared Personal Therapy system is one of the most helpful tools for a pulled hamstring. Through the absorption of infrared thermal energy, tissues are safely and gently heated - increasing blood flow within the treated area. Your body's natural response to this increased temperature is to try to maintain a condition of homeostasis - a balanced environment or state of equilibrium throughout the body. To do this, your body responds with a rapid increase in blood flow to the area (this is known as vasodilation), increasing the supply of nutrients to injured cells and flushing out toxins (including lactic acid, commonly found in trigger points) to promote healing. Our Thermotex CTS Pain Relief Device provides effective, non-invasive, non-addictive pain relief with no side effects.

The trick to any tendon injury is getting it to heal with minimal scar tissue formation and with as much realignment of tendon fibres as possible - something radiant energy and ultrasound are great at! Even with optimum healing there is always less elasticity in a previously injured tendon. The trick is to make sure you heal this the best you can, that way your chance of reinjury down the road is much lower than average - which is well over 50%.

If you suffer from mild inflammation or pain after certain activities or movements use ultrasound therapy when you complete the activity and then rest and elevate your leg. Limit the application of ultrasound to a couple of treatments per day (the manual will recommend treatment frequency depending upon the injury). In between ultrasound treatments, maximize your pain relief and injury recovery by using the Thermotex Personal Therapy System. Proven Performance, Proven Relief - only found at MendMeShop.com. If you have been given a treatment plan by your health professional, make sure you adhere to it to ensure pain free living. In general, people who are committed to their therapies and exercises will have the best medical outcomes.