Wrist Conditions (ASSH)

Amputation and Prosthetics

Describes the different options and treatments for amputations, including prosthetics.

Animal Bites

Bites are extremely common and can cause significant pain and other problems, especially when associated with an infection. Early recognition of warning signs and appropriate treatment are key in minimizing potential problems from the bite.

Arthritis: Base of the Thumb

The most common symptom of thumb basal joint arthritis is a deep, aching pain at the base of the thumb. The pain is often worsened with activities that involve pinch, including opening jars, turning door knobs or keys, and writing.

Arthritis: Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease in which the cushioning cartilage that covers the bone surfaces at the joints begins to wear out.

Arthritis: Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis affects the cells that line and normally lubricate the joints (synovial tissue). This is a systemic condition (can affect the whole body), which means that it may affect multiple joints, usually on both  sides of the body.

Broken Arm

Most broken arms are caused by trauma to that extremity. This can be a low-energy mechanism like a fall or a high-energy injury like a motor vehicle crash. Sporting injuries are also common causes for a broken arm.

Burns

When the skin comes in contact with something hot, it may be damaged, with death of cells in the skin. The depth of the injury depends on the intensity of the heat and the length of time that it is applied.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a condition brought on by increased pressure on the median nerve at the wrist. In effect, it is a pinched nerve at the wrist.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a chronic pain condition that is believed to be the result of dysfunction in the central or peripheral nervous systems.

Congenital Hand Differences

Congenital abnormalities (also called congenital anomalies) of the upper extremity are differences from normal that are present at birth.

Cumulative Trauma Disorder

ASSH feels that the diagnoses of CTD and RSI are not appropriate and may actually lead the patient to believe that he or she has a condition that is something more than the ordinary aches and pains of life.

de Quervain's Tendonitis

The cause of de Quervain’s tendonitis is an irritation of the tendons at the base of the thumb, usually caused by taking up a new, repetitive activity.

Extensor Tendon Injuries

Extensor tendons, located on the back of the hand and fingers, allow you to straighten your fingers and thumb.

Flexor Tendon Injuries

The muscles that bend or flex the fingers are called flexor muscles. These flexor muscles move the fingers through cord-like extensions called tendons, which connect the muscles to bone.

Ganglion Cysts

Ganglion cysts are very common lumps within the hand and wrist that occur adjacent to joints or tendons.

Golf Injuries to the Hand, Wrist or Elbow

For most golfers, the hand and/or wrist is the third most common body region injured, after the back and elbow. The wrist is injured 3 times more frequently than the hand.

Gout and Pseudogout

Gout and pseudogout—calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease (CPPD)—are two types of crystalline arthropathies which are disease processes that cause sore joints because salt crystals have formed in the joint. 

Hand and Wrist Tumors

Any abnormal lump or bump is considered a tumor. A tumor can also be referred to as a “mass." The term “tumor” does not necessarily mean it is malignant or it is a cancer.

Hand Fractures

A fracture occurs when enough force is applied to a bone to break it. When this happens, there is pain, swelling, and decreased use of the injured part. Many people think that a fracture is different from a break, but they are the same.

Hand Infections

Hand infections can cause severe problems that persist even after the infection has resolved, such as stiffness, loss of strength, and even loss of tissues such as skin, nerve and even bone.

Hand Therapy

Hand Therapy is a type of rehabilitation performed by an occupational or physical therapist on patients with conditions affecting the hands and upper extremities.

Joint Replacement

The abnormal bone and lining structures of the involved joint are removed surgically, and new parts are inserted in their places.

Kienböck’s Disease

Kienbock’s disease is a problem in the wrist caused by the loss of blood supply to the lunate. The lunate is one of the eight small bones that make up the “carpal bones” in the wrist.

Nerve Injuries

Nerves are fragile and can be damaged by pressure, stretching, or cutting. Pressure or stretching injuries can cause the fibers carrying the information to break and stop the nerve from working, without disrupting the insulating cover.

Numbness

Although carpal tunnel syndrome is common, it is not the only cause of numbness, tingling, and pain in the forearm and hand.

Power Saw Injuries

Power saws are extremely useful tools, enabling all types of materials to be cut and shaped. However, they also have the potential to cause serious hand injuries. The hands are used to guide pieces into the saw, and thus they can be vulnerable.

Psoriatic Arthritis

Psoriasis is a skin disease in which patients have dry, red and scaly skin rashes that can occur on any part of the body. Between 5-20% of patients with psoriasis may develop an associated arthritis.

Quiste Sinoviales o Gangliones

Informacion para quiste sinovial o ganglion

Replantation

“Replantation” refers to the surgical reattachment of a finger, hand, or arm that has been completely cut from a person’s body. The goal of replantation surgery is to give the patient back as much use of the injured area as possible.

Scaphoid Fractures

Fracture of the scaphoid bone occurs most frequently from a fall onto the outstretched hand. Typically there is pain initially, but the pain may decrease after days or weeks.

Scaphoid Non-union

The scaphoid bone is vulnerable to fracture because of its position within the wrist and its role in wrist function. When the scaphoid bone is broken, it may not heal properly because it has a very fragile blood supply.

Ski and Snowboard Injuries

Skiing and snowboarding are among the most popular winter sports. Injuries to the upper extremity occur in a relatively predictable pattern. Fortunately, there are some ways to help decrease the chance for injury.

Skin Cancer of the Hand and Upper Extremity

Skin cancer is a change in some of the cells of your skin such that they grow abnormally to form a malignant tumor. These abnormal cells can invade through the skin into adjacent structures or travel throughout your body.

Steroid Injections

Steroid injections are commonly used to treat a variety of inflammatory conditions of the upper extremity. Examples of these include trigger fingers, De Quervain’s tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, tennis elbow, and rotator cuff tendonitis

Systemic Diseases

Because the hand contains structures from the skin, muscular, skeletal, circulatory, and nervous systems, it often provides clues to diseases which are yet to be diagnosed in other parts of the body.

Tendinitis de Quervain

Informaction para Tendonitis de deQuervain

Tendon Transfer Surgery

Tendon transfer surgery is a type of hand surgery that is performed in order to improve lost hand function.

Vascular Disorders

Vascular disorders of the upper-extremity are uncommon, but ones that may have lasting implications.

Wrist Arthroscopy

Wrist arthroscopy allows the surgeon to diagnose and treat many problems of the wrist through a series of very small incisions. In the last five years, the wrist has become the third most common joint to undergo arthroscopy.

Wrist Fractures

The most commonly broken bone of the wrist is the radius. Many people think that a fracture is different from a break, but they are the same.

Wrist Sprains

A sprain is an injury to a ligament. Ligaments are the connective tissues that connect bones to bones; they could be thought of as tape that holds the bones together at a joint.

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