Chronic wrist pain can be a very disabling issue, causing the inability to move your hand and wrist easily. The persistent pain can interfere with your ability to work, do chores, or even sleep.
Wrist pain can occur due to repetitive use, sprains, and tiny fractures caused by injuries like bumps, jams, and falls. However, it can also be the result of an underlying health problem such as diabetes or arthritis.
Arthritis of the wrist is one of the most common causes of wrist pain, and it warrants seeing a medical specialist so that it doesn’t continue to worsen. Let’s talk about when your wrist pain is likely to indicate arthritis, and where you can go in North Dakota for outstanding orthopedic treatment.
What Is Arthritis?
The term “arthr-itis” literally means joint inflammation. Arthritis actually describes more than 100 diseases that can affect your joints, and some forms of arthritis can also cause inflammation in other areas of the body.
Types of Arthritis that Can Cause Wrist Pain
The major causes of arthritis of the wrist include rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and osteoarthritis:
- Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that commonly affects the small joints in the hands and wrists. In addition to pain, swelling, and stiffness of the wrist, rheumatoid arthritis can cause deformities in your hand and fingers. An issue with RA is that it can also affect organs of the body, such as the heart, skin, eyes, and lungs, and this is because RA attacks synovial tissues – which are throughout the body.
- Gout is known for affecting the big toe, but it can affect the wrist joints as well – making them painful, tender, swollen, and warm to the touch. What happens in gout is that tiny crystals form in the joints due to an excess of uric acid (a waste product from food digestion) in your bloodstream. The crystals sit in your joint and can cause arthritis pain. Drinking plenty of water is the best solution to gout.
- Osteoarthritis is most likely to occur in the wrist as a result of a prior wrist injury. It develops when cartilage, which is protective tissue that covers the ends of bones, wears down and ceases to protect bones from scraping against each other in a joint, such as the wrist joint. Bone-on-bone osteoarthritis causes pain, swelling, and stiffness.
You should suspect that wrist pain may be due to arthritis if the pain persists beyond a few days, or if the pain also occurs at night or while resting. In other words, if you have wrist pain even when you’re not putting any pressure on your wrist, then the pain may indicate arthritic inflammation.
Hand and Wrist Specialists in North Dakota
When your wrist hurts or your hand aches, trust healthcare providers who can not only provide the best pain relief for your immediate issue, but also offer ongoing treatment if necessary. Here at The Bone & Joint Center, we treat musculoskeletal issues of all kinds – from arthritis to sprains, from a torn ACL to a torn meniscus to carpal tunnel syndrome.
Our skilled orthopedic doctors at The Bone & Joint Center serve patients at locations across North Dakota, and we’re sure to have an office that is relatively convenient for you. If you have any questions or would like to schedule an appointment with one of our orthopedists, contact our caring staff today by calling us at (800) 424-2663 or by filling out our simple appointment request form online now. We look forward to helping you find relief from your wrist pain, so you can get back to enjoying the activities you love!
