There are several causes for thumb and wrist pain but the most common ones are Carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis. Pain in the wrist and thumb often stats as a burning and aching pain. Often you will feel a tingling sensation in your wrist and fingers. It can become annoying when the muscles in the thumb lose their strength, which makes it very difficult to grasp certain objects.
When you have these symptoms Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTC) is one of the possible causes. In CTC there is a swelling in the hand area, compressing the median nerve which causes these symptoms. The swelling might have different causes.
Causes of swelling in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
* Repetitive motion of your wrist and fingers while typing on your computer, playing tennis, handball or while writing and painting.
* Because of overweight, Menopause or Pregnancy
* Because of an less active Thyroid, Arthritis, Diabetes or premenstrual symtpome
Inability to move the wrist or fingers and swelling in the joints are also symptoms of a broken bone or misshapen joints. Tendinitis and Bursitis are also possible causes.
When you have symptoms of wrist pain, stiffness and swelling with the coming of age, this might be a sign of arthritis. Arthritis most often affects both wrists and is causes by overuse.
There are certain joints in the wrist and thumb that are sensitive to arthritis because there is very much pressure on these joints. Especially the place at the base of your thumb is something you use in life quite often. Stress causes the cartilage to decrease and the effect of this is that your joints will become very painful and grow crooked.
A doctor examination consists of examining the cause of the symptoms. Is it Arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome or another related disorder. First he will give a visual inspection and touch the painful joints. After that he will often make an X-Ray in various position to have a closer look at the bones. When he rules out Arthritis he will probably ask for an additional MRI to see if there is an obstruction of the median nerve.
The primary medication consists of anti inflammatory medication and rest. There is no cure for these disorders, the treatment aims at controlling the symptoms and give pain relief. When the pain increases, surgery might also be an option. However, this is only with more severe symptoms.
This article gave a short introduction about thumb and wrist pain. When you recognize these symptoms than ask for a consult with your doctor. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Arthritis are not the only possible causes and your doctor is well able to diagnose the correct cause.
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