Thursday, March 17, 2011

Treat a Sore Wrist Before It Gets More Painful

By Tom Nicholson


All too often, we take our wrists for granted along with the abilities that these intricate parts of our anatomy provide for us in our daily lives, from carrying our bags to working at the computer. As many sports coaches will tell you, it's all in the wrist!

If you have ever suffered a sore wrist, you know the importance of this body part. If left ignored, the problem may become worse over time. It may even affect the future quality of life if it turns into a chronic problem. Simple tasks may become overwhelming with a tender wrist, and the over the counter pain relief is not safe for the long term. Getting help to deal with the pain is important.

With such importance, you must always treat a sore wrist before it gets worst for many reasons. For one thing, your quality of life will be affected with the pain associated with a tender wrist. You probably will not be able to perform the simplest of tasks since wrist pain will be a constant presence in your life. Since taking too many over-the-counter painkillers is not good for your health, you have to seek medical opinion on how best to make the pain go away safely.

For another thing, your tender wrist can degenerate into something worse. Your painful wrist may be the precursor and/or the symptom of medical conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, gout and pseudo-gout, tendonitis, ganglion cysts and bone fractures and muscle sprains. You definitely will want to treat these disorders as soon as possible.

The at home elements for treating a sore wrist are meant to work in conjunction with medical care. The purpose of RICE treatment is to relieve pain and promote healing, while avoiding a recurring incidence of the injury. These treatments may apply to injuries or arthritis pain.

Through rest and modified activities, your pain may be alleviated. Considered the "critical time", you may need to wrap your wrist in a sling or splint. Modify activities so you don't cause additional stress to the injury.

* I stands for ice and heat application. So, which should you use? Generally speaking, ice packs are used for acute injuries while heat pads are utilized for chronic conditions. If you use an ice pack, you must never expose your injured wrist to the cold for more than 20 minutes at a time.

Compression is utilized to keep the muscles stable. During this stage, there may also be a cortisone injection to amp up muscle power. Make sure that any bandaging is not so tight that your wrist becomes blue or cold.

* E stands for elevate. You have elevate your injured wrist higher than your heart, when and where possible. This can usually be done by placing pillows underneath your arms while sleeping.

The RICE method is only supposed to be used in conjunction with medical treatment, as either first aid or after-care for injuries. When your wrist does not seem to be responding positively to the above protocols, then contact your doctor for further evaluation.

Indeed, a sore wrist may not look like much to worry about today but you have to be very careful that tomorrow, it will be as good as new. After all, your life may very well depend on how well your wrist works with and for you.




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