“The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul.” – Alfred Austin
With spring just around the corner, activities such as gardening beckon. Unless you are suffering from chronic wrist pain. Then, not only gardening, but just about any other activity or task that requires the use of your hands becomes difficult and painful.
And treating this type of pain seems to be difficult to treat or relieve on your own.
Treatment for Wrist Pain
Occasional wrist pain can be caused by sprains or even fractures from severe injuries. Falls are a common cause of this type of wrist pain, for example, as a person puts out their hands to break their fall. But chronic wrist pain can also result from long-term issues, such as repetitive stress, improperly healed injuries, arthritis, and conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
The human wrist is a complex structure that is both versatile yet fragile. According to the American Society for Surgery of the Hand,
“There are three joints in the wrist: Radiocarpal joint: This joint is where the radius, one of the forearm bones, joins with the first row of wrist bones (scaphoid, lunate, and triquetrum). Ulnocarpal joint: This joint is where the ulna, one of the forearm bones, joins with the lunate and triquetrum wrist bones.”
Properly diagnosing the exact cause of your pain can be difficult as so many factors can lead to wrist pain. However, an accurate diagnosis is necessary for proper treatment and relief from pain.
Without that diagnosis and understanding of the actual cause of your wrist pain, self-treatment is typically limited to wearing bracing devices (splints) and taking over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen. While these OTC drugs may help reduce your wrist pain, they are temporary and can cause other physical issues over extended periods.
Of course, stronger pain relievers are available by prescription, but this can also lead to serious issues and they still only treat the pain, not the cause of the pain.
Often, physical therapists can implement specific treatments and exercises for wrist injuries and tendon problems. However, much like pain relievers, exercises and similar treatments may not address the actual cause, leaving you with the potential for living a life of “pain management” as opposed to being pain free.
Actual injuries such as fractures may have to be subjected to surgery to repair the damage. According to an article from the Mayo Clinic,
“In some cases, surgery may be necessary. Examples include:
- Bone fractures. In some cases, surgery may be necessary to stabilize bone fractures to permit healing. A surgeon may need to connect the fragments of bone together with metal hardware.
- Carpal tunnel syndrome. If your symptoms are severe, you may need to have the ligament that forms the roof of the tunnel cut open to relieve the pressure on the nerve.
- Tendon or ligament repair. Surgery is sometimes necessary to repair tendons or ligaments that have ruptured.”
However, suffering from lingering and chronic pain after such surgery is not uncommon. All of which leads us to the use of Active Release Technique® therapy.
Chronic Wrist Pain and Active Release Technique®
We have been using Active Release Technique® at Pain and Performance Solutions for years. But how does it work?
This therapy approach has been explained at Healthline.com,
“Active Release Technique® (ART) treats your body’s soft tissue by combining manipulation and movement. The technique’s been around for more than 30 years. ART entails identifying, isolating, and targeting the affected area to break up scar tissue. This promotes blood flow and faster healing of injuries.”
Active Release Technique® is applied to break up adhesions in areas such as the wrist. These dense formations of scar tissue can occur when muscles and connective tissues are injured. Pain can develop when this scar tissue binds between your muscles. In addition, it limits your wrist’s flexibility, causing stiffness in the muscles around your wrist and in the joints themselves.
In addition to hindering tendons, sheaths, and muscle tissue, these adhesions can also entrap – or pinch – nerves. By manipulating the soft tissues using Active Release Technique®, these adhesions can be broken up so that your muscles, tendons, nerves, and joints can move freely and painlessly.
During the therapy session, we use our hands to feel for and identify the locations of any scar tissue. Using this technique allows us to isolate and target the area and apply manual manipulation to break up the scar tissue, which then allows for proper blood flow to the area so that it can heal.
ART® can be used to restore your range of motion in your hands and relieve your pain. In addition, it allows all of the soft tissues and joints to glide and move freely again without pain and stiffness.
Pain and Performance Solutions for Relief from Chronic Pain
Despite our best efforts, however, it’s always likely that somewhere in the course of working out pain can develop. And the first step in gaining relief from that chronic pain – and getting on the road to becoming pain-free – is when we get to know you and your pain issues.
Once you make your first appointment, we’ll want to learn about your present discomfort as well as any history of pain.
After providing you with a full examination, we can determine which form of treatment is needed to help you on your road to recovery.
Often, when pain occurs, our bodies will try to compensate for the pain in order to allow us to get through the day with less pain. However, because our bodies have shifted that pain around to compensate for our discomfort, this often leads to other areas of pain.
Getting chronic pain relief with therapies such as Active Release Technique® and Anatomy in Motion can only begin when we can understand where your pain started. That could mean it started previously with another injury you might have sustained.
Your trust in us and your transparency is key. Getting your body to work properly and healthy is the only way to achieve total recovery. So, don’t hesitate to reach out. We are here to help and will answer any, and all questions that you may have. You can reach us at (707) 636-4404 or by filling out our online contact form.