Physical Therapy Benefits for the Elbow, Wrist and Hand
Everyday you are brushing your teeth, typing into your phone and computer, washing dishes, driving. All of these simple daily activities utilize your elbows, wrists and hands. But we do not realize how much we use our arms and hands until we are experiencing pain while doing so.
Simple daily tasks and activities and sports we enjoy can really be hindered by pain in your elbow, wrist or hands. This can have a tangible affect on your quality of life.
The good news is, you can find elbow, wrist, and hand pain relief or even experience pain-free use of your upper extremities by working with a licensed physical therapist at Progressive Medical Fitness in our Northport office.
Physical therapy addresses elbow, wrist, and hand pain
Symptoms of conditions such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome benefit greatly from specific physical therapy treatments. Physical therapy alleviates the need for ongoing treatment with medication or costly and time consuming surgical procedures.
No matter the cause of your elbow, wrist or hand pain, physical therapy is able to help. Our state-of-the-art treatments at Progressive Medical Fitness can help improve your daily life by relieving or eliminating pain and restoring your natural range of motion.
Our certified physical therapy team will design a customized treatment plan to address the specific needs of your condition. Your customized treatment plan may include any combination of treatments, such as specific therapeutic exercises to improve strength and range of motion, manual therapy and/or pain and inflammation reducing techniques (such as heat and cold therapy).
Symptoms of elbow, wrist, and hand pain
A sudden onset of pain in the elbow, wrist, or hand is typically caused by an injury, but long-term chronic pain may be indicative of underlying factors such as disease. Pain can range from mild and constant, to sharp and severe or it may also come and go.
Other symptoms may include numbness or “pins and needles” in the arm or wrist and particularly in the fingers.
Depending on the seriousness of your condition, your normal range of motion may be restricted, keeping you from performing everyday tasks and even in some cases, impacting your job.
Conditions causing elbow, wrist, or hand pain
Several conditions that may be the cause of your elbow, wrist or hand pain follow:
Arthritis
Arthritis affects a large percentage of the population – approximately 53 million Americans. It is the most common form of disability in the United States, according to the Arthritis Foundation. There are many different forms of arthritis, but the most common are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis is a result of repetitive motions or an injury that breaks down the cartilage that keeps joints moving smoothly.
Physical therapy is able to improve motion and flexibility of the affected joint, reduce inflammation and pain, and strengthen the muscles around the joint.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS)
Carpal tunnel syndrome is very common, with more than 3 million cases a year in the US, according to the Mayo Clinic. Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by pressure on the median nerve that runs through your wrist and into your hand. The median nerve runs through a passageway know as the carpal tunnel. When the median nerve is “pinched” or compressed you can experience symptoms such as numbness, tingling, pain of the wrist, and weakness of hand.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) can be caused by an injury or by work that requires repetitive motion of the hand and wrist. Examples include (but are not limited to) assembly-line work, working with vibrating tools, extensive computer use.
Cubital Tunnel Syndrome
Cubital tunnel syndrome occurs when the ulnar nerve, which extends through the cubital tunnel (located on the inner elbow) is injured and becomes inflamed and irratated. It can cause pain, numbness, and tingling, especially to the ring and pinky fingers. Cubital Tunnel Syndrome results when you bend the elbow repeatedly, lean frequently on the elbow or have an injury to the area.
Elbow Bursitis
The elbow bursa is a thin, fluid-filled sac that is situated between the boney tip of the elbow at the back of the arm and the skin. The bursa acts as a cushion to the elbow bone. Bursitis results when the sac becomes full of fluid, swollen and painful – generally as a result of injury or repetitive use (such as leaning elbows on a hard surface for long periods of time while on a computer). Bursitis is common in athletes and students.
Strains/Sprains
Strains and sprains to the elbow, wrist, or hand are commonly painful. Strains occur when a muscle or tendon is injured, whereas sprains are injuries to the bone-to-bone connection around the joint known as a ligament. Injuries are often a result of a fall on an outstretched arm which bends or twists it into an unnatural position. Some sports can also cause strain through overuse of the elbow joint.
Tennis Elbow and Golfer’s Elbow
A common condition, experienced by more than 200,000 people in the US each year, tennis elbow is pain felt on the outside aspect of the elbow and sometimes radiating down the arm to the wrist. On the other hand, golfer’s elbow is pain on the interior portion of the elbow. Both of these conditions are a result of repetitive wrist and arm motions and are caused by a variety of repetitive tasks, not just the sports they are named after. Physical therapy relieves the pain of tennis and/or golfer’s elbow because it builds up the underlying joint and muscle limitations that are causing strain to the tendons, and rapidly reduces inflammation.
If you are experiencing symptoms caused by any of the above conditions, or if you have constant, nagging pain, contact our office in Northport as soon as possible for an appointment to begin to get some relief.
Let Progressive Medical Fitness give you a hand!
Don’t let elbow, wrist, or hand pain limit your activities.
A certified physical therapist in our Northport office will give you a helping hand to get you back to living the healthy and physically active life you deserve!