Wrist tendinitis

Which exercises seem to inflame it or make it worse? Sometimes that can happen when you have a weird grip on the weights or your body and tendons haven't adjusted to the weight yet. I used to get inflamed wrists and tendons in my forearms when I would lift heavy and ibuprofen was my only relief. Fwiw I never wore a brace or gloves.

 

Don't exercise if there is pain. I bought 'Healthy Hands' by Martin Gray and it helped me. Also helped when doing guitar exercises. Used to come with extended periods of keyboarding, gone now.

Good friend has tried acupuncture (short lasting) and is now using the Amway products which is says work. He's dentist and needs a healthy wrist.

 

Swim

 

+1

I had severe tendinitis in my R wrist about 6 years ago. After starting to swim I was able to build strength and endurance without further stress on my wrist or knees. It has helped enough that I could get back into twisting wrenches for a living without a lot of wrist pain.

 

I used to practice physical therapy but am currently working for California Dept. of Managed Health Care in the independent medical review unit so I may be able to help you in two ways.

First, soft tissue injuries ( tendonitis ) take six weeks to completely heal. The mistake people make is going back to activity too soon. Their body part starts feeling better so they jump back into activity before the injury has fully healed, re-injure themselves and the six week healing process starts all over again. Tendonitis is typically caused by overuse and/or incorrect positioning while performing an activity. As another poster noted when you return to working out you need to identify which activity increases your pain and either make changes to stop it or stop that activity all together.

As you MD noted treatment of "itis" injuries is the PRICE principal. P-protection ( splint, wrap, brace ) R-Rest, I-ice, C-compression if swollen, E elevation if swollen. Icing is the cheapest and best way to decrease your inflammation. It is best to ice for 15 minutes but no longer as it can lead to ice burns on the skin. Icing should be done frequently. Ice for 15 minutes then reapply when the skin temperature has returned to a normal "warm" temperature. Stop performing the activity until you have fully healed. Continuing this cycle leads to chronic inflammation ( 6 months or longer ) and is more difficult to correct. Another option is physical therapy. There is a treatment call iontophoresis that works well for superficial tendonitis. It is basically a non-invasive cortisone injection. The therapist can also assist you in identifying what positions caused your pain so that you can avoid them when you return to activity.

As far as the insurance goes I am now reviewing cases where the insurance has denied a patient a physician ordered treatment. If the patient has tried and failed all standard treatments then the insurance company should pay for the next level of treatment, in your case a cortisone injection. I am not sure what state you are in but they should have something similar to what we do here for patients in California.

I hope this helps and good luck.

 

Good advice fro PT. As someone that has had tendinitis, I find that stretching before working out - and I mean rigorous stretching - can help.

I agree with PT for the most part though - you need to cease activity and heal before starting again.

 

Jer,

Go to Big 5, grab a pair of these Speedo swim gloves and use them regularly.

After a month you'll be astounded at your progress.
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BTW, I'm swimming a mile almost every day with horrible elbow tendinitis and the swimming does not affect it.

 

I can't say enough good things about this product. Been using them for a year now, and they help SO much. Really helped me improve for swim team.

 

Fap with opposite hand.

 

Jerry,

Stretching should be fine but keep in mind stretching should never be painful just a comfortable stretch.

Listen to your body, if it hurts stop doing it.