What Causes Intersection Syndrome
Tennis, skiing, rowing and weight lifting are all common culprits. In fact, any activity that requires the wrist to repeatedly move downward toward the thumb can lead to Intersection Syndrome. This motion causes the muscles and tendons in the wrist to rub against one another producing irritation and swelling. As the inflammation progresses, the tendons can no longer glide easily.
Anatomy And Sore Forearms
Muscles on the front of your forearm produce flexion, or forward bending, of your fingers and wrist. Muscles on the back of your forearm generally perform extension, or straightening of the fingers and backward bending of the wrist. There are additional muscles on each side of the forearm that move your thumb.
Although there are many forearm muscles, the majority of them come together to connect to one of two main tendons â the common extensor tendon and the common flexor tendon. The extensor tendon is located on the outside of the elbow, while the flexor tendon sits on the inside of your elbow.
Because your fingers and wrists are involved in virtually all daily tasks, these muscles and tendons are subject to injury. Most common are overuse injuries, but direct trauma can also occur.
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Hand Elbow Or Wrist Tendon Injury Risk Factors
There are a few factors that can increase your chances of developing a hand, wrist or elbow tendon injury, including:
- Hand, wrist, and elbow tendon injuries are common in people who participate in activities that require repetitive hand, wrist, or elbow motions.
- Prior injury. Hand, wrist, and elbow tendons that have previously been injured are more susceptible to further injury or tendonitis.
- As people age, their tendons stretch and get thinner, making them more susceptible to hand, wrist, and elbow injuries.
- Smoking products with nicotine can weaken tendons.
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How Is Wrist Tendinitis Treated
Most people find relief from wrist tendon pain with a combination of conservative treatments. Your healthcare provider may recommend:
- Medication:Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can reduce pain and inflammation. In some cases, your healthcare provider may recommend steroid injections in your wrist or near your finger joints.
- Physical or occupational therapy: Therapists can help you regain strength, mobility and range of motion in your wrist and fingers. They can also show you how to do everyday movements, such as typing or lifting objects, with less wrist pain.
- Rest: The most important treatment for wrist tendinitis is usually rest. Never push through wrist pain try to avoid typing, lifting heavy items and rotating your wrist so your tendons can heal.
- RICE method: At-home treatments such as rest, ice, compression and elevation can help minimize wrist swelling and pain. You can ice your wrist for about 20 minutes every two hours while keeping it elevated above the level of your heart. Be sure to place a towel between the ice and your skin to prevent any injuries to your skin.
- Splinting: A splint is a supportive device that stabilizes and immobilizes your wrist and sometimes your fingers. Your healthcare provider may recommend a custom splint, or you can use an off-the-shelf one.
What Is Forearm Pain
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Thumb Tendonitis Symptoms & Treatment
Thumb tendonitis causes pain in tendons around the base of the thumb, on the inside of the wrist and forearm. Some doctors call it De Quervains tendinosis. Both terms refer to inflammation along the thumb.
De Quervains affects the thumbs tendons cords of tissue that connect muscles and bones. When the tendons around the base of the thumb are irritated or constricted, they swell. This thumb swelling can cause pain, tenderness and weakness in the hand.
Sometimes people call De Quervains mommy thumb, because new mothers can strain their thumbs from lifting their newborns repeatedly. Just as often, people experience De Quervain syndrome after helping someone move on the weekend.
Treatment for De Quervains ranges from splints and steroids to minimally invasive surgery. At Aurora Health Care, we can help you find the right treatment option so you can get relief and get back to your life.
Types Of Tendonitis And Tenosynovitis
Common types of these tendon problems include:
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Lateral epicondylitis. This is most often known as tennis elbow. It causes pain in the backside of the elbow and forearm, along the thumb side when the arm is alongside the body with the thumb turned away. The pain is caused by damage to the tendons that bend the wrist back and away from the palm.
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Medial epicondylitis. This is most often known as golfer’s or baseball elbow. It causes pain from the elbow to the wrist on the palm side of the forearm. The pain is caused by damage to the tendons that bend the wrist toward the palm.
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Rotator cuff tendonitis. This is also known as biceps tendonitis. Its a shoulder disorder. It causes inflammation of the shoulder capsule and related tendons.
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DeQuervain’s tenosynovitis. This is the most common type of tenosynovitis disorder. It causes swelling in the tendon sheath of the tendons of the thumb.
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Trigger finger or trigger thumb. This is a type of tenosynovitis. The tendon sheath becomes inflamed and thickened. This makes it hard to extend or flex the finger or thumb. The finger or thumb may lock or “trigger” suddenly.
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Desk Stretching Exercise Videos
Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk, combined with long commutes, can cause loss of flexibility in the muscles in your legs, hips, back, shoulders and neck. The downloads on this page are designed to help increase your flexibility and combat the stress of everyday life. Select the muscle group you wish to address and follow along with your on-line stretching coach. To prevent injury while sitting at your desk, try these desk-stretches throughout your day.
Physical Therapy In Corpus Christi For Wrist And Forearm Issues
Welcome to Humpal Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Centers resource about intersection syndrome.
Intersection syndrome is a painful condition of the forearm and wrist. It can affect people who do repeated wrist actions, such as weight lifters, downhill skiers, and canoeists. Heavy raking or shoveling can also cause intersection syndrome.
This guide will help you understand:
- what part of your forearm is causing the problem
- what may have caused this condition
- how health care professionals diagnose it
- what can be done to stop the pain
- what is Humpal Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Centers approach to rehabilitation
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Who Is At Risk For Wrist Injuries And Disorders
Certain things can put you at higher risk of having a wrist problem, including:
- Doing sports, which can put you at risk for injuries and puts stress on your wrist. For example, you may fall on your outstretched hand when you are skating or snowboarding. Your wrist could be injured while doing contact sports. And other sports such as gymnastics and basketball can strain your wrists.
- Doing repetitive wrist motions, such as typing on a keyboard, working on an assembly line, or using power tools.
- Having certain diseases. For example, rheumatoid arthritis can cause wrist pain.
When To Seek Medical Attention
Certain symptoms of wrist tendonitis may indicate serious medical conditions. A few examples of dangerous symptoms include:
- Numbness and/or tingling in the fingers, hand, and/or forearm
- A sudden increase in pain and swelling in the wrist, hand, and/or forearm
- Inability to move the wrist
- Severe, persistent swelling of the wrist
Such symptoms may indicate bone fractures or nerve injuries in the hand, wrist, and/or forearm region. Sometimes, wrist tendonitis may cause swelling of the tendon, which may pinch or irritate an adjacent nerve, leading to conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome.2
Evaluation by a doctor can help accurately diagnose wrist tendonitis and initiate treatment. In most cases, wrist tendonitis may be managed with non-surgical treatment methods.
See What to Do When a Wrist Injury Occurs
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Palmer Superficial Forearm Muscle
The pronator teres has two heads of origin: a humeral head and an ulnar head.
The humeral head arises from the medial epicondylar ridge of the humerus and common flexor tendon, whereas the ulnar head arises from the medial aspect of the coronoid process of the ulna.
The pronator teres inserts on the anterolateral surface of the midpoint of the radius. The muscle functions predominantly to pronate the forearm, but can also assist with elbow flexion.
The FCR originates from the medial humeral epicondyle as part of the common flexor tendon.
It inserts on the anterior surface and base of the second metacarpal, possibly providing a slip to the third metacarpal.
The FCR is innervated by the median nerve and functions to flex and radially deviate the wrist.
The inconsistent palmaris longus arises from the medial humeral epicondyle as part of the common flexor tendon and inserts on the transverse carpal ligament and anterior aponeurosis.
It receives its innervation from the median nerve.
The function of the palmaris longus is to flex the wrist, and it may play a role in thumb abduction in some people.
The FCU arises from two heads:
- The humeral head arises from the medial humeral epicondyle as part of the common flexor tendon,
- while the ulnar head arises from the proximal portion of the subcutaneous border of the ulna.
The FDS has a three-headed origin:
Treatment For De Quervains Thumb And Wrist Pain Without Surgery
You may be able to recover from De Quervains tenosynovitis with home treatment. Changing your activity, resting the sore thumb joint, and treating thumb tendonitis with anti-inflammatory medications and heat or ice can improve the pain in a few weeks.
Depending on your injury, you may need additional treatment like:
- Splints: A special splint called a thumb spica splint can support your wrist and thumb so they can heal.
- Pain management: We use non-narcotic medications and integrative care like acupuncture to manage pain so you can heal. Find out more about orthopedic pain we treat.
- Steroid injections: Injected medications can deliver pain relief or lubrication directly to the inflamed area. Learn more about injections for joint pain.
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Who Is At Risk Of Developing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Women are three times more likely than men to develop carpal tunnel syndrome. People with diabetes or other metabolic disorders that directly affect the bodys nerves and make them more susceptible to compression are also at high risk. CTS usually occurs only in adults.
Workplace factors may contribute to existing pressure on or damage to the median nerve. The risk of developing CTS is not confined to people in a single industry or job, but may be more reported in those performing assembly line worksuch as manufacturing, sewing, finishing, cleaning, and meatpackingthan it is among data-entry personnel.
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Whats The Prognosis For People With Wrist Tendinitis
Most people respond very well to treatment and dont have long-term wrist damage or pain. After your wrist heals, physical therapy or occupational therapy can help you improve strength and mobility in your wrist. Therapists can also show you how to continue doing the activities you enjoy with less strain on your wrists.
After you have a tendon injury, youre more likely to injure the tendon again. Be especially careful to protect your wrists when playing sports or performing repetitive movements. Most importantly, dont push through pain. Pain is your bodys way of speaking to you, and you should listen to it.
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How Does It Feel
Several tendons in the wrist can become irritated with wrist tendinitis. Pain symptoms associated with the condition include:
- Pain where the arm meets the hand, which can radiate up into the elbow.
- Pain on the thumb side of the wrist or the little-finger side of the wrist .
- Pain that only occurs when the wrist is under strain, which can become constant pain when left untreated.
- Pain when putting pressure on the hand, such as using the arms to push yourself up out of a chair to stand.
Besides pain, other symptoms include:
- Stiffness of the wrist, and a decreased ability to bend and extend the wrist.
- Inflammation or swelling in the wrist area.
- Tenderness to touch in the wrist and/or forearm muscles.
When Wrist Tendonitis Surgery Is Necessary
While rare, surgery for wrist tendonitis is an option when non-surgical treatments fail. Surgery is recommended when the tendon is ruptured or the tendon is a risk of tearing, the tendon has degenerated or symptoms have not subsided after three to six months of physical therapy and other nonsurgical treatments.
Depending on your injury, your surgeon will either perform a minimally invasive arthroscopic procedure or opt for an open surgery to address more severe tendon injuries.
If youre suffering from wrist pain or if youre wrist tendonitis is affecting your day-to-day life, Dr. Karen Heidencan see you at our Salt Lake City or Park City orthopedic clinics.
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Wrist Tendonitis: An Overview
Wrist tendonitissometimes spelled tendinitisis the inflammation of one or more tendons in the wrist.1 This inflammation typically causes symptoms such as pain, swelling, stiffness, and/or warmth in the wrist.1 Wrist tendonitis is caused due to small tears in a tendon as a result of sudden or repetitive injury.2,3
Movements such as opening and closing the hand and/or bending/rotating the wrist in one or more directions may be painful.
Nonsurgical Wrist Tendonitis Treatment
Most tendonitis injuries can be treated non-surgically and heal in a few days to a few months, depending on severity. The first step in tendonitis treatment is rest and ice. If necessary, use a wrist brace for tendonitis, splint or sling and avoid all irritating activities.
Its important, however, to slowly work in small tasks as symptoms subside, as tendon fibers are repaired via movement.
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Ready To Confirm A Diagnosis And Fix The Problem Or Just Want To Learn More
Our Board-Certified Orthopaedic Hand and Wrist Surgeons are here to help! They can often diagnose the problem in one visit, and get you started with a treatment plan. We offer a wide variety of both nonoperative and operative treatment options.
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This content is not a substitute for expert medical advice or diagnosis and is for educational purposes only.
What Can Cause Forearm Pain
The causes of forearm pain can be classified as follows:1
- Injuries, such as a fall or direct blow to the arm, can lead to damage to the muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Injuries can also cause a fracture of the forearm bones.
- Repetitive strain, such as from working for long hours on a computer. Also, strain from performing repetitive movements in the workplace, for example, assembly-line factory workers.
- Overuse during sports and physical activities, such as tennis or weightlifting. This can cause strain in the forearm muscles.
- Nerve entrapment can cause a sharp, shooting pain.
- Arthritis in the elbow or wrist joints can lead to dull pain in the forearm.
- Medical conditions such as angina can cause referred forearm pain.
Now, lets take a look at some of the common causes of forearm pain in more detail.
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Can This Injury Or Condition Be Prevented
To prevent wrist tendinitis, physical therapists recommend that you:
- Avoid repetitive wrist and hand movements.
- Warm up the muscles around the wrist and hand before starting an activity.
- Perform regular stretches to maintain flexibility in the wrist and forearm before and after exercise or activity.
- Perform regular upper-body strengthening exercises to enable the wrist and hand to tolerate sports and other activities of daily living, with less stress to the joint.
- Follow joint protection techniques when using the wrist, such as balancing rest with work, and using the larger muscles of the arm for heavier tasks.
- Do not continue an activity that is painful or uncomfortable to the wrist and hand.
Physical Therapy Guide To Wrist Tendinitis
Read Time:
Wrist tendinitis is a condition that most commonly occurs in individuals who perform repetitive activities using the hand and arm. These include computer users, factory workers, and athletes who throw and catch balls and play racquet sports.
In the United States, the incidence of tendinitis as an occupational injury in people who work full time is 1.1 per 100,000. Overuse tendinitis is responsible for 25% to 50% of all sports injuries. Older adults are often more at risk for wrist tendinitis due to a loss of elasticity in the wrist tendons.
Physical therapists help people with wrist tendinitis reduce their pain, increase their wrist flexibility and strength, and return to their previous activities and sports.
Physical therapists are movement experts. They improve quality of life through hands-on care, patient education, and prescribed movement. You can contact a physical therapist directly for an evaluation. To find a physical therapist in your area, visit Find a PT.
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