How do I get rid of wrist pain?

Posted on February 21 2019

Wrist pain often caused by ligament tear, sprains, minor trauma is prevalent in people who use their wrists over and over again in work. It is also caused due to tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, gout, and bone fractures. Home treatment for wrist pain is similar to almost all the cases:

  • Taking a break from our repetitive activity and giving your wrist some rest is the most comfortable home treatment.
  • Keeping the wrist elevated above the level of heart helps in preventing the swelling or inflammation of the wrist.
  • A severe strain to the wrist, due to repetitive work or sports needs complete rest for the wrist for days and also a medical examination.
  • Repetitive tasks cause mild to moderate wrist pain, which necessitates a change in the work environment. For example, if you are working at a computer for a long time, lower you, keyboard, thereby avoiding the upward motion of the wrist. Adjust the height of the chair to make your forearms parallel to the floor.
  • Wearing the specially designed wrist splint is very helpful in all types of wrist pains. Wrist splints are of few types depending upon the requirement. Wrist splint should be worn in  the day time during work and sometimes needs to be worn at night also.
  • If the wrist pain is caused due to sudden trauma like falling on the hand, lifting something cumbersome, the practical way of relieving pain is by applying cold therapy which prevents the swelling and also numbs the pain. Ice therapy can be done using, ice cubes, ice gel, or bags of frozen vegetables for ten to fifteen minutes. However, take care that ice is not directly applied to the skin of the wrist.
  • For acute or chronic wrist pain, better go for OTC medication, such as anti-inflammatories and painkillers.
  • Doing some stretching and strengthening exercises with the due precaution of checking there is no fracture in the bone will help relieve the severe pain. Remember to extend both the wrists together even if you have pain in only one wrist.
  • In case of severe or prolonged wrist pain, better go to the doctor for further investigations.