Arm Pain, Wrist Pain, Hand Pain.
Osteopathy can help with arm pain, wrist pain or hand pain. Here, at the ICOM clinic in Ewell, we see many patients with lower arm problems. Your ICOM Clinic osteopath can advise you in detail, however below is a general guide to such problems.
Symptoms:
You may experience tenderness, numbness, tingling or pain when gripping things. Certain conditions may also cause swelling or immobility of the joints affecting movement. Arthritis may also be a factor.
What causes it?
There can be many causes of wrist pain, hand pain or arm pain. These include ligament sprains, which may occur if you use your hand to catch a fall. The ligaments attach to the bones and it is easy to overstretch them.
You may also have heard of ‘Carpal Tunnel Syndrome’. It is often associated with repetitive activities such as typing and is due to compression of the median nerve as it travels through the wrist to the hand. In severe cases it may require surgery. It can also affect women in the latter stages of pregnancy. Nerve compression at the neck and shoulder can also cause symptoms in your arm and hand.
You could also be suffering from tendinopathy, where the tendon becomes irritated. Tendons are like thick cords that attach muscles to bone. Tendinopathies commonly occur at the elbow.
Can Osteopathy help?
We will first complete an assessment and make a diagnosis. We will advise you if we think your condition may require referral or more specialist help.
Osteopathy can’t cure arthritis, and it depends on the severity of the wear and tear, but osteopathic treatment and advice can often help ease the symptoms.
Osteopathic treatment would include hands-on treatment and exercise advice and focus on addressing the cause as well as symptoms so as to reduce risk of your problem returning. Often the causes of arm, wrist and hand pain are related to the shoulder and neck and we would check these.