Our Hand and Wrist specialists mention that the hands and wrists are joints that allow us to develop daily life, thanks to them we can perform most of our daily activities, however it should be known that they are joints that connect dozens of bones, tendons and muscles.
It is the wrist joint that allows us to connect the hand with the forearm achieving flexion and extension movements, while the joints of the hand are the ones that allow the other movements of our fingers such as the opposition of the thumb that allows us to grasp objects.
To provide good treatment for ailments or injuries that can occur in the hands and wrists, it is necessary to know in detail the bones, tendons and muscles that make the movements of these joints possible.
These two articulated areas are protected only with the skin, so the risk of fractures in the event of any injury is higher than in the rest of the body.
In the event of a traumatic injury, caused by a strong impact or crushing, it is likely that a fracture in the wrist will be achieved. The proper way to diagnose this lesion is through an imaging test such as a CT scan. Depending on the results and the position of the bones after the fracture, treatment will be recommended.
When the bones that make up the wrist are not aligned, the orthopedic doctor must perform a reduction, which refers to placing the bones in the appropriate position through a manual movement and then immobilizing the area. This procedure may or may not require anesthesia and is needed to get the bones to weld correctly, without air or overlapping.
After the bones are in the correct position, the wrist is immobilized with a splint or cast for as long as the doctor recommends for the bones to recover.
Surgeries are recommended in extreme cases such as open fractures.
Fracture into multiple fragments.
Fractures that involve the entire joint.
Movement of the bone during healing with plaster casts.
Damage to tendons, muscles, and ligaments.
Each of these cases requires to be treated with surgeries to perform immobilization through pins, screws and plates for total immobilization to achieve healing. Bone grafting may also be recommended in order to achieve better healing.
In the case of damage to tendons, ligaments, and muscles, orthopedic surgeons must perform a rigorous procedure to try to reconstruct the functioning of the wrist as well as possible.
For any wrist procedure, it is necessary to recommend medications that help counteract the patient’s pain and, in the case of surgeries or open fractures, some medications that help the skin heal and antibiotics that prevent any type of infection.
Once the treatment is finished, the patient will have to receive therapy to recover the movement of the wrist, since after a long time of immobilization the strength of the joint is lost.
Adaptive casts or splints are used to prevent the patient from moving the hand for a prudent amount of time to get the bones of the hand to heal and recover from the injury.
Before this immobilization, it is necessary to know and readjust the position of the bones of the hand, which is done by means of an imaging examination of soft areas and with the manual intervention of the orthopedic doctor.
In the surgical procedure, pins and screws are used to immobilize and adjust the bones of the hand. Surgery is usually recommended when the fracture cases are very serious, such as:
The bone has multiple spaced fragments.
The fracture is open.
The fracture goes all the way to a joint.
Muscles and tendons are involved.
Under these premises, it is necessary to perform a surgical intervention that can repair the hand. For this it is also recommended to use specific medications prescribed by the Hand and Wrist Specialist doctors and therapy to regain mobility after bone healing.
Any other type of tendon injury such as tendonitis, skier’s thumb or hammertoe that are painful injuries should also be evaluated by one of our Hand and Wrist Specialists who will recommend a specific treatment. If you are suffering from an injury to the joint of your hands and wrists, you can count on COPAC orthopedic doctors to perform any procedure.
