Hand and wrist pain can make even the simplest daily activities—like typing, cooking, or gripping objects—difficult and uncomfortable. With so many delicate bones, tendons, ligaments, and nerves in this area, pain can result from injury, repetitive motion, or underlying medical conditions.
For those seeking a non-surgical approach to healing, regenerative medicine offers advanced, minimally invasive treatments to reduce pain and restore function to the hands and wrists.
Understanding the Pain Area
Hand and Wrist Anatomy
The hands and wrists are complex structures composed of:
- Bones: The wrist has 8 small carpal bones, while the hand includes metacarpals and phalanges.
- Tendons: Connect muscles to bones, allowing movement.
- Ligaments: Stabilize the joints.
- Nerves: Such as the median nerve, which passes through the carpal tunnel, control sensation and movement.
- Cartilage: Provides cushioning and allows smooth joint movement.
Common Causes of Hand & Wrist Pain
Hand and wrist pain can arise from various conditions, including:
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Compression of the median nerve in the wrist, causing pain, numbness, and tingling in the hand.
- Arthritis: Osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis can lead to inflammation and stiffness in the hand and wrist joints.
- Tendinitis: Overuse or repetitive motion can inflame the tendons, particularly in the wrist.
- Trigger Finger: Inflammation of the tendons in the fingers, causing them to lock in a bent position.
- De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis: Inflammation of tendons on the thumb side of the wrist, often caused by repetitive movements.
- Fractures or Sprains: Injuries from falls or accidents can damage bones, ligaments, or tendons.
- Ganglion Cysts: Fluid-filled lumps that develop along the joints or tendons in the wrist.
Symptoms and Diagnosis
Common Symptoms
- Pain, aching, or stiffness in the hand or wrist.
- Swelling, redness, or warmth.
- Tingling or numbness, especially in the thumb, index, and middle fingers.
- Weak grip strength or difficulty holding objects.
- Clicking or locking of fingers.
Diagnosis
Doctors may use the following methods to diagnose hand and wrist pain:
- Physical Examination: Assessing mobility, strength, and pain triggers.
- Imaging Tests: X-rays, MRIs, or ultrasounds to detect fractures, arthritis, or soft tissue damage.
- Nerve Tests: Electromyography (EMG) to evaluate nerve function in cases of carpal tunnel syndrome.
Traditional Surgical Treatment Options
When conservative measures fail, surgical options may be considered, such as:
- Carpal Tunnel Release: Surgery to relieve pressure on the median nerve.
- Joint Replacement: For severe arthritis.
- Tendon Repair: To address tears or severe tendinitis.
However, surgery often comes with risks, extended recovery periods, and high costs. Regenerative medicine provides a non-invasive alternative to promote healing and relieve pain naturally.
Regenerative Medicine’s Approach to Hand & Wrist Pain
What is Regenerative Medicine?
Regenerative medicine uses the body’s own healing mechanisms to repair damaged tissues, reduce inflammation, and restore function in the hand and wrist.
Types of Regenerative Treatments
- Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy:
PRP involves drawing a small amount of your blood, isolating the platelets, and injecting them into the injured area. These platelets release growth factors that accelerate healing of ligaments, tendons, and joints. - Prolotherapy:
Prolotherapy involves a natural solution that is injected into the hand or wrist to stimulate the body’s repair process, strengthening weakened tendons or ligaments.
Benefits of Regenerative Medicine
- Non-Surgical: Avoid the complications and downtime of surgery.
- Natural Healing: Stimulates the body’s own repair mechanisms.
- Pain Relief: Reduces inflammation and improves function.
- Quick Recovery: Most patients can return to normal activities within days.
- Long-Lasting Results: Treats the root cause of pain for sustained relief.
Take the Next Step Toward Pain-Free Living
If hand and wrist pain is limiting your daily activities, regenerative medicine may be the solution you’ve been searching for. By addressing the underlying cause of your pain, these cutting-edge treatments offer natural, long-lasting relief. Contact a regenerative medicine specialist today to learn how you can regain strength, mobility, and comfort in your hands and wrists.
Disclaimer: Individual results vary. Not all patients will have the same post-procedure recovery and activity level. See your physician to discuss your potential benefits and risks.
The Lipogems System is a sterile medical device intended for the closed-loop processing of your own fat tissue in medical procedures involving the harvesting, concentrating and transferring of your own fat (adipose) tissue harvested with a legally marketed lipoplasty system. This can be a minimally invasive procedure that’s done in the office, to support soft tissue defects and may promote healing in orthopedics and arthroscopic surgery. Lipogems may or may not appropriate for all patients.
Like any medical procedure, there is a risk for soreness, redness, swelling, and/or pain. These procedures require needle access (size, location and depth vary depending on the procedure) and this may result in (but not limited to), discomfort, pain, apprehension, bruising, tenderness, bleeding, swelling, or infiltration at the injection site. Other symptoms that may occur include lightheadedness, fainting, nausea, or vomiting. There is slight risk of infection at the injection site and have minimal risk of adverse reactions or complications as with any other injection procedure. Since the fat is from your own body there is little concern of disease transmission, allergic reaction or tissue rejection. For patients with chronic medical conditions such as autoimmune, diabetes, heart or lung disease, circulatory diseases or obesity, extreme caution may be necessary.
There are rare but possible risks and complications due to fat transfer including an allergic reaction to the local anesthetic, damage to underlying structures, hematoma or seroma (an accumulation of blood or fluid under the skin that may require removal), changes in sensation, unsatisfactory results that may necessitate additional procedures, permanent discoloration caused by a ruptured blood vessel at the treatment site, calcification, a divet in the area of the tissue harvest, peri-operative bleeding, a blood clot at the treatment or donor site, an infection, scar tissue, and a fat embolism caused by a fat injection mistakenly directed into a blood vessel, and death.
The information presented is for educational purposes only. Speak to your doctor to decide if Lipogems procedure is appropriate for you. Individual results vary and not all patients will return to the same activity level. The lifetime of any procedure is limited and depends on several factors like patient weight and activity level. Your doctor will counsel you about strategies for your post-procedural care. It is important to closely follow your physician’s instructions regarding post-procedure activity, treatment and follow-up care. Ask your doctor if Lipogems procedure is right for you.
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