Your Hand & Wrist Specialists

HAND & WRIST OVERVIEW

The hand and wrist are involved in essentially all daily activities. It’s therefore not surprising that these structures are often injured, whether from direct trauma or gradual wear and tear.

Our orthopedic hand surgeons are specialists in treating common traumatic injuries including finger fractures, wrist fractures, flexor or extensor tendon lacerations, digital nerve lacerations, partial finger amputations, or ligament tears of the wrist or fingers. These injuries often need to be managed in an urgent manner, so early evaluation by a physician is critical to obtaining the best outcome. Some of these injuries can be treated with immobilization, while others may require surgery to repair the injured structure.

COMMON HAND & WRIST CONDITIONS

Common degenerative conditions include arthritis of the hand, arthritis of the wrist, and ulnar impaction syndrome. Our hand and wrist doctors can help you manage these problems non-surgically initially, with treatments including bracing, medication, hand therapy, activity modification, and biologic or steroid injections. Because degenerative conditions are often progressive over time, there can be a need for surgical intervention.

Carpal tunnel syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition in which pressure on the median nerve in the wrist causes numbness, weakness, and pain in the hand and wrist. Symptoms may travel from the wrist up to the arm.

In the early stages, simple things that can be done to help include taking more frequent breaks to rest the hands, avoiding activities that make symptoms worse, and applying cold packs to reduce swelling. Other treatment options include wrist splinting, medications, and cortisone injections. Surgery is recommended when carpal tunnel syndrome does not respond to non-surgical treatments or has already become severe. The goal of surgery is to increase the size of the tunnel in order to decrease the pressure on the nerves and tendons that pass through the space. This is done by cutting (releasing) the ligament that covers the carpal tunnel at the base of the palm.

Arthritis of the hand and wrist

Arthritis is inflammation of one or more of your joints, and it can occur in many areas of the hand and wrist. Symptoms can include pain or a burning sensation, swelling, cysts, a sensation of grating or grinding in the affected joint, or the joint may feel warm to touch (due to the body’s inflammatory response).

Treatment options depend on the type of arthritis (osteo or rheumatoid), stage of arthritis, how many joints are affected, your age, activity level, the hand affected (dominant hand) and other existing medical conditions.

Nonsurgical treatment options include bracing, medication, hand therapy, activity modification, and biologic or steroid injections. If nonsurgical treatments no longer provide relief and the cartilage at the ends of the bones has worn away, surgery may be an option. Surgical approaches include joint fusion, joint replacement, or tendon transfer.

Trigger finger

Trigger finger causes pain, stiffness, and a sensation of locking or catching when you bend and straighten your finger. The condition is also known as “stenosing tenosynovitis.” The ring finger and thumb are most often affected by trigger finger, but it can occur in the other fingers, as well. When the thumb is involved, the condition is called “trigger thumb.”

Symptoms of trigger finger often start without a single injury, and may include:
– A tender lump at the base of the finger on the palm side of the hand
– A catching, popping, or locking sensation with finger movement
– Pain when you bend or straighten the finger

Initial treatment for a trigger finger is usually nonsurgical, and can include rest, splinting, exercises, medications, and steroid injections. If the finger does not get better with nonsurgical treatment, trigger finger release surgery (tenolysis) may be considered.

HAND & WRIST PHYSICIANS

The hand and wrist specialists at Peachtree Orthopedics in Atlanta offer the full gamut of operative and non-operative solutions for your condition, ranging from tried and true interventions to cutting edge advances. Our doctors are leaders in minimally-invasive technology, including endoscopic carpal tunnel releases for carpal tunnel syndrome and Xiaflex injections for Dupuytren’s disease, both designed to get you back to the activities you love even faster.

All Hand and Wrist