Why is my wrist so painful?

Symptoms:

You have intense pain in your wrist which has come on suddenly, especially near the base of the thumb. You spend a lot of time at your computer typing.

You’re middle-aged and you started to notice numbness and tingling in your thumb forefinger and third finger which is worse at night but relieved if you raise your elbow on a pillow.

You fell heavily onto your outstretched hands and now have a wrist pain. Moving the hand up and down and twisting it are particularly painful.

It could be:

Repetitive stress injury after repetitive wrist movement. The tissues around muscle tendons swell and become painful (tendonitis).

Carpal tunnel syndrome. In middleage the wristband holding tendons in place can thicken and tighten causing pain in the fingers as nerves are constricted.

A sprain, a common injury which can range from minor to severe depending on the fall and usually due to damaging the ligaments around the wrists.

Stop it:

Take painkillers to relieve pain and inflammation. Stop typing completely for five days to give the inflammation a chance to settle. Get an arm rest so that your wrist is in a good positon during typing. If the pain hasn’t subsided within a week see your doctor.

Take painkillers and sleep with your arm resting on several pillows. See your doctor. If you’re in severe pain the tissues of the “tunnel” can be snipped and released with simple surgery.

Most sprains don’t require medical attention, but if pain and stiffness persist you should see your doctor. A firm crepe bandage will support and relieve pain. Take ibuprofen.