Wrist Tendonitis: common condition that many will struggle with
Everyone who has played tennis for a long time knows that injury is something that comes with the territory.
Some people struggle with their backs, others with their rotator cuff and yet others with tennis elbow. Another relatively common condition that many will struggle with is wrist tendonitis.
Wrist tendonitis, medically speaking, is an inflammation of the peritendinous area of the wrist flexor muscless.
The muscles that allow the wrist to move originate at the medial epicondyle, and combine with various tendons and other muscles closer to the forearm.
The flexor muscles of the forearm are:
• Flexor carpi radialis muscle • Extensor digitorum muscle • Flexor digitorum profundus muscle • Flexor digitorum superficialis muscle • Pronator quadratus muscle • Flexor pollicis longus muscle • Brachioradialis • Extensor carpi radialis longus muscle • Extensor carpi ulnaris muscle • Anconeus muscle • Supinator muscle • Adductor pollicis muscle • Extensor pollicis longus muscle • Extensor pollicis brevis muscle • Extensor indicis muscle
The movement of the hand and wrist is thanks to careful organization and control of various muscles by the brain.
In tennis, the closing movement of the hand and orientation of the forearm are the most important movements involving the forearm and wrist, as these allow us to grip our rackets and hit the ball.
Wrist pain as it relates to tennis usually manifests when trying to grip the racket tightly. Any force applied to the wrist also tends to produce pain.
But what causes this pain? The usual culprit is inflammation of the sheath that envelops the tendon. This causes it to slip and results in pain.
The carpal area is comprised of a retinaculum of tendons and ligaments that allow mobility and stability for the hand. Inside this retinaculum, swelling can cause excessive friction, with consequent inflammation and difficulty with sliding wrist tendons.
REALD ALSO: Osgood-Schlatter disease
In tennis, problems in the wrist are exacerbated by that fact that each time the racket strikes the ball there is a large vibration at both the elbow and the wrist, which causes stress and discomfort.
Wrist pain can be a nuisance in both in sport and everyday life, making normal tasks unnecessarily difficult.
So what can we do about this sort of pain then?
Muscle stretching of the forearm can help, as it allows for the elasticization of the muscles.
In my physiotherapy practice, fascial treatment has proven to be very useful when treating these sorts of soft tissues. It allows for the dissolving of the band that wraps the muscle, thus freeing "traffic jams" in the tendon.
Physical therapy also helps a lot, as well as Tecar therapy, laser therapy and ultrasound. These therapies are used to reduce inflammation locally, but do not address the root cause of the problem.
It is also useful to review the movements you make when hitting your shots, to see if you are putting any undue stress on the area.
Dr. Daniel Di Segni
Doctor in Physiotherapy
Post-operative treatment
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2PIlNvM
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