Your wrist likely hurts when you fold it due to irritation or compression of nerves, ligaments, or other structures within the wrist joint, or possibly due to underlying conditions like osteoarthritis.
Here's a breakdown of the potential causes:
Possible Causes of Wrist Pain When Folding
-
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: This occurs when the median nerve, which runs through a narrow passage in your wrist called the carpal tunnel, becomes compressed.
- Explanation: Bending your wrist can increase the pressure within the carpal tunnel, further compressing the nerve. This compression can lead to pain, numbness, and tingling in your hand and fingers, especially when you fold your wrist.
-
Osteoarthritis: This degenerative joint disease can affect the wrist.
- Explanation: Osteoarthritis involves the breakdown of cartilage in the wrist joint, leading to inflammation and pain. Folding the wrist can put stress on the damaged joint surfaces, exacerbating the pain.
-
Ligament Injuries/Sprains: Ligaments connect bones to each other and provide stability.
- Explanation: If you've sprained or injured a ligament in your wrist, folding it can stretch or compress the damaged ligament, causing pain.
-
Tendonitis: Inflammation of the tendons that move your wrist and fingers.
- Explanation: Folding the wrist may put strain on the inflamed tendons, leading to pain and discomfort.
-
Other Possible Causes: Less common causes include ganglion cysts, De Quervain's tenosynovitis (affecting tendons on the thumb side of the wrist), and other forms of arthritis.
What to Do
If you're experiencing persistent wrist pain, it's essential to consult a doctor or physical therapist. They can properly diagnose the cause of your pain and recommend appropriate treatment, which might include:
- Rest and immobilization: Avoiding activities that aggravate the pain and using a wrist brace.
- Ice or heat: Applying ice or heat to reduce inflammation.
- Pain medication: Over-the-counter pain relievers like ibuprofen or naproxen.
- Physical therapy: Exercises to strengthen the wrist and improve range of motion.
- Injections: Corticosteroid injections to reduce inflammation (for certain conditions).
- Surgery: In some cases, surgery may be necessary to relieve pressure on the median nerve (for carpal tunnel syndrome) or repair damaged ligaments.
