If you’re suffering from wrist pain—often accompanied by pain in the hands—you’re not alone. Wrist pain is a common condition with a variety of causes. The wrist joint plays a role in so many of our basic movements. Writing and texting, participating in physical activities, even holding objects become daunting tasks for those experiencing wrist pain.
When wrist pain occurs, it can interfere with daily activities and impact your quality of life. While damage to the wrist is not always avoidable, managing underlying health conditions such as arthritis, practicing proper form when gripping or lifting objects, and performing muscle strengthening exercises can decrease your risk of a wrist injury and help you find the wrist pain relief you have been looking for.
All About Your Wrists
The wrist is a small but very complex joint that connects your hand to your forearm and allows for a wide range of movement. The wrist is a collection of multiple bones, joints, tendons, ligaments, nerves, and blood vessels. When there is a problem with any of these structures, it can result in pain, impaired function, and even immobility.
With so many parts working together to allow movement, the wrist is very susceptible to injury and underlying conditions that can worsen over time. It can be difficult to identify the cause of pain in the wrists, so identifying your symptoms and consulting a professional for hand and wrist therapy is a great first step toward diagnosis and long-lasting wrist pain relief.
Professional’s hand therapists work with you to assess and address your specific needs to create a personalized an individualized treatment plan for your wrist pain.
Our physical therapists will diagnose your pain or injury and customize a wrist pain treatment plan just for you. We will work in an effective way to get you back on your feet, focused on your wellness before, during and after therapy.
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What Are Common Wrist Pain Symptoms?
It is possible for wrist pain to develop with no definitive cause. When this happens, the primary focus is on treating the symptoms rather than the cause of the symptoms. Identifying your wrist pain symptoms is the first step to getting the specific treatment you require for wrist pain relief. Common symptoms that can indicate a wrist injury or condition include:
Swollen fingers
Bruising, swelling, or redness around the wrist
Warmth in the wrist joint
Difficulty gripping objects or making a fist
Sharp, sudden pain in the hand or wrist
Stiffness in the wrist, hand, or fingers
Difficulty holding objects
Popping or clicking noises with wrist movement
Numbness or tingling in the hands or fingers
A “pins and needles” feeling in the hands or fingers
Common Conditions that Cause Wrist Pain
Wrist pain is unique in both its causes and the methods we use to help manage it. Diagnosing and managing pain at an early stage can help limit symptoms in both time and severity. Click on the diagnoses below to see detailed information about how the physical therapists at Professional treat these common causes of wrist pain:
Physical Therapy Treatment Techniques for Wrist Pain
Professional’s physical therapists and certified hand therapists (CHTs) are experts in helping you manage consistent or sudden wrist pain. Below are just a few of the skills and techniques we use for ongoing wrist pain treatment or rehabilitation after an injury or surgery:
Joint Mobilization
Manual Therapy
Sports Injury Rehabilitation
Exercise Therapy
Flexibility Training
Health & Wellness Strategies
If your wrist pain is caused by an injury, muscle activation, mobility, and strength-building exercises are essential to the recovery process. Our certified hand therapists can guide you through a treatment plan targeting the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and soft tissues in your wrist that have weakened due to a period of immobility. While pain in your wrist is often treatable and preventable with ongoing physical therapy, serious conditions may require surgical intervention. When surgery cannot be avoided, research shows that physical therapy is a vital part of your road to recovery, both before and after your procedure.
Before a surgery to address wrist pain caused by severe conditions, physical therapy allows you to strengthen your muscles, learn what to expect post-surgery, and develop a home exercise routine, which may include a custom splint, to prepare for the journey ahead. Post-surgery physical therapy targets regaining strength, mobility, flexibility, and managing scar tissue to help you heal properly and recover most effectively.
Insurances We Accept
Below is a condensed list of insurances we participate with throughout our network of physical therapy clinics. Find your particular provider below based on your area. For a complete listing of all insurance providers and individual plans by name: CLICK HERE FOR OUR FULL INSURANCE PAGE.
No matter the cause of your wrist pain, Professional’s hand therapists will work with you to create and facilitate a safe and effective treatment plan. Our certified hand therapists and physical therapists are trained specialists in wrist injuries, pain management, and pain relief for the wrists. When it comes to finding wrist pain relief, we ensure that our treatment is comprehensive, manageable, and customized to fit your specific symptoms and concerns. We don’t just help you treat your wrist pain one time and send you on your way. Our PTs make sure to educate you on the how and why of your wrist pain and put you on a path to ongoing wellness and prevention of more serious conditions.
Find the clinic nearest to you⇒ to speak with a Professional physical therapist who specializes in wrist pain treatment today.
We provide wrist pain relief and treatments from our physical therapy clinics throughout Manhattan NYC, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Fill out the form above, or contact a clinic near you to speak with a Professional Physical Therapist and wrist specialist today.
When should I seek physical therapy for wrist pain?
You should seek physical therapy as soon as wrist pain becomes noticeable, especially if it starts to interfere with your daily activities, since early treatment leads to faster, more effective relief. The main goal of physical therapy is to improve function and your daily quality of life by providing care that reduces your pain and increases your strength and mobility. Whether wrist pain is keeping you from performing simple daily tasks, meeting occupational demands, or playing at the top of your game, physical therapy is an effective sports medicine approach to treating a variety of wrist injuries and conditions.
Wrist pain can show up in a variety of ways. A good rule of thumb is to seek attention as soon as the pain is noticeable, especially if it starts to interfere with your everyday activities. Figuring out the source of your wrist pain is the first step to treating it. Professional’s hand therapists, many of whom specialize in occupational therapy, will discuss your concerns with you, examine the physical limitations of your upper extremities caused by your wrist pain, and create a plan to address your pain. Addressing the issue as soon as possible is key to obtaining wrist pain relief and preventing potential future injuries.
How can physical therapy help with wrist pain?
Physical therapy helps wrist pain by reducing swelling, stiffness, and weakness while restoring range of motion, and it can often delay or prevent the need for surgery. If you suffer from symptoms such as swelling, stiffness, weakness, or a limited range of motion of the wrist, or have wrist or elbow pain resulting from a traumatic injury or fracture, physical therapy can help better your quality of life.
Physical therapy is a non-surgical treatment to help patients who are experiencing wrist pain. There are many forms of manual treatment with physical therapy that can help to relieve wrist pain. With more than 60 hand specialists on our team, Professional PT is the largest provider of certified hand therapy⇒ in the Northeast. Our physical therapists and occupational therapists are trained specialists in wrist and hand injuries, pain management, and pain relief for the wrists.
How is wrist pain diagnosed?
Wrist pain is diagnosed through a combination of a physical evaluation, your medical history, and imaging such as a Clinical Exam, MRI, or X-Ray, which help pinpoint whether the cause is traumatic, repetitive strain, or an underlying condition like arthritis. Some causes are easy to identify, such as traumatic impact or injury. Some causes, such as wrist pain due to repetitive strain, illness, auto-immune-related pain and inflammation, or arthritis, are not so easy to identify. Whatever the cause, wrist pain is not something to be ignored.
If you have been referred to physical therapy, Professional’s PTs will conduct an initial physical evaluation to analyze the range of motion in your wrist, as well as any limitations you have due to your pain. Our physical and occupational therapy team works with you and information from your referring doctor to determine the make-up of your treatment plan. At Professional, you and your hand therapist will work together to understand the goals and expectations of each step in your unique treatment plan that focuses on providing wrist pain relief as quickly and efficiently as possible.
What is chronic wrist pain, and when should I be concerned?
Wrist pain is typically considered chronic once it has persisted for more than 3 months. Long-term persistent wrist pain may be due to more severe conditions, such as wrist tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, wrist bursitis, or De Quervain tenosynovitis (also known as radial styloid tenosynovitis). Consulting a certified hand therapist is an important step to lay the foundation for appropriate treatment before symptoms worsen.
Can wrist pain go away without physical therapy?
Mild, short-term wrist pain from minor strain can sometimes resolve on its own with rest. However, pain that persists, worsens, or is tied to an underlying condition is less likely to improve without treatment, and delaying care can allow the issue to become chronic or require more invasive intervention down the line.
Is wrist pain always a sign of arthritis?
No. While arthritis is a common cause of wrist pain, especially in older adults, wrist pain can also result from traumatic injury, repetitive strain, tendonitis, or nerve compression like carpal tunnel syndrome. A proper evaluation is the only way to determine the actual cause.
What's the difference between carpal tunnel syndrome and wrist tendonitis?
Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by compression of the median nerve, typically producing numbness, tingling, and weakness in the hand and fingers. Wrist tendonitis, by contrast, is inflammation of the tendons themselves, usually causing localized pain and stiffness with movement rather than nerve-related symptoms. Both conditions respond well to physical and occupational therapy when caught early.
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