Osteopathy for wrist complaints

Wrist complaints can have a significant impact on your daily life. A simple action such as writing, typing, exercising, or carrying a grocery bag can cause pain. Some people only experience occasional discomfort in their wrist, while others are limited daily by pain, stiffness, loss of strength, or swelling.

At Andromeda Centrum voor Osteopathie, we look beyond just the location of the pain. Wrist complaints can arise from local overloading, but also from restrictions elsewhere in the body. Furthermore, we always ask ourselves why a specific action or movement results in local overloading. What precedes this? Why is the local load-bearing capacity reduced? Therefore, our osteopaths carefully investigate which factors contribute to your complaints.

With more than twenty years of experience, Marc van Leeuwen and Sten Bierens help adults, children, and athletes with various complaints of the hand, wrist, and arm. Personal attention is always central to our approach.

What are wrist complaints?

Wrist complaints are issues that occur around the wrist joint, the hand, or the forearm. The complaints can arise suddenly after a fall or injury, but can also develop gradually due to prolonged strain. The wrist consists of a complex interaction of bones, joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, blood vessels, and nerves. When one of these structures functions less effectively, complaints can arise. Furthermore, pain in the wrist is not always caused by a problem in the wrist itself. Sometimes the elbow, shoulder, neck, or even the rib cage play a role in the development of complaints.

Common symptoms of wrist complaints

People with wrist complaints often experience one or more of the following symptoms:

• Pain in the wrist
• Pain in the hand or thumb
• Stiffness during movement
• Reduced strength
• Swelling around the joint
• Tingling in the hand or fingers
• A feeling of instability
• Reduced stability
• Radiating pain to the arm or hand
• Discomfort when gripping or lifting
• Complaints at night

Certain conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome, De Quervain’s disease, or a TFCC injury can cause similar symptoms.

How common are wrist complaints?

Wrist complaints are common among both athletes and people with a sedentary profession. Tasks involving many repetitive movements can also cause overloading of the wrist. In such cases, we always ask ourselves why the load-bearing capacity of the wrist is reduced. Our experience is that this is often preceded by a specific event.

Additionally, we regularly see complaints following a fall, surgery, or prolonged strain on the hand and forearm. Due to the many functions of the wrist, irritation occurs relatively quickly when the load-bearing capacity decreases.

What does the osteopath examine in the case of wrist complaints?

During the first appointment, the osteopath takes extensive time to map out your wrist complaints. We discuss, among other things, the nature of the pain, when the complaints arise, previous injuries or surgeries, your workload, sports activities, and your general health. This comprehensive intake helps to gain a complete picture of your situation and the possible factors playing a role in the complaints.

The conversation is followed by a physical examination. This involves looking not only at the wrist itself but also at surrounding structures such as the hand, thumb, forearm, elbow, shoulder, and neck. The osteopath assesses, among other things, the mobility, stability, tension, and function of these areas to better understand how the complaints arose and are being maintained.

Because the cause of wrist complaints does not always lie at the site of the pain, the osteopath also investigates possible underlying factors. These may include loss of movement in other joints, increased muscle tension, the influence of stress, scar tissue after surgery, disrupted movement patterns, or the consequences of old injuries. Based on all findings, a treatment plan is drawn up that aligns with your personal situation and recovery capacity.