SERVICES WE PROVIDE
Hand Therapy
Splinting & Bracing
Custom-Made Hand Splints
Wound Care
Outpatient Stroke Occupational Therapy
Wrist Sprain Hand Therapy Singapore
Sprained Thumb Physiotherapy Singapore
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis
Hand Therapy After Stroke
Broken Wrist
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Dupuytren’s Contracture
What should I bring to my hand therapy appointment?
Wrist Sprain Hand Therapy Singapore
Wrist injuries are actually one of the most common form of injuries, and they usually happen as a result of falling on an outstretched hand (FOOSH), as you try to break your fall with you hand.
What happens when this happens is that an introduction of traumatic forces enters the wrist, causing damage to the soft tissues such as ligaments, tendons, cartilages and muscles – in many instances, fractures such as a wrist fracture, finger fracture or even tiny carpal bone fractures may also happen.
What Exactly Is A Wrist Sprain?
Wrist sprains happens when the ligaments in the wrist are stretched beyond their normal limits. Our ligaments are really strong and fibrous tissues that keeps our bone joints stable and together – in your wrist, these ligaments stabilize the wrist joint such that it allows for full movements and loading through your wrist and hand.
There are a few degrees of sprains:
- Grade 1: Mild sprain – ligaments are slightly stretched, no tears
- Grade 2: Moderate sprain – ligaments partially torn at fibres level
- Grade 3: Severe sprain – ligaments are 100% torn / ruptured, and the wrist may be very unstable
Who Are At Risks For Wrist Sprain Hand Injury
Most of the time, wrist sprains happen during a fall. Hence, a person who either falls easily or falls often, regardless if it’s due to weather/elements/weakness/sports, are at higher risk of spraining their wrists.
This will mean that the group people more at risks are:
- Elderly who may fall often due to weakness or disease
- Young who may fall when they play
- Sports people who may fall due to impact or loss of balance in sports
- Etc
Wrist Sprain Hand Therapy: Signs And Symptoms
The most tell-tale sign is pain with movement in the wrist, but other signs are:
- you feel swelling in the wrist joint or around the wrist
- you feel bruised at your skin near the wrist or hand
- you feel pain and tenderness at your wrist
- you feel a nagging/numbness/tingling in your hand
- you feel that your wrist “feels loose”
- you find that your wrist “feels funny” and cant seem to use your hand as normal
Wrist Sprain Hand Therapy Interventions
In your first session with us, we will first assess and diagnose your wrist both by clinical interview and a physical examination. We have to perform differential diagnoses testing, which is to ensure that your wrist sprain isn’t or at least doesn’t have other problems such as fractures, tendinitis or cartilage damage, which presents similar symptoms.
We may even refer you to an orthopedic doctor or GP to perform an X-ray to exclude any possible fractures to the bones in the hand. If we find that your symptoms are severe and we suspect more injuries, we may also send you to the doctors to get an MRI done, to see the extent of soft tissue injuries that you may have.
If during the assessment we find that your wrist sprain is stable and safe enough to start therapy, we will start you on a progressive and safe hand therapy program, which may consist of the following therapies but is not limited to:
- paraffin wax bath (heat treatment)
- hotpack (heat treatment)
- progressive range of motion exercises
- progressive strengthening exercises
- ultrasound therapy to accelerate soft tissue healing
- splinting to increase healing and stability of the injured wrist joint