Arthritis Wrist Pain

By Health & Medical Last updated Saturday, April/20/2024

Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms

When rheumatoid arthritis affects the wrist, you can experience some level of pain or discomfort. It is often accompanied by some visible swelling and a decrease in your range of motion. In some cases, you can also experience weakness and even joint deformity. As time passes, this inflammatory condition may diffuse out into other regions of the body, such as the elbows, knees and hips, where you will notice some of the same symptoms.

In osteoarthritis, you'll also experience some level of pain or discomfort within the wrist. Much like rheumatoid arthritis, a marked swelling or weakness as well as a limited range of motion often accompanies the condition. However, you won't suffer any sort of joint deformity, and it rarely diffuses out into other areas of the body.

Arthritis wrist pain develops differently in each person and is typically based on the type of arthritis. With rheumatoid arthritis, your body's immune response is responsible for the inflammation, as your system actually targets healthy tissue and causes it to abnormally degenerate over time. With osteoarthritis, it is more about repetitive stress. As you move the wrist, the cartilage can begin to breakdown from overuse, eventually leading to inflammation and the development of this degenerative condition.

As with almost any pain, treatment is based on the direct cause. With arthritis wrist pain, it depends on the type of arthritis you are dealing with. In rheumatoid arthritis, treatment often begins with some type of medication. NSAIDs, or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, are one of the more common medications, but you may also need corticosteroids to better reduce inflammation or immunosuppressants to counteract your body's immune response. It may even be necessary to use a prescription analgesic to reduce pain.

In osteoarthritis, treatment is usually isolated to nonprescription medications, like NSAIDs or topical pain relievers, to reduce both inflammation and associated wrist pain (as well as some self-care measures). But with more severe cases of the condition, you may need a prescription analgesic, cortisone shots or actual painkillers to ease your pain and discomfort.

With both forms of arthritis wrist pain, it is also important to put in place some self-care measures to bring about relief. These usually include periodically resting the wrist, modifying activities that can exacerbate the problem and heat or cold therapy, which is the application of heat or ice to ease pain and reduce swelling, respectively. It may also be necessary to consult with a physical therapist to come up with exercises that can strengthen and limber the wrist as well as better support the hand.

Though not always necessary, more severe cases of degeneration and pain may result in a surgical procedure to clean the wrist, repair any tendons or even replace the joint. Your doctor can help you decide if surgery is the right option for you.