De Quervain’s Disease is a condition in which the tendons and tendon sheath that control the thumb swells. This inflammation causes pain, discomfort, stiffness, and restrictions in the movement of the wrist and thumb. When attempting to grip or rotate the wrist, the pain will be most evident and can include difficulty with thumb movements.
Symptoms and causes
Various symptoms may indicate the condition of De Quervain. You will be experiencing pain in your wrist and thumb, which may move upwards towards your forearm. The base of your thumb may be swollen, and you may be noticing difficulty in moving your wrist or thumb.
Your thumb and wrist area might go numb, or have increased pain levels with twisting the wrist. A squeaking sound may be heard when you try to move your thumb.
There is no definite cause of De Quervain’s, but there are various factors that are known to contribute to it. You may have been overusing your wrist. Repeated motions cause the sheaths in the thumb side of your wrist to get swollen, which restricts the movement of the tendons, causing pain and discomfort.
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis may also experience this condition due to their bodies already experiencing swelling of joints that may be in this region, and additional movement results in De Quervain. Injury to the wrist or pregnancy may also be factored in who is susceptible to this condition.
Why you should get your De Quervain’s Disease treated
You should definitely not delay your treatment of De Quervain’s Disease as leaving the condition alone untreated over time. It can become permanent. Additionally, non-invasive forms of treatment have proven successful, but without early intervention, surgery may become necessary.
If your condition gets even worse, you may experience a permanent restriction to your movement, and your tendon sheath has the risk of bursting.
With the first symptoms of swelling and discomfort, seeking medical help diagnosing your condition means earlier treatment options. De Quervain’s Disease may present much like arthritis and several other conditions, which means a proper diagnosis helps target the treatments needed as soon as possible.
Getting the swelling under control quickly ensures you can resume normal activities and work without additional pain or loss of movement.