Are you aware that about 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain? Chronic pain contributes to the most common medical problem reported by most individuals. From back pain to wrist pain and leg pain, it severely affects your daily life activities. Seeking comprehensive medical care is the most effective way to treat chronic pain. If you are looking for lasting wrist pain relief, you can benefit from a carpectomy Chula Vista specialist at Ortho 1 Medical Group. Please keep reading to understand what carpectomy is and what it involves.
What is a carpectomy?
It is a surgical procedure to treat wrist pain by removing some wrist bones. Usually, the wrist has eight bones, known as carpal bones, arranged in two rows.
Carpectomy or proximal row carpectomy involves your surgeon removing three carpal bones next to your arm. Taking out the bones forms a gap that reduces stress in the joint, lowering friction between the wrist bones and alleviating pain.
The surgical procedure modifies your wrist structure, lowering its range of motion compared to the normal wrist movement. It only allows limited mobility, which is better than the too painful and stiff wrist before.
Reasons you might need a carpectomy
Osteoarthritis is the most definite reason to have a carpectomy. Typically, osteoarthritis causes cartilage damage. As the condition progresses, more cartilage breaks down, causing bones to rub against each other, which results in severe pain.
Osteoarthritis keeps on getting worse so are the symptoms. It causes chronic pain and loss of motion in your wrist.
You may also need a carpectomy if you have the following degenerative wrist conditions.
Post-traumatic arthritis
You are at risk of having arthritis if you have wrist injuries. Post-traumatic wrist arthritis commonly occurs from scaphoid nonunion advanced collapse wrist and scapholunate advanced collapse wrist.
Scapholunate advanced collapse wrist occurs after a ligament injury, while scaphoid nonunion advanced collapse wrist results when one of the bones doesn’t heal after a fracture.
Chronic dislocation
One of the three bones in your wrist keeps dislocating after an injury. It leads to damage that increases the development of arthritis.
Kienbock disease
It’s a condition that occurs due to a disrupted blood flow to the wrist bones, damaging the bone and causing it to collapse. A carpectomy allows the removal of the dead bone and the other two bones.
What happens after a carpectomy?
After your procedure, your provider recommends wearing a splint or a cast to prevent wrist movement and enhance tissue healing. It’s critical to keep moving your fingers to avoid stiffness.
The soreness and stiffness may take some months to disappear; however, you should experience lasting pain relief after your wrist heals.
Living with a degenerative disease that causes pain can be distressing, including limited wrist movement. Finding medical help, including comprehensive diagnosis and treatment, may help you find relief.
A carpectomy involves removing part of your wrist bones to promote pain relief. Though the treatment may cause limited pain relief, it might be better than the pain and stiffness. Do not let debilitating wrist pain dictate your life. Call Ortho 1 Medical Group today to schedule your consultation.
