What causes elbow, wrist and hand pain?
Your wrist and hand contain dozens of small bones and joints, and every one of them has to roll in its preferred path for you to grip, type or bear weight on your hand. The forearm muscles that move your fingers and thumb attach up at the elbow, so the elbow, forearm and wrist work as one unit. When a joint in that chain cannot move fully, a protective reflex sets off a secondary muscle spasm, and the tendons crossing that joint get irritated.
Tendinitis in the wrist, thumb or elbow is often a downstream problem. When the joints underneath a tendon are stuck, the tendon loses movement and pliability and becomes irritated. Fixing the joint mechanics first takes the strain off, so the tendon can calm and heal.
The thumb has more movement than any joint in your body except the shoulder, which makes it vulnerable to mechanical dysfunction. De Quervain's tenosynovitis, pain at the base of the thumb and pain with pinching often improve once the wrist and elbow are moving normally and the secondary spasm settles. Fixing the mechanics first is a sensible step before considering a cortisone injection.
Hours on a keyboard and mouse, scrolling a phone or repeating the same motion at work keep the wrist and forearm loaded at the edge of their range. Over time the joints stiffen and the forearm muscles tighten, until the pain is there even at night.
Turning your palm up and down depends on the elbow. The radial head has to rotate fully and the main elbow joint has to glide for the wrist to rotate without pain. Tennis elbow, golfer's elbow and pain with twisting are often driven by elbow joints that have stopped moving well.
Yoga, push-ups, planks, gymnastics and hand balancing all require full wrist extension. If the small joints of the wrist cannot roll into that position, pain shows up every time you load the hand. Restoring that motion is what gets you back to the mat.
Children get elbow and wrist pain too. A sudden pull on the arm can cause nursemaid's elbow, and young athletes can irritate growth areas with repetitive throwing or tumbling. A child who refuses to use an arm or guards it is telling you something, and gentle assessment can sort it out.
