Got Pain?( New less invasive treatments all...),Health

New, less invasive treatments alleviate hand and wrist discomfort

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Tying a shoe, typing an email, opening a jar, texting on a Blackberry. The mobility of our fingers and wrists can often be taken for granted. That is until the throbbing pain begins, and interferes with simple, everyday tasks. According to new research presented at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) (http://www.aaos.org/), there are new alternatives other than surgery for hand and wrist pain.

"Outside of the brain, the hand is the most versatile part of the body," stated A. Lee Osterman, M.D. and professor of orthopedic and hand surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. "When the 27 bones, cartilage, joints, tendons and nerves in the hand do not work as they should, deformity, motion loss and disability become a painful reality for many people."

According to the latest numbers available, in 2006:

• More than 3 million people visited their physician due to wrist pain and more than 7 million for hand and finger pain.

Common hand and finger problems can include arthritis in the base of the thumb, Dupuytren's Disease (a thickening of tissues causing the fingers to curl toward the palm) and nerve pain, explains Dr. Osterman. But new treatments, like arthroscopy, collagenase injections, nerve wraps, desensitization techniques, therapeutic techniques and neuroleptic medications -- both oral and injectable -- (examples include Vitamin C and Botulinum injections) have aided a hand surgeon's ability to combat these problems and get patients back to full function.