Hand & Wrist Care

Your hands are complex and require specialized care. For the best outcome, partner with highly experienced experts at EvergreenHealth, home to an integrated hand therapy program and an excellent surgical team. Our fellowship-trained hand surgeons have extensive training in both orthopedics and plastic surgery, meaning you get complete care that helps your hand work, look, and feel better.

Diagnosing Your Condition

Expect a thorough assessment during your first visit to a hand surgeon at EvergreenHealth. Your doctor may:

• Evaluate your hand's movement and range of motion
• Order an X-ray exam to see the bones in your wrist, hand, or fingers
• Order nerve conduction testing to check for nerve problems

Hand & Wrist Conditions

There are various types of conditions that can impact the health of your hand, wrist and fingers. Some of the different conditions our experts can help diagnose and treat include:

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: This is when a nerve in the wrist becomes pinched and causes pain, a weak grip, numbness or even tingling in your fingers.
• Dislocation or Fracture: This is when either your joint pops out of place or a bone in your hand or wrist breaks.
• Osteoarthritis: This is caused by the cartilage in your hand or wrist breaks down, leaving your bones to rub against each other.
• Trigger Finger: This condition is characterized by pain and a popping sensation at the base of your finger or thumb. This may cause your finger to lock in place.
• Rheumatoid Arthritis: This is when cartilage breaks down due to an autoimmune disease, causing joint pain due to the inflamed lining of your joints and the break down of cartilage.

No matter what the cause of your discomfort or pain in your hand, wrist or fingers, our experts provide personalized treatment options that work with your lifestyle and expected outcomes.

Hand & Wrist Treatments

Your condition may or may not require surgical treatment. Either way, our specialized care team can get you back to living the lifestyle you want pain-free.

Nonsurgical treatment options include:

• Heat therapy to reduce pain and stiffness
• Ice to decrease swelling
• Injections of cortisone, a steroid that treats painful inflammation
• Splint, brace, or cast that stabilizes and protects an injured area

Additionally, our advanced Hand Therapy Program helps you gradually improve your injury or other condition through one-on-one guidance with a certified hand therapist.

If you and your doctor decide to move forward with surgery, some options may be:

• Fusion: Your surgeon will join bones together in the finger or wrist to prevent movement that has become painful.
• Joint Replacement: Exchanges an arthritic or damaged joint in the finger or wrist with an artificial joint that moves with significantly less pain
• Release Procedure: This type of surgery eases painful pressure for various conditions that involve a nerve, tendon or other type of tissue that is pinched or under pressure due to inflammation, like carpal tunnel disease, trigger finger or De Quervain's tenosynovitis.

Your surgeon will always use the most minimally invasive approach for your procedure, helping you recover faster with the least amount of pain.

Referrals to Other Specialists

An orthopedic hand specialist may ask you to see a physiatrist (rehabilitation doctor) or a spine specialist. One of these physicians can help determine if your hand symptoms are due to a health condition that affects other parts of your body, too.

Your surgeon works closely with other specialists, collaborating to give you seamless, well-rounded care. For your convenience, your appointments with different doctors and any necessary specialists are very likely to take place in the same building at EvergreenHealth Sport & Spine Care.

Custom Treatment Plan

You'll likely be able to choose from more than one hand treatment option, including surgical and nonsurgical approaches. Trust your orthopedic surgeon to explain the benefits of each and take time to answer all your questions, so you can make an informed decision. No matter what treatment you choose, your EvergreenHealth team will provide the support and follow-up care you need to achieve your best outcome.