Hand and wrist treatment

From picking up items to turning doorknobs, your hands and wrists support so many daily activities. Count on our orthopedic specialists to deliver treatments that reduce pain and improve flexibility so you can get on with life.

Advanced treatment for the hand and wrist: Why choose Aurora BayCare Medical Center?

Our fellowship-trained experts have completed additional training in anatomy, diagnosis and therapeutic techniques. We provide personalized care for work-related, sports-related and traumatic injuries. Program highlights include:

• Proven expertise: Our program is a regional referral center – doctors throughout the Green Bay area send people to us for care. Our experienced hand and wrist surgeons complete many operations each year.
• Leading-edge treatments: Our orthopedic specialists lead the field in new therapies. We were one of the first hospitals in Wisconsin to offer minimally invasive carpal tunnel surgery.
• Superior pain management: We use sophisticated pain control methods to block pain in the nerves before surgery. These methods lessen the need for narcotic pain killers after surgery.
• National recognition:S. News & World Report has designated our hip replacement and knee replacement programs as high performing. The publication also named Aurora BayCare Medical Center to its list of best regional hospitals.

Hand and wrist treatments and services

Our team addresses conditions of the hand and wrist with conservative, nonsurgical treatments first. We focus on helping you gain strength and increase range of motion. We offer:

Nonoperative orthopedics

We treat many hand and wrist conditions without surgery. Your personalized treatment plan may include:

• Strengthening routines: Our orthopedic rehabilitation team designs specific exercises to increase flexibility and build strength.
• Sophisticated treatments: Specialists in our regenerative medicine program offer stem cell therapy and platelet-rich plasma injections. These therapies are known as orthobiologics. They help your body replace cells to heal tissue damaged by arthritis and injury.

Surgical treatments

Our orthopedic surgeons use leading-edge operations to restore function when nonsurgical treatments don’t help. Surgical options include:

Hand and wrist arthroscopy

Surgeons insert an arthroscope, a thin instrument with an attached tiny camera, into a small incision. They insert miniature surgical tools through other incisions. With camera guidance, they use the tools to diagnose and repair damaged tissue.

Using arthroscopy, surgeons repair damage to tendons (tissue that attaches muscle to bone) and ligaments (tissue that connects bones). They also repair nerves, bones and damage to cartilage (tissue that cushions the ends of bones).

Recovery time is often shorter and complications are fewer with this type of surgery.

Wrist fusion

In wrist fusion surgery (arthrodesis), our surgeons join (fuse) the hand’s carpal bones to the inner bone of the forearm. They use this approach to relieve pain and create strength in the hand and wrist.

Wrist replacement

Surgeons may perform wrist replacement surgery, also known as wrist arthroplasty, when other treatments don’t relieve pain. Our experts remove damaged bone and replace it with an artificial implant (prosthesis) made of metal and plastic.

These sophisticated implants allow excellent range of motion. You may need to avoid heavy lifting and intense physical activity after total wrist replacement.

Hand and wrist conditions we treat

Your hands and wrists contain many small bones. They also include:

• Cartilage
• Muscles
• Nerves
• Tendons
• Ligaments

They are vulnerable to injury from trauma, overuse and disease. Our orthopedic specialists treat:

Arthritis

When protective cartilage that cushions bones wears away, bones make painful contact with each other. Cartilage deterioration can occur with:

• Osteoarthritis, an age-related condition
• Rheumatoid arthritis, a condition in which the immune system attacks tissue

Neuropathic conditions

Neuropathies are conditions that affect the nerves that carry signals from the brain to the rest of your body. These conditions may happen after injury, illness, infection or repetitive motion. Neuropathies can cause:

• Numbness
• Pain
• Tingling
• Weakness

We treat neuropathies of the hand and wrist. These conditions include:

• Carpal tunnel syndrome: Nerve damage that results from repetitive motion.
• Cubital tunnel syndrome: Nerve pressure that occurs when there is direct pressure on the nerve.
• Radial tunnel syndrome: Nerve compression that occurs near the elbow.

Fractures and dislocations

Bones in the hand or wrist may break (fracture) or move out of place (dislocation) after forceful contact. This contact can occur during sports, a fall or some other traumatic injury.

Ganglion cyst

Ganglion cysts are benign (noncancerous) lumps or bumps that appear on the hand or wrist. These cysts may fill with fluid and change in size.

Ganglion cysts may result from injury, arthritis or irritation of a joint or tendon. They may or may not be painful.

Sprain

When the hand or wrist bends or twists suddenly, injuries to ligaments, tendons and muscles can occur.

Tendinitis

Repetitive motion or overuse of the hands or wrists can cause inflammation (pain and swelling) in tendons.

Helping athletes recover

If injury keeps you from activities you love, our sports medicine team can get you back in the game. We’ll create an exercise program to improve strength, flexibility and range of motion.

Managing workplace injuries

When a job injury occurs, we streamline care to make getting back to work as seamless as possible. Our on-site musculoskeletal ultrasound expert offers same-day diagnosis so you can begin treatment right away.

Our team works with your employer to identify work tasks that are appropriate while you heal. Our occupational health specialists partner with your employer to get you back to work safely.