Non-surgical Rehabilitation
In almost all cases, it is preferable to try nonsurgical treatments first. Surgery is usually not considered until it has become impossible to control your symptoms.
To get rid of your pain, you may also need to limit your activities. You may even need to change jobs, if your work requires heavy, repetitive motions with the hand and wrist.
The first step in your One Wellness rehabilitation program is to help you manage your pain and use your wrist without causing more harm. Our physiotherapist may recommend nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin and ibuprofen, to help control swelling and pain.
Our rehabilitation services have a critical role in the treatment plan for wrist joint arthritis. The main goal of our physiotherapy is to help you learn how to control symptoms and maximize the health of your wrist. Our physiotherapist will teach you ways to calm your pain and symptoms. We may also implement other treatments, such as heat and topical rubs to control your pain.
Our physiotherapist may have you fitted with a special brace to help support the wrist and reduce your pain during activity. We may use range-of-motion and stretching exercises to improve your wrist motion. Dexterity and fine motor exercises are then used to get your hand moving smoothly. Eventually we will have you do strength exercises for the arm and hand. Strengthening exercises help steady the wrist and protect the joint from shock and stress. Our physiotherapist will give you tips on how to get your tasks done with less strain on the joint and keep your symptoms under control.
Although the rate of recovery is different for each person, you can expect to progress to a home program within about four to six weeks.
Post-surgical Rehabilitation
Your hand and wrist will be bandaged with a well-padded dressing and a splint for support after surgery. Although the time needed for rehabilitation varies, you may need to attend physiotherapy sessions for up to three months after surgery.
Our first few treatment sessions will focus on controlling the pain and swelling after surgery. We will then have you begin exercises that help strengthen and stabilize the muscles around the wrist joint. You will do other exercises to improve the fine motor control and dexterity of your hand. Our physiotherapist will give you tips on ways to do your activities without straining the wrist joint.
One Wellness provides services for physiotherapy in Canmore.