All arm and hand fractures require extraordinary care, with reconstruction and the many small joints and nerves requiring the expertise of hand surgery specialists. However, beyond accidental injuries, there are also a variety of common and painful lesions that the specialists at the Wáberer Orthopaedic Centre are trained to treat.
Perhaps the most well-known upper limb orthopaedic problem is the so-called tennis elbow and golf elbow. Although its name suggests a deformity of the elbow, it is actually caused by strain on the forearm and wrist. In tennis elbow, it affects the outer elbow flexor and forearm extensor muscles and can affect not only tennis players, but also people who do heavy manual work, typists and anyone else who frequently puts unilateral stress on the muscles that move the wrist backwards. In the case of the golf elbow, it is a strain on the muscles originating from the inner elbow flexor area. Both problems can be associated with severe pain when grasping objects and later even at rest. In both cases, simple surgery is recommended if conservative treatment fails.
Another common problem in the upper arm is carpal tunnel or carpal tunnel syndrome, which is a sign of a disease of the median nerve of the hand. It mainly affects pregnant women and women of varying ages, middle-aged men and men with rheumatic diseases. The “tunnel” between the wrist bones is where the hand flexor tendons and the so-called median nerve run. If the tendons swell for any reason, they simply pinch off this important nerve, causing hand and finger numbness. If left untreated, in advanced stages it can cause pain and even atrophy of the palmar muscle. Therefore, we recommend routine surgery under local anaesthesia or short anaesthesia by the Wáberer Orthopaedic Centre, after which complete relief from symptoms can be expected within a few weeks.
Dupuytren’s contracture is a disease that also affects the hands and fingers and starts with the appearance of nodules under the skin of the hand, but gradually progresses to the fingers bending into the palm and the patient becoming unable to use the affected fingers. The problem can be corrected by our experts at Wáberer Orthopaedic Centre in a one-day surgical procedure.
