Tendovaginitis of the wrist joint: treatment, causes

Tendovaginitis is a rather dangerous disease characterized by severe symptoms. In the absence of therapy, such a disease can lead to a mass of complications, including necrosis of surrounding tissues. And today, people are increasingly interested in questions about what constitutes tendosynovitis of the wrist joint, the treatment of this disease, the causes of its occurrence and the main symptoms.

What is Tendovaginitis?

It's not a secret that the muscle tendons are located in a kind of connective tissue pouch called the tendon sheath. Tendovaginitis is a serious disease that is accompanied by inflammation of these structures.

In most cases, the inflammatory process affects the tissues of the most mobile joints, which all the time have to bear heavy loads. In particular, it is the joints of the foot and ankle, as well as the forearm. Nevertheless, in modern medicine, one of the most common forms is precisely the tendovaginitis of the wrist joint.

The main causes of the disease

Inflammation of connective tissue around the tendons can be caused by various reasons. Immediately it is worth mentioning that tendovaginitis can have both infectious and non-infectious origin.

Infectious inflammation is caused by the penetration of pathogenic microorganisms into the cavity of the synovial vagina. Bacteria can enter the connective tissue bag through wounds and cracks on the skin or from other inflammation foci in the patient's body.

Noninfectious (aseptic) form of the disease, as a rule, is associated with mechanical damage to the synovial membrane. Tendovaginitis can be the result of a strong stretch, prolonged physical exertion, as well as micro-trauma (when the wrist constantly performs the same movements), severe hypothermia.

Aseptic tendovaginitis

As already mentioned, noninfectious tenosynovitis develops against the background of permanent microtrauma of muscles and tendons. In fact, such a disease is more professional and is diagnosed in people who, by the nature of their activity, are obliged to repeat the same movements with the wrist. For example, the disease often becomes a companion of professional athletes (golfers, skiers, volleyball players), musicians, factory workers, etc.

As a rule, at the initial stages the disease proceeds without visible symptoms - patients only complain of fast-arising fatigue in the wrist, and sometimes not too much pain. But as the disease progresses, soreness becomes more intense.

Infectious form of the disease

Pathogenic bacteria can enter the joint tissues from the outside - through various skin lesions. In addition, the risk factors include osteomyelitis, panaritium and arthrosis of the wrist joint, which is accompanied by the release of pus. Infection can be specific - tendovaginitis often develops as a complication in tuberculosis, brucellosis, syphilis and some other diseases.

Most often, such a disease is acute, accompanied by severe pain, immobilization of the joint and an increase in temperature.

Other forms of the disease

To date, there are many classification systems for this disease. As already mentioned, the disease "tendovaginitis", depending on the cause of its occurrence, can be infectious or aseptic.

In addition, depending on the features of the clinical picture, tendovaginitis can be serous (in the focus inflammation accumulates serous fluid), purulent (formation and accumulation of purulent masses) or serous-fibrinous.

Depending on the nature of the course, the disease can be acute (usually associated with trauma or infection of tendon sheaths) or chronic (in most cases, people of certain professions suffer from this form of the disease).

Tendovaginitis of the wrist joint and its symptoms

What are the signs of tendovaginitis? The photo shows that in most cases with a disease you can notice swelling and redness of the skin in the joint area. In the infectious form of the disease, the symptoms can also include fever, weakness, and other signs of intoxication.

Pain in the wrist joint can have different intensity, but is always present. Patients sometimes complain of tingling, numbness, and sometimes sharp, severe burning sensation in the wrist. In such people everything literally falls from the hands, as the brush is no longer able to cope with its functions. As the disease develops, joint movements are severely restricted. Soreness increases with physical activity, and also at night, which, accordingly, affects the quality of sleep.

Modern diagnostic methods

Of course, if you have symptoms, you should immediately consult a doctor. First, the specialist will necessarily conduct a visual examination and collect anamnesis. In the presence of stiffness, pain in the wrist, redness and puffiness of the joint, the doctor may suspect the presence of tendovaginitis. Additional studies are carried out to confirm the diagnosis.

In particular, valuable information can be given by radiography - the pictures allow us to distinguish tendovaginitis from other pathologies with a similar clinical picture, in particular, osteomyelitis and arthritis. Ligamentography is also performed - during the procedure the patient is given an X-ray photograph, but with the use of a contrast agent. In addition, additional tests are performed for the presence of infection and concomitant diseases, since in this case it is important to determine the primary cause of inflammation of the tendon sacs.

Tendovaginitis of the wrist joint: treatment

Immediately it is worth noting that only a specialist should be involved in therapy. Self-medication and refusal of medical care can lead to unfortunate consequences, up to loss of joint mobility or tissue necrosis.

What is being prescribed to a patient with a diagnosis of a tendonitis of the wrist joint? Treatment, of course, depends on the form and causes of the disease. For example, if the inflammation is secondary, it is important to find the root cause of the disease and eliminate it.

First of all, a bandage of the wrist joint is needed. Modern medicine offers a lot of special pads, bandages and orthoses that will not have a big impact on the quality of life. At the first stages of therapy, it is extremely important to release the joint from any physical activity. A bandage wrist joint helps and completely immobilize the brush.

In those cases when the inflammatory process is caused by the activity of pathogenic bacteria, patients undergo antibacterial therapy - antibiotics are selected individually, depending on the sensitivity of the pathogenic flora to those or other components. In most cases, oral intake of tablets is sufficient. But in more severe situations, solutions of antibiotics are injected directly into the synovial vagina.

Attacks of pain are stopped with novocaine or other analgesics. In addition, therapy includes the use of anti-inflammatory drugs - it can be both non-steroidal and hormonal agents. With purulent tendovaginitis, sometimes you have to open the cavities of the synovial vagina, remove purulent masses and treat the tissues with antiseptics or antibacterial drugs.

Extremely effective are various methods of physiotherapy, in particular, warming compresses. For example, patients are often recommended paraffin applications. Modern medicine also uses UHF-therapy. Mud treatment will also be useful.

After eliminating the inflammatory process, a different task comes to the fore: it is necessary to restore the mobility of the joint. To this end, the patient is selected a set of therapeutic exercises for gymnastics, and also recommends regular sessions of massage.

Tendovaginitis of the wrist joint: treatment with folk remedies

Of course, traditional medicine has a mass of various recipes that can help in the treatment of such a disease. For example, a good folk remedy is dried flowers of marigold, from which you can prepare an ointment. This plant has bactericidal properties, and also removes inflammation. To prepare the medicine you need to mix the dried flowers of the plant and the usual children's cream in equal quantities. The resulting mixture is applied to the skin around the affected joint, top with a bandage and leave overnight.

There is another, no less effective folk remedy. To prepare a compress, you will need to mix the egg white with a tablespoon of flour and the same amount of alcohol. Stir the ingredients thoroughly. In the resulting mixture, moisten the strip of cotton fabric, then wrap the wrist around them and leave them overnight. Such a compress differs in warming properties.