In general, you need to see a doctor right away if your wrist hurts a lot and is hard to move.
The case of sprains at all levels responds well to ice packs or cold compresses by reducing swelling and numbing the surrounding nerves that cause pain. Ice therapy is especially important in cases of level 2 and 3 wrist sprains due to increased swelling around the site of injury. Rock therapy on a sprained wrist after an injury every 1 to 2 hours, each time for 10-15 minutes is very effective after about 1 day and helps reduce pain significantly, so that movement is easy easier.
Notice the swelling is not the same as bruising. Bruising is caused by blood from small arteries or veins that enter the tissues. Level 1 sprain usually does not cause bruising, unless a strong impact ruptures blood vessels under the skin. Grade 2 sprains are usually swollen, but may not be bruised much - depending on how the injury occurs. Level 3 sprains cause a lot of swelling and often bruising significantly because the injury severely breaks the ligament seriously enough to break or damage the blood vessels around.
Basically, every case of wrist sprains at level 1 and some level 2 sprain will improve significantly after a few days, especially when the wound is kept frozen and cold. If your wrists look better, there is no obvious swelling and can move without pain, there is no need for medical intervention. If the sprain is heavier (level 2) but feels much better after a few days (although there is still swelling and pain), you need to wait a little longer to recover. However, if the wound does not improve much or worsen after a few days, it is necessary to have a medical examination as soon as possible.
Types of accidents or injuries that cause wrist sprains can also cause wrist fractures. In general, the bigger and stronger the bone, the less likely it is to have a traumatic fracture - instead of stretching and tearing the ligament. However, if the bone is broken, there is often a deviation or cropping. Eight wrist bones are quite small, so wrist deflection and twisting can be difficult (or impossible) to recognize, especially in the case of bone fractures, and the more severe fractures are easier to identify.
The degree and type of wrist fracture also depends on the severity of the injury, but is often described as a throbbing motion and pain when motionless. Pain from wrist fractures often increases when grasping or squeezing hands; This condition usually does not occur when sprains are present.
Wrist fractures often cause more symptoms in the hand, such as stiffness, numbness or unable to move the finger, due to the possibility of injury / nerve damage. There is also a cracking sound when the wrist is broken; This does not happen in the case of wrist sprains.
As mentioned, a mild to moderate sprain can last after 1-2 days if you are rested and chilled, but in the case of a fracture it is not. The case of fracture may be an exception, most broken bones need more time to recover than sprains. Thus, a few days of applying ice and resting doesn't work much to help relieve symptoms in cases of fractures. You may feel worse when your body has experienced an initial shock when you are injured.
The above information can show you how to diagnose wrist injuries that are sprains or fractures, but only diagnostic methods such as X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or scans. new computerized tomography (CT scan) can be determined accurately in most cases - except for broken bones that pierce the skin.
X-rays are the most common and economical method to observe small bones in the wrist. Your doctor may recommend a x-ray of your wrist so the radiologist can read the results before consulting. X-rays show only images of bones that do not see soft tissue like ligaments or tendons. Broken bones are difficult to read by X-rays due to their small size and limited space, which may take several days to be seen clearly on X-ray images. Therefore, to see more ligament lesions, the doctor will recommend you an MRI or CT scan.
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