Hand and wrist pain can significantly disrupt your daily life, making even simple tasks challenging. Knowing when to seek professional help from orthopedic hand doctors near you is crucial for timely diagnosis and effective treatment. If you’re experiencing discomfort, it’s important to recognize the signs that indicate it’s time to consult a specialist.
You should consider making an appointment with orthopedic hand doctors near you if you notice any of these symptoms:
- Persistent Cramping or Stiffness: Difficulty extending your fingers or experiencing stiffness that doesn’t subside.
- Unexplained Cysts: Noticing lumps or cysts developing on your fingers or wrists.
- Joint Pain During Activity: Finger joint pain that intensifies when performing actions like gripping, twisting, or lifting objects.
- Unusual Sounds in Joints: Hearing grinding, snapping, or clicking sounds when you bend or straighten your fingers.
- Pain with Finger Movement: Experiencing pain in your fingers or thumb when bending or extending them.
- Radiating Pain: Pain that starts in your hand and extends up your arm towards your elbow.
- Visible Signs of Injury: Swelling, redness, bruising, or warmth in your hand or wrist area.
- Tingling or Numbness: Persistent tingling or numbness sensations in your hand, fingers, or thumb, potentially indicating nerve issues.
These symptoms could be indicators of various underlying injuries or conditions that require expert evaluation and treatment. Orthopedic hand doctors specialize in diagnosing and treating a wide range of hand and wrist problems, including:
- Arthritis: Managing different types of arthritis affecting the hand and wrist, including basal thumb arthritis and osteoarthritis.
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Addressing nerve compression in the wrist, a common cause of hand pain and numbness.
- Deformities and Traumatic Injuries: Treating hand deformities and injuries resulting from accidents, falls, or sports.
- Dupuytren’s Disease: Managing this condition that affects the connective tissue in the palm and fingers, causing contractures.
- Hand, Finger, and Thumb Fractures: Providing comprehensive care for broken bones in the hand and upper extremities.
- Ganglion Cysts: Removing these noncancerous lumps that often develop on the wrists or fingers.
- Mallet Finger: Treating this injury affecting the tendon that straightens the fingertip.
- Tendon and Nerve Injuries: Repairing damaged tendons and nerves in the hand and wrist to restore function.
- Trigger Finger: Releasing the constriction causing painful snapping or locking of a finger or thumb.
BoulderCentre for Orthopedics & Spine: Your Local Hand Experts
Choosing the right orthopedic hand doctor is essential for receiving the best possible care. At BoulderCentre for Orthopedics & Spine, our team of board-certified orthopedic surgeons are dedicated to providing specialized care for hand and upper extremity conditions. Our specialists, including Dr. Dirk Dolbeare, Dr. Jon Hammarstedt, Dr. Kathleen Kollitz, and Dr. Daniel Master, have all undergone advanced fellowship training in hand and upper extremity surgery. This extra year of specialized education ensures they possess the in-depth knowledge and refined skills necessary to accurately diagnose and effectively treat complex hand and wrist issues. Their extensive expertise allows them to tailor treatment plans to each patient’s unique needs, ensuring personalized and effective care.
Our orthopedic hand doctors prioritize conservative treatment options whenever possible. This may include physical therapy, therapeutic injections, or bracing to manage your condition and relieve pain. Our integrated approach includes working closely with our physical therapy team to provide comprehensive rehabilitation and support throughout your recovery journey.
However, when non-surgical methods are insufficient to provide relief or restore function, our skilled hand surgeons are proficient in performing a variety of advanced surgical procedures. These procedures include:
- Carpal Tunnel Release Surgery: Offering both traditional and minimally invasive endoscopic techniques to relieve pressure on the median nerve.
- Digit Widget Application: Utilizing this non-surgical method for managing early stages of Dupuytren’s disease.
- Dupuytren’s Disease Surgery (Fasciectomy): Performing surgical release of contracted tissue to improve finger extension.
- Fracture Repair of the Finger and Thumb: Surgically stabilizing and repairing fractures to promote proper healing.
- Ganglion Cyst Removal: Surgical excision of ganglion cysts to alleviate pain and discomfort.
- Guyon’s Canal Decompression: Addressing ulnar nerve compression at the wrist.
- Joint Replacement of the Finger and Thumb: Replacing damaged finger or thumb joints to restore mobility and reduce pain.
- Nerve Repair and Nerve Transfer: Performing microsurgical techniques to repair damaged nerves or transfer healthy nerves to restore function.
- Trigger Finger Release: Surgically releasing the constricted tendon sheath to eliminate triggering and pain.
At BoulderCentre for Orthopedics & Spine, our commitment is to help you regain pain-free hand and wrist function so you can return to your active lifestyle. To consult with our experienced orthopedic hand doctors and discuss your treatment options, please schedule an appointment online or call 303.449.2730. We offer convenient locations in Boulder and Broomfield to serve your needs.
