A fall onto an outstretched hand is a common event in any age group—so common it has its own acronym, FOOSH. The cause of the fall can run the gamut: a sports injury, slip on ice, trip on an uneven surface, or simple loss of balance. Common among athletes—runners, skiers, skateboarders, pole vaulters—the injury can also occur in car accidents and whenever you try to break a fall by reaching out with your hand.
Undergoing surgery is always a little unsettling, but hand and wrist procedures are very common and allow many people to regain full range of motion once again. These procedures are sometimes necessary if you’re dealing with a severe injury that cannot be treated through non-surgical methods.
Many people have desk jobs that require them to work on a computer all day long, for forty hours each week. This much repetition and overuse can cause wrist issues. Even those who use a computer recreationally and spend several hours per day typing on the keyboard can be at risk for a wrist injury.
It’s easy to overlook how often we use our hands and wrists throughout the day. We use them to touch things, hold items, get dressed, brush our teeth, open doors, and just about everything else that we do. However, it becomes even more apparent how important they are to our daily lives when they’re damaged and painful to use.