Tom Willemann Health Tips

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Arm Yourself After a Distal Radius Fracture

Arm Yourself After a Distal Radius Fracture

A distal radius fracture—a break near the wrist in the largest forearm bone—is one of the most common injuries of the forearm. The fracture often occurs when a person falls onto an outstretched hand. Other causes include direct impact or axial forces. Treatment depends on such factors as the exact nature of the fracture, yourContinue Reading »

Navigating Recovery After a “Ship” Fracture

Navigating Recovery After a “Ship” Fracture

A scaphoid fracture refers to a fracture of the wrist—specifically the bone shaped like a boat, which is why it is often called a “ship” fracture. A fracture of this bone can result from falling on an outstretched arm, sustaining a direct blow to the wrist or receiving a severe twist of the wrist. ForContinue Reading »

Physical Therapy for Skier’s Thumb

Physical Therapy for Skier’s Thumb

Thumb injuries are quite common, especially among skiers. During a fall, a skier’s thumb can easily catch against the ski pole, resulting in a tear of the ligament that stabilizes the thumb. This ligament, known as the ulnar collateral ligament, normally keeps the thumb from pointing too far away from the hand. Treatment Treatment dependsContinue Reading »

Nerve Conduction on the Wrist

Nerve Conduction on the Wrist

Just as you can feel pain in your bottom teeth when you have a cavity in a top molar, a feeling of “pins and needles” and numbness in your hand may result from a problem in your wrist or shoulder. Both are common symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, a condition caused by compression of nervesContinue Reading »

What Is a Trapped Nerve?

What Is a Trapped Nerve?

What Is a Trapped Nerve? By creating a pathway from the brain to the limbs, nerves make muscles move and allow skin to feel sensations, including pain, temperature and pressure. A blocked, or “trapped,” pathway can impede the nerves’ normal processes, resulting in pain or reduced mobility. Nerves get trapped for a number of reasons,Continue Reading »

Continuing Pain After Carpal Tunnel Surgery

Continuing Pain After Carpal Tunnel Surgery

Why Do You Feel Pain After Carpal Tunnel Surgery? Even after undergoing surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome, some patients are still bothered by occasional tingling and numbness in the affected hand. Carpal tunnel syndrome involves the median nerve, which runs down the forearm, through the wrist and into the hand where it provides feeling andContinue Reading »

TENS Ways to Alleviate Pain

TENS Ways to Alleviate Pain

One approach used in a rehabilitation program, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) uses an electric current to stimulate muscles to contract. Electrical impulses are thought to interrupt messages sent by pain receptors from the nerves to the brain. If the brain does not receive these messages, it does not recognize pain, and you do notContinue Reading »