Home Remedy for De Quervain's

De Quervain's tenosynovitis occurs as a result of inflammation in the two tendons that extend the thumb away from the hand. De Quervain's causes pain and swelling at the base of the thumb and usually results due to chronic overuse of the wrist. Once you are diagnosed with de Quervain's, your physician may recommend a corticosteroid injection and physical therapy to regain use of the wrist. There are also several steps that can be taken at home to treat the condition and prevent further damage.

Treatments at Home

To reduce pain and swelling use a splint or brace to immobilize your wrist and thumb. This is an essential component to initial treatment as immobilizing the wrist and thumb will help rest and straighten the tendons. Applying heat or ice compresses to the wrist can help alleviate pain in addition to using over the counter anti-inflammatory drugs such as naproxen and ibuprofen. Your doctor or physical therapist should also be able to provide exercises for hand and wrist strengthening. Attempting these exercises consistently can help you regain use of the hand and wrist more quickly.

Lifestyle Adjustments

In addition to treating the pain, certain lifestyle adjustments should be made to prevent worsening or reoccurring of the condition. It is imperative to avoid repetitive hand and wrist movements whenever possible. It is particularly important to avoid repetitive thumb or pinching movements as well as lateral wrist motions. Pay attention to movements that seem to cause swelling, pain or numbness of your thumb and wrist. Avoid those movements and inform your doctor or physical therapist if particular movements are causing pain.

New Moms

De Quervain's is commonly found in new mothers as the disorder is probably caused by the repetitive motion of extending the arms and lifting the baby with the thumbs and wrist. If possible, it is better to lift the baby using the entire arm rather than placing all of the weight in the hands. Making these simple adjustments early after the diagnoses and during initial treatment is important to prevent further pain and tendon damage. Once the pain and symptoms have subsided, it is critical to continuing to avoid repetitive thumb and wrist motions. De Quervain's tenosynovitis will likely reoccur if repetitive motion is not stopped and the condition will likely continue to increase in severity at each onset.