These are fluid filled sacs which come from either a tendon sheath or a joint lining. They appear as soft bumps around the wrist area and at times can be painful.
These can often settle spontaneously but if troublesome the treatment is aspiration or surgical removal. Physiotherapy can be used following these procedures to reduce pain and regain movement using techniques such as ultrasound and exercise.
Tendonitis is an inflamation of the tendons within the sheath that they run in. It is usually associated with overuse and causes pain on movement. The symptoms can be helped by splintage to rest the area and ultrasound to settle the swelling and pain.
A cortisone injection can be helpful in more chronic cases where the above treatments have not fully resolved the problem.
