Can physical therapy help with wrist tendonitis?

We are sorry to hear about your wrist pain and are glad you reached out to us. Without doing an examination to better understand what’s contributing to your wrist pain we are not able to comment at length on your specific condition. However, we can discuss some general principles around tendonitis issues and the rehabilitation process.

The first phase, and perhaps the most important one of tendon rehabilitation, involves resting and protecting the inflamed tendon. This can include wearing a brace/splint, avoiding aggravating activities, and incorporating light stretching and strengthening exercises.

The goal is that within 10-14 days after initiating this protective phase the tendon irritation will have calmed down some. This sets up the next phase of rehab, which engages in greater isolated strengthening and loading activities to the tendon that’s been the source of irritation.

Once strength has improved, rehab will then begin to focus on more functional tasks, such as during work activities, to help mimic daily stresses and prep the muscle-tendon unit for the demands it will encounter.

If a specific and targeted rehabilitation program isn’t incorporated it’s possible for the tendon to either remain inflamed or to go back and forth between progressing and then regressing back to the inflammatory phase. Rest alone is likely insufficient for either full healing or preventing symptoms from returning down the road.

Physical therapists are musculoskeletal experts who are trained to diagnose and treat tendinitis conditions.

If properly diagnosed and appropriately treated, cases of tendinitis should generally have a full recovery. We are sorry that this has impacted your quality of life and would recommend scheduling an evaluation by a physical therapist to help identify what’s contributing to your wrist pain and help you navigate the rehabilitation process.