Our Services / Upper Extremities

What are the upper extremities?

The upper extremities, which include the hands, forearms, and upper arms, provide balance and mobility for your upper body. They allow you to move, grab, type, and perform a number of everyday functions. The upper extremities start at the shoulder — a ball-and-socket joint that gives the arms range of motion — and stretches down to the fingers. 

What are the most common injuries in the upper extremities?

With various bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and nerves, the upper extremities are vulnerable to many injuries, and degenerative conditions, including:

Fractures

Fractures are bone breaks that can affect the fingers, wrists, and arms. Coastal Ortho diagnoses and treats all types of fractures in the upper extremities.

Arthritis

Arthritis is an inflammatory condition that damages the joints. The two most common types are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. While osteoarthritis — the wear-and-tear form that breaks down cartilage — often impacts the shoulders, rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that often impacts the wrists and fingers.

Carpal tunnel syndrome

The carpal tunnel is a narrow passageway that runs through the wrist. The median nerve runs through it. Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when there’s compression or irritation in the median nerve.

Tendonitis

Tendons, which connect muscle to bone, become inflamed, pain and stiffness can develop. Tendonitis can injure the rotator cuff that supports your shoulder or the tendons in the top of your forearm (golfer’s elbow). They can also cause pain on the inside of your forearm (tennis elbow).

Trigger finger

If you have a trigger finger, your fingers may lock into a straight or bend position, much like pressing on a trigger. The condition occurs when the tendons in the affected finger become inflamed.

What are the treatments for upper extremities?

Whether you experience chronic pain from carpal tunnel syndrome or tendonitis in your elbow, the team at Coastal Ortho offers a multi-modality approach to care that may include one or more of the following orthopedic treatments:

• Physical therapy
• Aquatic therapy
• Joint fluid therapy
• Fracture treatment (bracing, casting, surgery)
• Hand and wrist surgery
• Microvascular surgery (reattachment of the small blood vessels)
• Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections

To learn more about upper extremity care, call the expert orthopedic specialists at Coastal Ortho or schedule an appointment online today.