When you think of wrist problems or injuries you might think of a common medical condition like carpal tunnel. There is also another medical condition that affects your wrist and many of the tendons in the lower arm. A dorsal ganglion cyst can become a very painful and unattractive medical condition that can appear on your wrist. Like many other medical conditions, a dorsal ganglion cyst can be on your wrist without you even knowing until it begins hurting and causing nerve problems. Although I have not been professionally diagnosed with a dorsal ganglion cyst, I have come to realize this is what has been afflicting me for about three years. A lot of people do not know about a dorsal ganglion cyst and often attribute their tender and painful wrists to something such as carpal tunnel. There is a lot of information around about having a dorsal ganglion cyst as well as treatment options that are available for someone suffering from this debilitating condition. If you have a tender wrist or you notice a mass on your wrist then you might be suffering from this condition. In order to know if you might be affected by a dorsal ganglion cyst here is some important information about the condition and possible treatment options.
A ganglion cyst refers to a mass which can be often found on places such as your finger, wrist or leg. Ganglion is a term that refers to a group of nerves while a cyst is a common term that refers to a mass or fluid-filled sac. Essentially, you have a cyst filled with a type of fluid that collects over time and may result in nerve damage or tendon inflammation. The ganglion cyst itself is not typically associated with the nerves through the affected area but the cyst can disrupt the joint by wrapping a stalk around the tendons. If you have a dorsal ganglion cyst this means that you have a fluid-filled mass located on the back of your wrist. If you have a dorsal ganglion cyst you will notice the outer shell of the mass is kind of hard but you can push down on it without applying too much pressure. The inside of a dorsal ganglion cyst is filled with a clear fluid that is colorless and it will have a thick and slimy feeling to it.
You can get a ganglion cyst in different locations on your hand and the symptoms can vary depending on the location. The most common type of ganglion cyst is located on the back of the hand which is why it is called a dorsal ganglion cyst. You can also get a ganglion cyst on the front part of your wrist which is called a volar ganglion cyst as well as near your fingertips which is called a mucous cyst. Sometimes the inside of the dorsal ganglion cyst can be filled with joint fluids which happens as either the cyst becomes entangled with the tendon sheath or the cyst puts pressure on the joint causing a leak of fluids into it. People often think they are suffering from carpal tunnel when in fact they have a dorsal ganglion cyst it just might not be that apparent yet. Although a lot of the time a dorsal ganglion cyst is harmless, it can become intrusive and painful.
A dorsal ganglion cyst is often left alone until it becomes either very large or it begins to compress nerves and tendons around the wrist. When the nerves and tendons become compressed due to the cyst you will have a pretty intense amount of pain associated with it. If you leave a dorsal ganglion cyst alone there is a potential you can suffer permanent damage to your nerves due to the compression and build up of the fluid. In my experience with having a dorsal ganglion cyst the pain can become pretty severe if you bump into the cyst or move your wrist in a certain manner. Personally, I have had the dorsal ganglion cyst for a least a year before I noticed it and I was at that point beginning to lose feeling in my wrist. When you have a dorsal ganglion cyst it is often not something you notice until it begins to grow a stalk which will connect to the tendons and grow into the deeper tissues of your wrist. A dorsal ganglion cyst is not contagious and there is really no medical evidence to show they will spread to other areas of your body if not treated. The first aspect of getting treatment for your dorsal ganglion cyst is to go to the doctor so they can confirm that you have a dorsal ganglion cyst.
After you have had a confirmed diagnosis of a dorsal ganglion cyst you can then begin to talk about a treatment option that will work for you personally. Usually a diagnosis of a dorsal ganglion cyst requires an x-ray so the doctor can see what exactly is going on in your wrist or affected area. Your doctor might also ask you basic questions such as how long you had it, if it causes you pain, if numbness or loss of feeling has occurred as well as other basic questions relating to the dorsal ganglion cyst. You might want to make a list of how the dorsal ganglion cyst feels, what activities seem to aggravate the cyst and whether or not the cyst seems to have grown over the time you have noticed it. It is very important to go to the doctor if you have loss of feeling in your wrist or you have pain associated with it because these are possible signs that it has grown a stalk into your tendons which can cause damage to your nerves and surrounding tissues. There are many treatment options available to you when it comes to getting rid of your dorsal ganglion cyst so you want to discuss all options with your doctor.
An old fashioned way of removing a dorsal ganglion cyst is by hitting it with blunt force. Back in the older days, a dorsal ganglion cyst was called “Bible bump” because this was a method of treatment people used to get rid of it. The method of hitting the dorsal ganglion cyst with a blunt object is not generally recommended because of the risk of an infection or the fluids spreading throughout your wrist. You can also damage other nerves and tendons in your wrist by hitting a hard object in the area where the cyst occurs. Never try to remove the dorsal ganglion cyst yourself by using this method since we have much safer methods to remove a dorsal ganglion cyst and you will do more harm than good.
The most common method to remove a dorsal ganglion cyst is by using the aspiration technique. The aspiration technique is when a doctor goes in with a needle to aspirate the fluids out of the ganglion cyst. This is a very painless technique that involves only a doctor visit and does not require any surgery or anesthesia. The needle has to be a bigger gauge needle since the fluids are so thick and gelatinous so this is not something you can do with a regular diabetic needle. Once the fluid has been drawn out with the needle, the doctor then might inject steroids into the cyst to relieve inflammation. One of the negative aspects of the aspiration technique is that it is not always affective. Once you aspirate the fluids, you are still going to have the shell of the cyst on the back of your hand. Over time the shell might disintegrate and go away but there is always a chance for recurrence. In fact, using the aspiration technique there is only about a 20 percent chance that it will never come back.
Surgery is actually your bet medical treatment to get rid of a dorsal ganglion cyst. The surgery visit for removing the cyst is just an outpatient procedure and it does not hurt all that much. You will probably be sedated using a localized anesthetic which means you will only get medication or sedatives applied to the dorsal ganglion cyst location itself. When they go in to remove the dorsal ganglion cyst surgically, the recurrence rate is much lower with only about 10 percent ever coming back. The reason why recurrence is so low with the surgical treatment is because they remove the whole ganglion cyst. The outer shell is removed along with any stalks that might have grown around your nerves and tendons. Sometimes if you have pain with your dorsal ganglion cyst, they will recommend surgery right from the start since it is a sign there are probably stalks embedded into your tendon sheath. The surgery is pretty straightforward since they cut a hole into your wrist and pop out the cyst as well as cut any stalks out of your wrist that might have grown. You then get bandaged up and are instructed to wear a brace for the next four or six weeks with limited use of the wrist. You will be on restrictions as well which means you should not be involved in activities that might stress the wrist or affect general healing of the wound. You will also probably be given anti-inflammatory medications for swelling, pain medications and steroids to help alleviate the post-surgical symptoms.
Having a dorsal ganglion cyst is probably more common than what you might think and is usually painless and not a big issue. There is also no clear evidence to show what triggers a dorsal ganglion cyst to appear or what types of behaviors make you prone to getting the cyst. Some people think it might have something to do with getting injured somewhere on your wrist in the past and it triggers the ganglion cyst. For me personally, I have been using a computer for many years and think that might have played a role in a dorsal ganglion cyst appearing. While the cause is really unknown it is a medial condition that sometimes gets overlooked due to the more common wrist conditions. You might actually suffer from a dorsal ganglion cyst and have carpal tunnel as well, it just depends on how the cyst is triggered. If you have a dorsal ganglion cyst you do not need to seek medical treatment unless you feel it is affecting your life. Pain and tenderness is often a sign you need to get to the doctor for a confirmed diagnosis. If you do not get diagnosed or treated but you are having pain then you are only making it likely you will suffer permanent nerve and tendon damage. If you think you might have a dorsal ganglion cyst it should be a priority to get to the doctor for an aspiration or surgery if necessary. I only say this because I have not been to the doctor and I am suffering the more extreme consequences of that decision. My hands go numb often; I have severe pain in my wrist that extends up my arm and have also severe loss of feeling in my hand and fingers. The main way to prevent these types of symptoms from occurring is to take preventative measures and treat the dorsal ganglion cyst as soon as you know it appears.
