A few centimeters of incision and a four to six month recovery. Tennis elbow surgery removes degenerate tendon; rebuilding good tendon is still done by loading it, which is why the rehab looks like the treatment you had before surgery.
Sore and swollen four to eight centimeters above the wrist on the back of the forearm, sometimes with a squeak you can feel. Routinely mistaken for De Quervain’s, and separated from it by location alone.
Little-finger side wrist pain that sits on the surface rather than deep in the joint, and sometimes snaps when you turn your palm up. Caught fresh, the snapping version is treated in a cast. Left late, it needs surgery.
A pop at the front of the elbow under load, then an arm that still bends fine, so people wait. The hook test takes seconds, and the repair window closes at around two to three weeks.
Bacteria inside the flexor tendon sheath is one of the few true emergencies in the hand. Kanavel’s four signs identify it in under a minute, and the wound that let it in is often too small to remember.
The dog bite that looks terrible is usually the least dangerous. A cat’s puncture and a small split over a knuckle from someone’s tooth are the two that reach joints and tendons, seal bacteria in, and cost people fingers.
An audible pop on a crimp, pain at the base of the ring finger, and a decision about crimping that will shape the next six months. Grades, timelines, and the bowstringing sign that changes everything.
Flexor repairs fail loudly by rupturing. Extensor repairs fail quietly, as a lag: the finger bends fine and just stops straightening all the way. A few millimeters of tendon length become permanent degrees. Here’s the weekly check that catches it.
Rheumatoid arthritis is your immune system attacking your joint linings, not wear and tear. Morning stiffness over an hour, big knuckles and wrists, both hands, feeling unwell. Early medication protects the joints; late medication can’t rebuild them.
Flexor tendon repair rehab sits between two failures: move it too little and the tendon glues to its sheath, too hard and the repair ruptures. The repair is weakest around week 3, which is exactly when the hand starts feeling fine. Here’s why every rule exists.