Last updated: July 2026 • Reading time: ~4 minutes
Maybe it started while weeding the garden, or after a weekend of pickleball, or from lifting your toddler all day. There is a sharp pain on the thumb side of your wrist that gets worse every time you grip something. This is one of the most common summer hand problems doctors see, and it has a name: De Quervain’s tenosynovitis.
What Is De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis?
Two tendons run along the thumb side of your wrist. They help you lift your thumb up and out to the side. A sheath, like a small tunnel, wraps around these tendons and lets them glide smoothly. When you use your thumb and wrist the same way over and over, that sheath can swell. The tendons get squeezed every time they try to move. That squeeze is what causes the pain.
What Does It Feel Like?
Most people feel pain right at the base of the thumb, where it meets the wrist. It can hurt to open a jar, turn a key, or lift a coffee cup. Some notice a catching or snapping feeling. The pain often gets worse when you bend your thumb into your palm and tilt your wrist toward your pinky, a simple test doctors call the Finkelstein test. This is not the same as carpal tunnel syndrome, which causes numbness and tingling in the fingers instead of pain at the thumb’s base.
Why Does It Show Up More in Summer?
Summer activities put extra strain on this part of the wrist. Weeding, pruning, and hauling mulch all require a strong pinch grip. Racquet sports like tennis and pickleball repeat the same wrist motion hundreds of times in a match. New parents carrying babies and toddlers put the thumb tendons under constant load. A 2024 study in the journal Cureus followed 75 patients with De Quervain’s tenosynovitis and found that 72 percent were women, likely because household and childcare tasks involve so much repetitive gripping.
What Actually Helps?
The good news is most cases improve without surgery. A thumb spica splint that keeps the wrist and thumb still can calm the irritation down. Ice, rest from the aggravating activity, and anti-inflammatory medication are usually the first steps. A 2025 review in The Healer Journal of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Sciences found that eccentric wrist extension exercises, slow controlled stretches that lengthen the tendon under tension, helped reduce pain and rebuild function over time.
For cases that do not improve with rest and splinting, a corticosteroid injection is often the next step. In the 2024 Cureus study, 84 percent of patients were pain free within three weeks of one injection. A 2023 review in the Journal of Medical Radiation Sciences looked at 379 wrists and found ultrasound-guided injections led to complete symptom resolution in nearly 74 percent of cases, outperforming injections done by feel alone.
Chiropractic care can also play a role for some patients, especially when wrist and forearm mechanics or nearby joint restrictions are adding to the strain. Similar to the approach used for tennis elbow, a related overuse injury on the outside of the elbow, manual therapy and targeted exercise can be one piece of a broader recovery plan. Providers who treat the wrist, hand, and other extremities can help sort out how much pain is coming from the tendon versus the joints around it.
The Bottom Line
Thumb and wrist pain that flares up with gripping is common in summer, and it usually has a clear cause and a manageable path forward. If it does not ease after a few days of rest and a splint, it is worth getting checked out. A wrist or hand specialist, whether an orthopedist, physical therapist, or provider familiar with joint and soft tissue care, can help you find the right treatment and get you back to your garden, your game, or your kids without wincing every time you reach for something.
Sources
- Afridi A, Ahmad B, Ahmed H. “Outcomes of Single Corticosteroid Injection in De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis.” Cureus. 2024 Oct 20;16(10):e71928.
- He X, et al. “Unblinding de Quervain: A systematic review of ultrasound-guided injection of corticosteroids for treatment of stenosing tenosynovitis of the 1st extensor compartment.” Journal of Medical Radiation Sciences. 2023.
- Kuo LC, et al. “Ultrasound versus palpation-guided corticosteroid injection for de Quervain disease: A randomized controlled trial.” PM&R. 2024.
- “Eccentric Wrist Extension Exercises as a Conservative Management Strategy for Pain and Functional Limitation in De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis: An Evidence-Based Review.” The Healer Journal of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Sciences. Vol. 6, Issue 1, 2025.
