07/24/2026
Dr. Todd Gaddie, MD, one of our hand, wrist and elbow surgeons, talks about swelling after surgery or injury to hands, wrists and elbows.
Video transcript
Dr. Todd Gaddie:
Dr. Todd Gaddie here to talk to you about how to decrease your swelling, both after an injury and after surgery to the hand, wrist, or elbow.
Elevation
The most important thing when it comes to decreasing your swelling is definitely elevation. We want to try to keep your hand, wrist, or elbow above the level of your heart as much as we possibly can.
Any time that hand, wrist, or elbow is down or in a dependent position, we tend to see a lot of swelling associated with that.
If you have a hand or wrist injury, elevating the hand and wrist above the elbow and letting that swelling move down to the elbow is definitely helpful.
If you have an elbow injury, that becomes a little more tricky because we do not want the swelling to move from the elbow down into the hand or wrist and cause a secondary issue.
It’s very important to try to keep the hand, wrist, and elbow above the level of the heart as much as you possibly can while remaining comfortable and protecting your surgical repair or injury.
Ice
Other things we think about are the use of ice or anti-inflammatory medications.
Please refer to your post-surgical instructions for icing, as well as anti-inflammatory use.
