Ganglion Cysts: What You Need To Know

A Bump On My Wrist

Six months ago someone said to me: "Oooh, what's that bump on your wrist?!"

It was odd looking. Mostly just a sharp bony like part jutting out ever so slightly from the top of my wrist. It wasn't painful at all. In fact, I had never even noticed it until this person pointed it out to me.

I figured it was something like a bone spur on the top of my wrist -- possibly something related to carpal tunnel -- so I'd just keep an eye on it for awhile.

Fast-forward 6 months, and the bump is no longer sharp in appearance, it's rounder and sticks out a bit farther from the top of my wrist. It hadn't bothered me one tiny bit until recently. I'm on the computer a lot, and that wrist is starting to get stressed much earlier than usual.

Plus, if the dog bumps it when we're playing, it sort of aches. And now that it's summer, when I'm wiping sweat from my brow... if I forget and use that wrist... it aches a bit. (And feels weird too.) It's also noticeably "squishy" -- as if it's filled with fluid.

Ganglions can be painless; however, they often are associated with tenderness and pain which may restrict the range of movements. Source

The Doctor's Diagnosis: Ganglion Cyst

So yesterday I went in to see our family doctor about it. Right away, he diagnosed it as a Ganglion cyst. Sounded kind of scary to me, but he said it's nothing to worry about.

They call it the Bible cyst because in the olden days they used to just slam a bible down on the bump to make it go away. (It really worked.)

Turns out, it's a relatively harmless tumor or growth or cyst that commonly appears for no reason on top of the wrist. Other places Ganglion cysts are likely to appear: bottom of the wrist and the tip of a finger.

No one knows what triggers the formation of a ganglion. Women are more likely to be affected than men. Ganglia are common among gymnasts, who repeatedly apply stress to the wrist." Source

...I'm guessing this is where the word "gangly" came from... something that's just odd and hangs around for no apparent reason, yet is relatively harmless.

Treatment For Ganglion Cysts

No treatment is necessary... really. Though it may be desired if the cyst gets in the way of your normal activities and/or creates pain or tenderness around it.

Another alternative, that some call traditional, others call a bit barbaric, is to smash the wrist ganglion cyst with a hard object such as a book. This pops the cyst, and ruptures the lining of the cyst. Because the lining is disrupted, the smashed ganglion cyst may not return quite as often as those drained by a needle. However, many patients are uncomfortable with their doctor 'whacking' a book against their wrist." Source

For me...
Now that I know what it is, it's just in the way -- more than anything else.

Hmmm... yet another reason to break out that Bible, I guess. Of course Jim is dying to just "mash it"!

More About Ganglion Cysts

Ganglion Cyst Overview

Cyst of the Wrist

Wrist Ganglion Cyst

UPDATE 7/9/07: Well, I guess Jim must've smashed my wrist with a Bible in the middle of the night or something... cuz my Ganglion Cyst is gone! Completely flat.

Remember... I've had this Ganglion Cyst for over 6 months now. And all of a sudden, I wake up one morning, and it's gone!

I have to admit, I didn't quite believe it when people said things like "it will probably just go away on it's own" and "they come and they go". But I'm here to say... it's true. I love having a "normal" wrist for a change... one that doesn't have that ugly big bump in the middle of it.

And I later learned from my mom that she's got one on her wrist that comes and goes too. (I think hers is gone more than not.) She says whenever it starts to appear, she just rubs on it a lot and it goes back down.