Smoking has been shown to interfere with the success of spine and ankle surgeries. Researchers think nicotine restricts the blood supply that bones in these areas need in order to heal. Compared to the spine and ankle, the wrist naturally has a better blood supply. Does smoking also affect the results of wrist surgery?

Tempted by job or hobby, the hands of carpal tunnel syndrome sufferers don't know when to quit. Repetitive wrist motions can often lead the ruinous way from pain and tingling to lasting problems.

Short of surgery, treatments traditionally have included resting the wrist, wearing a splint, taking anti-inflammatory medications, and receiving steroid injections into the wrist. Steroid injections are thought to reduce swelling in the carpal tunnel and ease pressure on the affected nerve.

Fractures of the scaphoid--the small wrist bone near the base of the thumb--are the most common kind of injury to the small bones of the wrist (the carpals). Unless the bone has been completely moved out of place, casts are the tried-and-true way of mending scaphoid injuries. But a cast can take eight to 12 weeks to heal the fracture, and the wrist sometimes stays stiff after the cast is off, delaying return to work or sports. Is there a faster way to get the bone to heal?

A recent study showed that having surgery to implant a screw into the broken bone leads to faster healing than a cast. Patients who had surgery healed five weeks faster than those who had casts. They also returned to work seven weeks sooner. Both kinds of treatment produce good results, but if time is an issue, research suggests surgery may be the better option.

Casts--those old dinosaurs--are still around because they're safe and they work. However, newer treatments are equally effective and may not keep you tied up as long. You may want to ask your doctor about surgery to implant a screw into the broken bone. This procedure fixes the wrist from the inside, just as a cast fixes it from the outside. Research shows that people who have this procedure heal about five weeks faster than those who have casts.

You really can't go wrong with a cast. Surgery may lead to speedier healing, but it isn't for everyone. Casts are a tried-and-true way of treating a fracture of the scaphoid bone, and using a cast to heal this kind of injury rarely leads to complications. You can expect some stiffness after your cast is removed, but chances are it won't last long.

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) has become one of the most common job-related injuries. About 1.9 million American workers develop CTS each year. It causes enormous disruptions for workers and employers, and the financial impacts are huge.

For the most part, workers tend to think that medical treatment offers little help for their CTS. They especially doubt that surgery can help. But according to a recent study of Workers Compensation cases, these perceptions are wrong.