Commonly known as gamer’s thumb or mother’s wrist, De Quervain’s tenosynovitis—also called De Quervain’s syndrome or De Quervain’s disease—is a painful condition that affects the tendons on the thumb side of the wrist. It occurs when tendon entrapment affects the first dorsal compartment of the wrist causing the sheath covering these tendons to become thick and inflamed, making it painful to move the thumb or wrist.
De Quervain’s disease, named after Swiss surgeon Fritz de Quervain, affects about 1 percent of the U.S. population and peaks in people between the ages of 40 and 50.
