Hand Pain: Symptoms, Causes, And Treatment

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Hand pain can happen to anyone and for so many reasons. It can be from an injury after an accident or a present condition that is ongoing. Pain treatment is possible to ease up the symptoms, and this article will help you understand the common causes of hand pain.

What are the Common Causes of Hand Pain

De Quervain's Tendinitis

Hand Pain

It is also called Quervain's tendinosis and primarily causes moderate pain on the thumb or the wrist. The pain may develop slowly or begin suddenly, traveling from the thumb to the forearm.

If you have De Quervain's Tendinitis, it can be painful to:

  • Hold or grasp an object
  • Make a fist
  • Turn your wrist

The pain results from the inflammation to irritation of the wrist tendons, including the thumb base. The cause of De Quervain's Tendinitis is mostly repetitive movements or activities and the overuse of your hand muscle.

For example, new moms can get it from carrying their baby in an uncomfortable position. Wrist fractures can be a reason to have Quervain's.

The pain relief treatments you can do for De Quervain's Tendinitis are:

  • Cortisone shots
  • Anti-inflammatory medications
  • Splint to rest the wrist and thumb

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Hand Pain

It is regarded as one of the usual nerve problems relating to hands. It can cause pain to your wrist, forearm, palm, and other fingers. Sometimes, the pain gets worse during the nighttime. Carpal tunnel syndrome can cause the person to become weak and numb. 

Usually, you will feel these symptoms in your thumb, index, and middle fingers, making it harder for you to hold objects. It often gives you discomfort if the swelling happens in the median nerve, which controls the muscle impulses and sensation in the thumb area and other fingers. 

The median nerves pass through the carpal tunnel, the structure made up of connective tissues and bones that can be found at the base of a person's hand. In this little space, the median nerves are being pinched by irritated or inflamed tendons or other related swelling problems. If symptoms will last for six months and more, your doctor may suggest surgery. 

The usual treatment for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome are:

  • The use of anti-inflammatory or analgesic painkillers
  • Wrist splints
  • Resting the hands or wrist
  • Steroid shots
  • Physical therapy

Fractures

Hand Pain

A fracture is known to be a break in a bone and can give you a maximum deal of pain, especially in your hands. After getting a fracture, you will experience stiffness, swelling, and loss of movement. 

If you have a fractured hand or finger, you are unable to move completely. The injured part of your finger could be swollen and becomes slightly shorter than the usual size.

There are many types of fractures, including the following:

  • Simple, which broken bones are still stable and aligned.
  • Complex, which the fracture may cause the bone to become displaced and difficult to treat.
  • Comminuted, which bones are broken in more than a single place.
  • Compound, which broken bones break through the skin and sometimes the worst fracture, can happen to a person.

The treatment for fractured bones depends on these kinds of breaks. Splints or casts are often utilized for simple breaks. For complicated fractures, you may need wires, pins, or plates to treat them. Your doctor will recommend surgery if there's a need to settle the broken bones fully.

Arthritis

Hand Pain

This condition is the leading source of all hand pain problems. It makes joints lose their cartilage that lets them move smoothly against each other. https://thedentallounge.com/ When the cartilage deteriorates, it becomes painful, and sometimes swelling and debilitating begin to exist.

It mainly occurs in the hand, specifically in the base of the thumb, middle joint of a finger, and end joint, closer to the fingertip.

The most well-known form of arthritis is osteoarthritis. It gives progressive degeneration of the bone's cartilage. It can happen to aging individuals or those that experience an injury, such as dislocation that when it affects the hand, it can cause swelling, pain, and stiffness. It causes your hand to be weaker, making it impossible for you to do your everyday routine and activities.

Treatment involved may vary, depending on the severity of the disability or pain. But you can do the following treatment:

  • Anti-inflammatory or analgesic painkillers
  • Heat
  • Physical therapy
  • Splints for the wrist and fingers

If these treatments cannot provide pain relief to the patient, surgery is mostly recommended by doctors.

Trigger Finger

Hand Pain

Health professionals call it stenosing tenosynovitis. It can cause the thumb or the fingers to lock in an uncomfortable bent position. It can be very painful, especially when you straighten or bend the affected thumb or finger.

This condition occurs when the flexor tendons that control the movement of your thumb or fingers become irritated. It can make the finger within the sheath tendons thicken. Nodules can also be formed into the affected tendons area. The sheath may thicken, too, if this happens. 

All these conditions may prevent a person from moving smoothly, especially with affected tendons. Eventually, it becomes stuck if you will try to straighten a bent thumb or finger. Doctors believe that you are more likely to get this condition if you have:

Women are more often to get this condition, primarily adults ages 40 to 60 years old. Health professionals recommend the patient to rest, wear splints to fix the problem. Over-the-counter medications and steroid shots or corticosteroid injections can also give pain relief. But if the condition becomes severe, your doctor may recommend surgery to deal with the pain entirely.

Besides medically-proven treatments, others may consider chiropractic care, which also provides an effective treatment plan for individuals who are suffering from these types of hand pain conditions. Having more options, the quicker you can find a better treatment plan suited for you and ease the pain you are going through. 

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