Your hands are complex structures that you rely heavily upon to perform everyday tasks. Hand pain can result from a number of physical conditions, as well as injuries such as sprains or fractures. Falling on an outstretched hand is a particularly common cause of hand injuries.
Hampton Roads Orthopaedics Spine & Sports Medicine shares some of the most common causes of hand pain and ways to find relief from your pain.
Trigger Finger
Your fingers work like a set of ropes and pulleys. Tendons, the ropes, slide through a series of tendon sheaths, the pulleys, at the joints. In trigger finger, the tendon develops a nodule or thickened area, which stops it from sliding freely through the tendon sheath. Your finger will “lock” at a certain point when you attempt to straighten it.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
The carpal tunnel is a narrow opening through the carpal bones, which make up your wrist and the base of your hand. This pathway is for the tendons that control your fingers and for the median nerve, which provides feeling and function to your thumb, index and middle fingers. In carpal tunnel syndrome, the opening becomes narrowed due to inflammation. The median nerve is compressed, causing numbness, tingling, and pain in your hand.
Hand and Finger Fractures
There are many ways to fracture your hand or finger, with one common cause being a fall onto an outstretched arm. Fractures may be obvious, as you may have swelling and pain at the site of the injury; or the bone may be visibly deformed. In more subtle cases, you may not realize that a fracture has occurred. Some fractures may cause pain at the base of the thumb.
Treatment for Common Causes of Hand Pain
HROSM is home to a team of fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeons and sports medicine physicians who are dedicated to treating hand injuries and conditions, both from general causes or those which are sports-related.
We offer a full range of treatments for hand pain and emphasize using nonsurgical methods whenever possible. However, in cases when surgery is necessary, our patients benefit from the latest, state-of-the-art procedures.
Some of the treatments for hand pain we offer include:
- Cortisone injections
- Anti-inflammatory medications
- Physical therapy
- Ligament reconstruction
- Diagnostic arthroscopy
- Endoscopic carpal tunnel release
- Trigger finger release
While there are a multitude of hand pain causes, you don’t have to let hand pain interfere with your life. Please contact us or schedule online. Our team at HROSM will formulate a treatment plan to fit your specific injury or condition. We look forward to getting you back to your game!
