Causes of Hand Pain & How Orthopedic Hand Surgeons Help Me?

Relief of hand pain will depend on what’s causing it. Some conditions will respond well to rest or stretching, such as overuse injuries, and others will require medical attention. Home remedies for hand pain include massaging the painful area and surrounding muscles; alternating hot and cold packs for 20 minutes at a time; and over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen (Advil). For minor injuries, Rest Ice Compression Elevation therapy can be particularly helpful, while those with more serious injuries, such as fractures or dislocations, should seek prompt medical attention.

Because our hands are used so much, and for so many different things, it can be painfully obvious when something isn’t right. There are many different bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles in the hand making the potential for something to go wrong that much higher. 
 
• Hand injuries – common causes include knocks and blows, falling on the hands, jamming a finger, overextension of the fingers or wrist, repetitive strain, finger fractures and dislocations, and soft tissue injuries.
• Overuse – causes include typing or using a computer mouse, using tools, lifting heavy items, hobbies that use the hands such as knitting or crocheting, and some sports.
• Ganglion cysts – benign, fluid-filled lumps that can develop near joints and tendons in the hand and wrist.
• Stenosing tenosynovitis – (also known as “trigger finger”) is a swollen tendon sheath at the base of a thumb or finger that makes it difficult or painful to move the affected digit.
• Scleroderma – a chronic condition that causes the skin of the fingers to thicken and tighten making them difficult to move.
• Raynaud’s phenomenon – a condition in which the blood vessels in the fingers or toes temporarily constrict, often in response to cold temperatures or stress, causing the fingers to become blue, and feel numb or painful.
• Arthritis – is a general term for more than 100 different complaints that cause stiffness, pain, and swelling in joints. The two main types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, both of which can affect the hands.
• Carpal tunnel syndrome – caused by the median nerve becoming compressed or squeezed resulting in pain, tingling, and numbness.
• Osteoporosis – sometimes called “brittle bone disease”, osteoporosis is a condition in which the bones gradually lose mass causing them to become weak and brittle and vulnerable to breaks or fractures.

Nerve pain can be caused by putting too much pressure on the nerves, having a traumatic injury, or overstretching. Carpal tunnel syndrome is an example of what can happen when too much pressure is placed on a nerve. In this particular condition the median nerve, which runs through the wrist, becomes compressed or squeezed and causes pain, tingling, and numbness in the hand and arm. 
 
Peripheral neuropathy is another condition that causes numbness, pain, and weakness in the hands and occurs when the peripheral nerves (the part of the nervous system outside the brain and spinal cord) are damaged. Causes of peripheral nerve damage include diabetes, traumatic injuries, and infections, and can affect one nerve or many different nerves throughout the body.

As mentioned above, there are several ways that hand pain can be relieved using home remedies, but in more serious cases medical attention will be needed. Examples include situations when:
 
• the pain doesn’t get better with home treatment or doesn’t respond to treatment recommended by a doctor
• the pain gets steadily worse
• occurs along with other symptoms such as pain in the arm, fever, or exhaustion
 
Go to the emergency room if:
 
• you have sudden, intense, unbearable hand pain
• you think you may have broken your wrist or hand
• there is a visible traumatic injury to the hand that causes severe pain

If non-surgical options fail or if the hand has sustained considerable damage that needs to be repaired, hand surgery may be advised. To lessen discomfort, trauma, and recuperation time, orthopedic specialists will adopt minimally invasive techniques wherever possible. Surgery options include tendon transfer, tendon repair, cord release, joint replacement, trigger finger release, and fracture surgeries. Surgical hardware, such as screws, pins, or plates, is used to realign fractures that are difficult or that need to be realigned for the fracture to heal properly.
 
We have a team of caring and experienced medical professionals dedicated to helping you to minimize your pain and maximize your life! NorthShore Orthopedics is dedicated to helping you improve your health and provide extensive treatment for all your musculoskeletal injuries and disorders. Call us today to book an appointment to meet with our foot and ankle specialist, or visit our clinic. We serve patients from Maui, Wailea, Kihei, Hana, Lahaina, Kaanapali, Lana’i, Moloka‘i, Oahu, Kaua’i, and Hawai’i Island