Is your Hand Pain causing permanent discomfort for you? Do you feel helpless due to your Hand Pain and want to learn the causes of pain to treat it properly? Here’s authentic information about pain in your hands. Certain health conditions, including some autoimmune diseases, arthritis and injury cause hand pain.
Studies show that your hands have delicate and complex structures consisting of 27 bones with hundreds of joints. The combined action of joints and muscles present in your hands enable your hands to perform dextrous, strong and precise movements. However, movements also make them vulnerable to injuries. Anyhow, studies have found that a number of factors are responsible for causing pain in hands. The pain originates different parts of hand structures, including:
- Nerves.
- Tendons.
- Bones.
- Connective tissues.
- Joints.
Hand pain is usually results from:
- Fractures and sprains.
- Several chronic diseases.
- Inflammation.
- Motion injuries.
- Nerve damage.
From all of these, many factors can be restricted or treated fully to stop pain in hands. It depends on the causes of hand pain that what type of treatment will be effective for your hand pain. The treatment options for pain in hands include exercise, lifestyle changes, and medications.
But first of all you should know the factors contributing to hand pain and making it worsen.
Let’s start!
1.Arthritis
Inflammation in the joints is commonly caused by arthritis. Arthritis also is one of the great factors that take part in causing hand pain. Although pain due to arthritis can occur anywhere in your body it particularly affects your wrist and hands. Arthritis can be categorized in several types on the basis of location of pain but out of them Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid arthritis are the most common.
Studies show that your hands contain hundreds of delicate joints that are made of articular cartilage. This cartilage not only covers the ends of bones but also provides a slippery surface to the ends of joints. These joints in your hands experience a lot of wear and tear over the years and lose their flexibility and smoothness. Thus decrease in the slippery texture of joints leads to painful symptoms in hands.
On the other hand, rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease that not only affects many parts of your body but also causes inflammation, stiffness, and pain in hand joints. The condition often starts in the hands and feet.
Common signs and symptoms of arthritis include:
- Swelling around joints.
- Appearance of small cysts at the tips of fingers and toes.
- Pain and stiffness in joints, especially in the morning.
- Experience of looseness, grating or grinding sensations in finger joints.
- Burning sensation in finger and wrist joints.
- Severe pain in hands, especially after repetitive motion or heavy gripping.
- Warmth at the site of inflamed joints.
- Over-extension in the surroundings of thumb joints (enlarged in size).
Common treatments for arthritis, include:
- Injecting long-lasting steroids or anesthetics in your bloodstream.
- Relief the symptoms of pain and inflammation with medications.
- Physical or occupational therapy.
- Surgery.
- Splitting of joints during repetitive motion or heavy gripping.
2. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
The bones and ligaments located in your hands end in a narrow passageway, called carpal tunnel. The median nerve that runs from your forearm to the palm of the hand also passes through there. The tendons present at this spot contribute to your fingers movement.
Any damage to the median nerve that makes the median nerve squeezed by a narrow carpal tunnel, is known as carpal tunnel syndrome. The narrowing of nerves happens when the tendons around the joints of the hand get thickened and cause swelling and irritation in that area.
According to research, carpal tunnel syndrome is identified with its prominent symptoms, such as mild pain at the beginning but becomes severe after sometime. More symptoms include numbness, burning, itching or tingling in fingers and palm of hand. Severe pain in the middle finger, thumb and index finger is another prominent sign of this condition.
Other symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome include:
- Trouble performing certain tasks from hands.
- Trouble grasping things.
- Difficulty differentiate hot and cold objects.
- Experiencing sensations of swelling in fingers, even there’s no swelling.
- Severe pain during night.
- Decrease in gripping strength.
- Stiffness in joints especially in the morning.
Common treatment options for the condition include:
- Stretching and exercise.
- Avoiding dexterous activities.
- Having surgery.
- Acupuncture.
- Splinting.
- Taking over-the-counter medications.
- Taking oral steroids.
- Using ice or cool packs.
- Getting injections for steroids or anesthetics.
3. Ganglion Cysts
If you observe a lump or large mass hanging out of the back of your wrist which is not typically painful, be careful because it is a ganglion cyst. Although ganglion cysts are not painful initially but after some time they cause severe pain when they fully grow up. Such lumps may also appear at the base of your fingers, underside of your wrist or at the end of finger joints. These cysts became filled with a fluid. That’s why the mass quickly changes its size. When the ganglion cyst enlarges to an extreme limit it starts to put pressure on nearby nerves and tissues causing numbness, tingling as severe pain in your wrist and hand.
According to studies, the conditions often go away without treatment. Proper rest and stretching exercises can help reduce the size of a lump. If a cyst becomes painful, draining the fluid out of the cyst can help relieve the pain. In some cases, the healthcare providers prefer to remove the cyst entirely.
4. Gout
A very painful and complex form of arthritis is known as gout. Gout creates sudden, severe pain in your joints. This usually attacks the joints located at the base of big ties and thumbs. However, it can occur anywhere in your wrists, hands, knees and feet. When the gut attacks your hands, it causes intense pain, tenderness, burning sensations, and redness in your hands. You may often wake up at night due to severe pain in your hands. Gout causes tenderness and that’s why the weight of a shirt feels like a heavy burden. You may also feel like your hands are on fire.
Painful gout attacks can be treated with certain medications, including colchicine, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and some types of OTC painkillers. Several medications are available that can help prevent future complications and pain in hands.
5. Skier’s Thumb
Injury to a thick band of tissues that connects your bones in hands, causes skier’s thumb. The name of the disease explains that such injuries happen to skiers when they fall with a ski pole in their hands. The ligaments in hands get torn and stretched after falling. Moreover, any injury or accident that pulls your thumb out farther than it meant to be can cause a skier’s thumb. The condition can also cause the following in your thumb:
- tenderness.
- Swelling.
- Redness.
- Bruisiness.
The condition makes your thumb bend more easily than usual. This makes it hard for you to grasp things tightly or turn the knobs.
The treatment options for skier’s thumb include:
- Physical therapy.
- Applying anti-inflammatory creams, lotions or gels.
- Ice or cool packs application.
Severe tearing of the ligaments present in your thumb may need to wear a cast for 30 to 40 days so that it makes your thumb strong and still. Afterwards, wearing a splint for more than 20 to 30 days can help recover the injury soon. However, doctors suggest taking off the splints while doing exercise. This may help increase the motion in your injured thumb.
But the studies show that the authentic and durable treatment for a ligament tear is surgery. Torn ligament is fixed through surgery. After surgery, it is recommended to wear a cast and then a splint for a few months. This may help immediate recovery.
6. Traumatic Injury
Your hands have complex and vulnerable structures. Therefore, hand injuries are common. Your hands are always busy performing several tasks. That’s why they are constantly exposed to the danger of injury and accidents. Most common hand injuries occur due to sports, falling, and construction or repair works. 27 smaller bones in your hands can be broken down or get injured in several ways. These injuries or fractures take time to heal. Proper treatment can help heal the fractures but if you don’t pay attention to your hand pain or injuries, they can permanently change the structure of your hands leading to poor functioning of handstand hand pain.
In addition, the stretching or spraining in muscles of your hands can also cause hand pain. Whenever you feel pain in your hand, go to your physiotherapist and ask for a proper x-ray so that you may get confirmation about any injury in your hand. Common treatment options for hand injury include occupational or physical therapy. Other treatment options for hand injury include splinting and surgery. Sprains and fractures can be treated with splinting while surgery prevents long-term damage.
7. Peripheral Neuropathy
Weakness in your hands and feet leads to numbness and pain. The condition is known as peripheral neuropathy. This occurs due to damage to your peripheral nerves. Peripheral nerve damage is often caused by metabolic issues, traumatic injuries, diabetes, or infections. It not only damages your hand nerves but also causes several nerves in your body. Your hands contain different types of nerves, such as sensory nerves that help feeling temperature, touch and pain, and motor nerves that help control your muscle movements. Therefore, the location of peripheral neuropathic pain can be located after identification of the type of affected nerves.
More symptoms of peripheral neuropathy includes:
- Falling due to lack of coordination control.
- Tingling, numbness or prickling in your hands and feet.
- Intense sensitivity in your hands .
- Extreme freezing, burning or throbbing in your hands.
- Paralysis or muscle weakness.
Common treatment options for peripheral neuropathy include:
- Antidepressants.
- Prescribed painkillers.
- Prescription medications for nerve pain.
- OTC pain killers.
- Anti-seizure medications.
8. Raynaud’s Phenomenon
Exposure to cold temperature for a longer time period or staying under a stress condition, sometimes, causes numbness in your fingers and toes. The phenomenon is known as Raynaud’s disease or Raynaud’s phenomenon. In cold temperatures, your body’s mechanism starts working to save heat for you. Therefore, your body slows down their blood supply to your skin. This is done by narrowing the blood capillaries. But people who have Raynaud’s disease are badly influenced by the cold temperature.Their blood capillaries become narrower and tighter than normal.
You can identify a Raynaud’s attack, if the symptoms are:
- The color of fingers and toes changes at once like a whistle, blue or red.
- Ulcers, sores, chills.
- Tissue damage or gangrene.
- Cold and numb fingers and toes.
- Tingling, prickling and throbbing sensations in fingers and toes.
At initial stages, Raynaud’s symptoms are not so intense and can be treated at home by using some ordinary methods. But after some time, the symptoms become severe that lead to other life-threatening health conditions. Sometimes Raynaud’s disease becomes so serious that surgery becomes necessary. Common treatments also can help in reducing the likelihood of tissue damage and further attacks. The primary treatment for the disease is to keep your hands and feet warm especially in cold temperatures. You may use socks, gloves and chemical substances that can keep your hands and feet warm.
Top Tips for Hand Pain Relief
These tips can help you get rid of hand pain. But these remedies are just for temporary relief. You can apply them when doctor or medical assistance isn’t available right away.
Tips include:
- Use over-the-counter medications to have short-term relief. But for longer-term relief you have to talk with your doctor.
- Use a splint to avoid pain in injured joints.
- Use a heat and cold compressor to ease the stiffness or swelling.
Conclusion
Different health conditions or factors are considered responsible for hand pain. Sometimes, hand pain develops at once and you need to run to the doctor immediately but often it develops slowly. When you ignore the early symptoms of hand pain conditions, it becomes worse. Sometimes, accidents, or traumatic injuries also cause hand pain. So whatever the cause is, you should talk to your doctor so that they can suggest some effective medications. Doctors initially try to find out the cause of hand pain because treating the cause can reduce the pain. Ice, heat, anti-inflammatory drugs or pain relievers are the best treatment options. But in severe cases surgery is the requirement of permanent treatment.
