HAND/WRIST PAINFUL CONDITIONS

HAND/WRIST PAINFUL CONDITIONS

1. Overuse problems.

a. Carpal tunnel syndrome

- Caused by pressure on the nerve in the wrist.

- Symptoms are numbness, tingling, weakness or pain.

b. Tendon pain

- A series of small tears in the tissue in or around the tendon.

- Symptoms are pain, tenderness, decreased strength and movement.

c. DeQuervain’s disease

- Occurs when the tendons and the tendon covering on the thumb side of the wrist swell and become inflamed.

d. Repetitive motion syndrome.

- Occurs when pain, swelling or tenderness occur from repeating the same motion over and over.

e. Writer’s cramps

- Occurs with repeated hand or finger motion, like writing or typing.

f. Trigger finger or trigger thumb

- Is a tendon problem.

2. Bone, muscle or joint problems.

- Dupuytren’s disease.

- Abnormal thickening of tissue beneath the skin in the palms of the hands or soles of feet.

- The thickened skin or fascia may limit movement or cause the fingers to bend so the are unable to be straightened.

- Trigger finger or thumb.

- Occurs when the flexor tendon and its sheath in a finger or thumb become thickened or swell.

- Ganglion cysts - Small sacs filled with fluid that appear as bumps on the hands and wrists.

- Also can appear on feet, ankles, knees or shoudlers.

3. Problems from medical conditions.

- Tingling or pain in the fingers or hand, may be sign of heart attack, especially in the left hand.

- Diabetes may affect feeling or touch to be decreased. Decreased feeling in the hands may be due to decreased blood flow to the hands or damage to the nerves of the hands.

- Pregnancy may cause redness, itching, swelling, numbness or tingling. This will often go away after delivery.

- Osteoarthritis is a progressive breakdown of the tissue that protects and cushions joints. It may cause stiffness and pain with movement.

- Rheumatoid arthritis may cause stiffness and pain with movement. Deformity of the fingers may occur over time.

- Lupus is a long-standing autoimmune disease, where the immune system attacks normal body tissues as though they are foreign substances. It may cause joint pain.

- Gout is an inflammatory joint disease that causes acute pain and swelling. Develops when uric acid crystals form in and around joints.

- Raynaud’s phenomenon is a condition in which some areas of the body have an extreme response to cold temperature or emotional stress. During an episode of Raynaud’s, the blood vessels will tighten, severely limiting the flow of blood to the skin, causing numbness, tingling, swelling, pain and pale color.

- Infection can cause pain, redness and swelling with red streaking, heat, fever or drainage of pus. Infection can cause tenderness to touch or pain with movement at the site of the infection.

4. Finger, Hand and Wrist injuries

- Commonly occur during sports or recreational activities, work-related tasks, accidental falls, fistfights, or using machinery.

- Injuries in children most often occur during play or sports or from accidental falls.

- Adults are at higher risk for injuries and fractures due to loss of muscle mass, bone strength, balance and vision problems.

- A. Sudden Acute Injury

- - Bruises.

- - Ligament injuries.

- - Tendon injury.

- - Sprain/strains

- - Fractures.

- - Dislocations.

- - Crushing injuries.

- B. Overuse Injuries

- - Carpal tunnel syndrome

- - Tendon pain

- - DeQuervain’s disease

- Treatment may include first aid measures, medications, taping, bracing, splinting, casting, physical medicine modalities and surgery in some instances