Do you get pain in your hands or wrists, which often gets worse throughout the day? Unlike other pain, such as hip, knee and back pain, when our hands and wrists hurt, we often ignore it.
In this post, we explain what could be causing it, why you shouldn’t ignore it, and the various treatment options available for hand and wrist pain.
Let’s cover the basics first. If the pain isn’t going away or simple at-home exercises and treatments aren’t proving effective, you should first consult with your GP, who may well be able to diagnose a potential condition via a series of questions and checks. If they’re not confident of the exact cause of pain, they may refer you to hospital for a range of diagnostic tests and procedures, such as an x-ray or ultrasound scan.
At the hospital, three main types of specialist surgeons diagnose and treat hand and wrist problems:
- Consultant orthopaedic hand and wrist surgeon
- Consultant orthopaedic hand, wrist and upper limb surgeon
- Consultant plastic reconstructive and hand surgeon.
You can check if a surgeon is on the GMC Specialist register in their area of speciality.
Causes Of Hand & Wrist Pain
Wrist pain typically worsens gradually, but this doesn’t mean it isn’t serious. Without treatment, wrist pain will almost always get progressively worse and could be a sign of nerve or connective tissue damage. Diagnosing the cause and treating any problems is critical and can help prevent deformities from developing in your hand or wrist.
Various causes of hand and wrist pain include:
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is also referred to as wrist tendinitis and is due to swelling in the carpal tunnel, which results in compression of the median nerve in your wrist. This can lead to limited movement in your hand and typically affects the mobility of the thumb, middle fingers and/or index fingers.
When you apply pressure to your wrist, you may also have pain. You can have carpal tunnel in one wrist or both wrists, and symptoms may differ for each hand.
Three main signs of carpal tunnel syndrome are:
- Pain, which may extend up your forearm
- Numbness in your hands and fingers
- Burning or tingling in your fingers and thumb.
- Trigger Finger is three times more common in women than men. The medical term for trigger finger is stenosing tenosynovitis, with the condition resulting from irritated flexor tendons that control the movement of the thumb and fingers. In addition to being painful, it can become very difficult to straighten the affected finger or thumb.
Three key signs of trigger finger are:
- Finger or thumb locks into a bent position
- Painful and difficult to straighten finger and thumb
- Popping sound when you manage to straighten your finger or thumb
- Arthritis in the hand and wrist leads to degeneration of the joints. The two main types of arthritis are osteoarthritis, which is caused by wear and tear and rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease.
The three main symptoms of hand arthritis are:
- Swollen fingers, knuckles and wrists
- Osteophytes (bony lumps) that grow around the joints
- Redness or warmth around painful joints.
- Bone fractures can also cause pain and swelling in the hand, fingers and wrists.
Hand & Wrist Symptoms Of Concern
Experiencing pain in your hand or wrist that continues for two days or longer could be an indicator that there is a serious problem. Other symptoms of concern include:
- Tingling or numbness
- Difficulty holding or grasping objects
- Dropping objects for no apparent reason
- Pain that disrupts your sleep
- Swelling, stiffness, and loss of joint mobility
- Pain that comes and goes over a long period.
Non-Surgical Treatment For Hand & Wrist Pain
Help with symptoms includes:
- Hand therapy to help with pain and mobility
- Wrist and hand braces or splints to provide support and help reduce inflammation
- Corticosteroid injections (steroid shots) to reduce inflammation and relieve pain.
That said, it is likely you will eventually require surgery if your symptoms are severe.
*This article is not intended to replace medical advice, diagnosis or treatment given by a qualified health professional. Instead, this article only provides information, not advice. For any medical enquiries, always consult your GP or specialist healthcare professional first*