Most Common Hand Pain

We use our hands every day for EVERYTHING. With the current pandemic around us, we’re all doing some extra cleaning around the house, handwashing, and hand sanitizing. With all these precautious activities that we’re taking for our health and others’ health, it’s common to get more pain in our hands.

It’s normal not to know the anatomy of our hands (just like I don’t!). Still, our hands are beautifully composed of several bones, muscles, and ligaments that all work together to allow us to function in our daily lives. Because we use them so much, it’s rational for there to be many common hand problems that can interfere with our daily activities. The following are some of the most common hand pain:

Arthritis

• Joint inflammation can occur in multiple areas of the hands and wrists
• The pain can be excruciating!
• Rheumatoid arthritis: a condition that can attack joints throughout the body, commonly affects joints and surrounding tendons of the wrist and fingers. The bones become swollen, painful, and can deform, which interferes with normal hand function.

Osteoarthritis

• AKA degenerative arthritis – One of the most common forms of arthritis in the hands. The regular use of hands causes this, or it can also develop after an injury.
• Osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition that affects small joints of the fingers and the base of the thumb. It is common in both men and women and causes the bones to become swollen, stiff, and painful. Hand pain can often lead to joint enlargement, interfering with normal hand function, and can impact the person’s quality of life.
• Usually occurs in one of three places: base of the thumb, end joint closest to the fingertip, middle joint of the finger.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

• Condition in which the median nerve compressed passes through the carpal tunnel in the wrist, a narrow-confined space.
• Symptoms include trouble gripping objects with hand, pain or numbness in hand, “pin and needles” feeling in fingers, swollen feeling in the fingers, burning or tingling in the fingers, especially the thumb, index, and middle fingers.

As our hands help us do mostly everything throughout the day, and now that we need them more than ever to stay safe from COVID-19, it is essential to take care of them as best as possible.

When symptoms begin to appear, we’re here for you. We offer same-day consultations!

Austin Spine & Wellness Center  Click to Call or Text

“Hand Pain and Problems.” Hand Pain and Problems | Johns Hopkins Medicine, www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/hand-pain-and-problems.