Hand Specialist

What soft tissue injuries cause hand pain?

Injuries, repetitive movement, and degenerative changes contribute to many problems with the muscles, ligaments, and tendons in your hands. A few examples include:

• Trigger finger
• Flexor tendon tear
• Mallet finger injury
• Dupuytren’s contracture
• Sprained thumb (skier’s thumb)

In addition to causing pain, these conditions make it difficult to bend, straighten, or use your fingers.

How does carpal tunnel syndrome affect my hands?

Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when the median nerve is pinched in a narrow passageway in your wrist called the carpal tunnel. Though carpal tunnel syndrome begins in your wrist, its symptoms affect your hand, causing weakness and tingling and numbness in your thumb, index, and middle fingers.

What types of arthritis affect my hands?

The joints in your hands and fingers are susceptible to osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis often first appears in small joints in your fingers, where it begins as inflammation of the synovial tissues lining the joint.

Osteoarthritis develops over years of wear and tear that cause cartilage to break down. The loss of cartilage results in bone rubbing against bone every time you use the joint. Both types of arthritis cause pain, inflammation, stiffness, and loss of movement.

While non-surgical treatments are the first line of treatment, arthritis is a progressive disease that may eventually need surgery, such as a bone fusion or joint replacement.

What should I know about hand fractures?

Finger fractures are the most common type of fracture in athletes. However, anyone can end up with a fractured hand or fingers, whether due to a fall, crush injury, twisting injury, or a direct blow.

The symptoms of a fracture include:

• Pain
• Swelling
• Bruising
• Deformity
• Shortened finger
• Inability to move a finger or use your hand
• Numbness in your hand or finger

If the fracture is severe or the bones displaced, you may notice that part of your finger or hand looks deformed.

How do orthopaedic specialists treat hand fractures?

Even if your injury seems minor, it’s important to have it evaluated at Performance Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, especially if you have a broken finger. Your provider makes sure the broken bones are properly aligned and stabilized. If the bones heal while they’re out of their normal position, you may lose fine movement in that finger.

To get comprehensive treatment for all types of hand problems, call Performance Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine or schedule an appointment online.