Health

Hand and wrist pain: What causes it? What can you do about it?

Hand and wrist pain are never welcome. This kind of sensation can actually really prohibit your ability to go about your daily routine, so if you find that you are experiencing pain in your hands and wrists, it’s high time that you got to targeting the problem. Read on for the most common causes of wrist and hand pain, as well as some pointers for helping your hands to heal now and into the future…

Causes of Hand and Wrist Pain

Hand and wrist pain can creep up on you as a result of so many different habits, injuries or conditions. Some of the more common culprits can include…

Screen Time: Using our hands thumbs and fingers at all hours of the day to scroll on small devices isn’t exactly what they were designed for. You might experience pain or straining from extensive screen time or hours typing away at the computer – in many people’s cases, it’s the combination of the two that is the kicker.

Injury: Ongoing hand, wrist and finger pain can simply be a result of an injury. This may have been significant or minor, with the affliction worsening over time.

Over Use and Tension: We tend to hold a lot of tension in our hands, most commonly through balling them up into fists when stressed or when absent minded. When this is coupled with using your hands and wrists a lot for working, cooking and other day to day activities, it can result in persistent discomfort, pain or long term injury.

Carpal Tunnel: This is a very common nerve disorder, carpal tunnel is a condition which impacts hands and causes significant pain in the hand, forearm and wrist when untreated. You might also experience a lack of mobility, tingling and even numbness.

Tendinitis: Pain is caused by an inflammation in the wrist tendons, right at the base of the thumb. Tendinitis can be treated with a splint, cortisone shots, anti-inflammatory medications or, in extreme cases, surgery.

Arthritis: Arthritis is one of the leading causes of hand pain. This is where joints lose their cartilage, causing significant pain with every movement. Arthritis becomes more and more common as you age.

Fracture: If you’re experiencing significant hand or wrist pain alongside swelling, reduced movement ability or stiffness you might well have a small or significant fracture.

At Home Management

How you treat and manage your hand pain is going to largely depend on its cause. If you are experiencing pain of any ongoing kind, then it’s important to head to your general practitioner or a medical professional to seek advice from professionals at Evoker. A doctor will be able to help you to treat your pain and give you a referral or recommendation to a professional who will be able to effectively target the root cause.

Pain Prevention – Seeking Help

If you find that you are experiencing hand pain beyond a day or two, then you should absolutely book in at your doctor to get your condition diagnosed by a professional. You will likely be referred to a hand physiotherapist who will help you to strengthen and repair your hand and wrist pain in the optimal manner possible. Professionals will be able to direct you towards the right pain management methods, which will likely combine hand exercises, soaks and pain medications.

Book in with a physiotherapist or your doctor to start your journey towards a pain free life now!