Whether it’s difficulty doing your buttons up, opening jars or planting bulbs in your garden, it can be upsetting when we experience pain and discomfort in our hands.
Can you spot the symptoms of these hand conditions?
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Carpal tunnel is when pressure on the nerve causes discomfort. There is more risk of getting carpal tunnel syndrome if you are diabetic, pregnant or have a job or hobby that uses your hands repetitively.
The symptoms to look out for are:
Pins and needles
Numbness
Muscle wasting
Waking from your sleep in discomfort
Dupuytren's disease
Dupuytren's is a thickening of the tissue in the palm, fingers or thumbs, which cause the fingers to flex upwards. Risk factors are smoking, drinking a lot of alcohol, manual work, diabetes and having someone else in your family who also has Dupuytren's.
The symptoms to look out for:
A finger that has started to contract down or a thickening in the palm
It commonly affects the ring and little finger, but it can present in any finger and also the thumb
Common cause of a palm lump
Thumb arthritis
Hand arthritis commonly affects the basal thumb joint. You may have trouble with small tasks such as doing buttons.
Symptoms to look out for are:
Pain and stiffness of the thumb
Reduction in the strength of the grip
Clicking and cracking in the joint
Trigger Finger
Trigger finger is when the tendon that runs along the front of the hand thickens and catches, causing fingers to lock in a bent position.
Symptoms to look out for are:
Finger locks down in one position
Finger can click out of position
Can affect any finger and occasionally the thumb
Pain can radiate up the arm
If you are experiencing any symptoms listed above and if hand pain is getting in the way of your day to day life, get in touch with us to see how we can help you.
