Hand and wrist pain | Causes, exercises, treatments

There are a number of conditions that can affect the hand and wrist.

Carpal tunnel syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when there’s pressure on the median nerve as it passes through the carpal tunnel.

This can cause tingling, numbness and pain, mainly in your hand and fingers. It can also cause similar symptoms in the wrist and forearm. Often the symptoms are worse at night.

If you think you have carpal tunnel syndrome, you should get an appointment at your GP surgery.

Carpal tunnel syndrome can go away in a few weeks or months. Using a splint or having a steroid injection can help.

If symptoms don’t go away, a minor operation to relieve the pressure in the carpal tunnel can solve the problem.

De Quervain’s tendinopathy

Problems can develop with tendons in the hand and wrist.

Tendons have a protective covering, or sheath, with synovial fluid in. This thick fluid protects the tendon and allows it to move easier.

Sometimes tendons or tendon sheaths can become inflamed. This can cause pain, swelling and stiffness and is called tendinopathy.

It can happen if tendons are overused, for example after playing a lot of sport.

Arthritis can lead to tendinopathy, and in rare cases so can an infection. Sometimes, there might not be an apparent cause.

De Quervain’s (Dey kwer-veins) tendinopathy is a common condition that can affect tendons in the wrist, causing pain around the wrist and at the base of the thumb. Pain normally eases with rest and can get worse with activity.

Applying ice wrapped in a damp towel and taking an NSAID can help. If your condition is not improving and is affecting your quality of life, steroid injections, splints, hand therapy or surgery might also be helpful.

Trigger finger

Trigger finger is the name of a condition in which you can’t straighten a finger or thumb properly. You might even need to use your other hand to straighten it. Very occasionally, a finger may become too painful to straighten and may stay stuck in the same position.

Trigger finger most commonly affects the thumb, ring and middle finger. More than one finger can be affected at the same time.

The affected finger might swell, and it can be painful.

There can be a clicking or popping sensation that comes from the finger, especially in the morning.

It’s thought to be caused by swelling of a tendon or tendon sheath.

Sometimes the swelling can cause nodules to form. These are small lumps that form under the skin.

Trigger finger can happen to otherwise healthy people for no clear reason. It’s more common among women over the age of 40.

It’s more likely if you’ve had a previous injury to the palm of the hand. Other medical conditions such as diabetes, gout, rheumatoid arthritis and an underactive thyroid may also increase someone’s risk of getting it.

Trigger finger can get better without the need for treatment. You may need to avoid certain activities if it’s thought they’re making your symptoms worse.

NSAIDs, like ibuprofen, can help.

If it doesn’t get better on its own and it isn’t treated, it’s possible for an affected thumb or finger to become permanently bent. Treatment can involve steroid injections. In most cases this will sort out the problem.

In some cases, a small operation can be carried out to stop the tendon from catching.

Dupuytren’s contracture

Dupuytren’s (due-per-trens) contracture can cause the fingers to bend in towards the palm of the hand.

It’s caused by tissues in the palms of the hands gradually thickening, which then pulls the fingers towards the palm.

This condition is often mild and might not need specific treatment. It’s more common in men in their middle age. Some heavy, repetitive tasks, such as those that are performed in mining, are thought to increase the risk of Dupuytren’s.

It normally affects the middle, ring and little finger.

It’s not often painful, but it can make it difficult to straighten out fingers and use your hands properly.

It may affect just one hand, but often affects both hands.

Treatment is only needed if fingers have started to bend, or if you can’t use your hand properly.

Treatment options available in the earlier stages, include injections of a medicine called collagenase (colla-gen-ayse). This can break down the thickened tissues. This is a quick and easy treatment that doesn’t need to be done as an operation. You will need to have your fingers straightened and stretched afterwards by a healthcare professional, which might be a bit uncomfortable.

There are surgical options including cutting the thickened tissue or cutting it out. This can be done as an operation or using a needle in an outpatient clinic.

Talk to your doctor to discuss your options if your symptoms aren’t improving.

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis. It can affect hands and wrists, particularly the joints at the ends of the fingers or at the base of the thumb.

It can cause pain and stiffness, and make it difficult to use your hands and wrists properly.

Osteoarthritis can cause bony lumps to develop on the hands, particularly on the fingers.

If possible, it can help to avoid tasks that make the pain worse and put strain on your hands and wrists.

Keeping your hands and wrists moving as much as possible can help ease symptoms. There are some examples of simple exercises you could do, try to do these every day.

Taking painkillers, such as paracetamol, or NSAIDs such as ibuprofen can help ease pain and help you to keep moving your hands.

Capsaicin cream, which is made from extracts from chilli plants, has helped some people with osteoarthritis of the hand. It can help block pain messages sent to nerves.

In some cases, if symptoms don’t improve then surgery might be an option. Finger joints can be fused. This can improve symptoms, but it will lead to a loss of movement.

It’s also possible to have joint replacements for hand osteoarthritis. Another option could be arthroscopy, also known as key-hole surgery, to clean out a joint using a small cut, rather than open surgery.

Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition that can cause inflammation in joints.

This condition can sometimes start in the hands and wrists, with symptoms of pain, swelling and stiffness. This is often worse first thing in the morning. The stiffness can last for longer than half an hour and tends not to ease with movement. Joints can feel warm, and they can sometimes be red.

Rheumatoid arthritis can affect both hands and wrists in the same way at the same time. The symptoms can start quite gradually.

This is an uncommon condition in the general population. But if you do get any of these symptoms in your hands, especially if you also have an overall feeling of being unwell and very tired, see a doctor as soon as you can.

There are drugs that can treat the underlying cause of rheumatoid arthritis, and these can help prevent damage to your joints. The earlier treatment is started, the more effective it’s likely to be.

Hand-arm vibration syndrome

A condition called hand-arm vibration syndrome can affect people who have regularly used vibrating tools and machinery over a period of around 10 years or more. Such tools include pneumatic drills, power drills and chainsaws.

The early symptoms are loss of feeling, numbness and pins and needles in the fingers. Symptoms can often be mild, and just affect the ends of the fingers.

It might cause whole fingers to go numb. For some people this can make tasks such as doing up buttons and picking up small objects like coins difficult.

It’s thought that it could be caused by repeated minor injuries to the small nerves and blood vessels in the fingers.

Hand-arm vibration syndrome can lead to another condition called Raynaud’s phenomenon. See below.

If you think you have symptoms of hand-arm vibration syndrome see a doctor and report it to your manager if you think it’s being caused by something you do at work.

You might need to stop using vibrating tools and machinery to stop your condition getting worse.

Raynaud’s phenomenon

Raynaud’s phenomenon is a condition that causes a reduction in blood supply to the outer parts of the body, including the fingers.

It can happen in the cold or in stressful situations. It can also occur as a result of using hand-held vibrating tools.

During an attack of Raynaud’s, the fingers can change colour. They may first go white or look waxy. They can then go blue, and possibly even purple or black in severe cases. They are then likely to go red, and can be painful, tingly and numb when the blood rushes back.

Keeping warm in cold weather can help reduce the chances of an attack of Raynaud’s. Wearing several layers of clothing, as well as a hat, scarf and gloves will help. Reusable or disposable hand warmers and heated gloves can help.

It’s good to keep the skin of your fingers as healthy as possible by using a moisturiser at least once or twice a day. Your pharmacist will be able to tell you which ones are good for people with Raynaud’s.

Exercising regularly is also good for your circulation.

Smoking is very bad for your circulation and can make Raynaud’s much worse. If you smoke, quitting can be the best thing you do. Your GP will be able to offer advice and support, and there’s useful information on the NHS Smokefree website.

There are drugs available, such as nifedipine, which can improve your blood flow. These will need to be prescribed by a doctor.

Pain in Hand: 10 Possible Causes

Hand pain can result from injury, arthritis, and other health conditions, including autoimmune disease.

The human hands are complex and delicate structures that contain 27 bones. The muscles and joints in the hand allow for strong, precise, and dexterous movements, but they are vulnerable to injury.

There are many different causes and types of hand pain. Hand pain can originate in different parts of the complex skeletal structure, including the:

• bones
• joints
• connective tissues
• tendons
• nerves

Hand pain can stem from:

• inflammation
• nerve damage
• repetitive motion injuries
• sprains and fractures
• several chronic health conditions

Many conditions contributing to hand pain can be treated. Depending on the cause of your hand pain, you may benefit from medications, exercises, or lifestyle changes.

Arthritis (the inflammation of one or more joints) is the leading cause of hand pain. It can occur anywhere in the body but is particularly common in the hands and wrist. There are more than 100 different types of arthritis, but the most common are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Osteoarthritis typically affects older adults. Over the years, joints in the hands experience a lot of wear and tear. Articular cartilage is a slippery tissue that covers the ends of bones, allowing joints to move smoothly. As it gradually decreases, painful symptoms may begin to appear.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease that can affect many parts of the body. It causes the joints to become inflamed, which leads to pain and stiffness. It often begins in the hands or feet, affecting the same joints on both sides of your body. Learn how to naturally relieve arthritis pain.

Arthritis symptoms include:

• dull or burning pain in joints of fingers or wrist
• pain after overuse (such as heavy gripping or repetitive motion)
• morning pain and stiffness in joints
• swelling around joints
• changes in surrounding thumb joints (overextension)
• warmth at site of the affected joint (resulting from inflammation)
• sensations of grinding, grating, or looseness around finger joints
• small cysts on the end of fingers

Common arthritis treatments include:

• medications to treat symptoms of pain and swelling
• injections of long-lasting anesthetics or steroids
• splinting of joints during times of overuse
• surgery
• occupational therapy/physical therapy modalities

The carpal tunnel is a narrow passageway of ligament and bone located at the base of your hand. It contains the median nerve (a nerve running from your forearm to the palm of your hand) and the tendons responsible for moving your fingers.

Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when the median nerve gets squeezed by a narrowing carpal tunnel. This narrowing can be caused by the thickening of irritated tendons, inflammation, or anything that might cause swelling in this area.

Symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome begin gradually and can reach varying degrees of severity. Symptoms include frequent burning, tingling, or itching numbness in the palm of the hand and the fingers. Pain is often felt around the thumb, index finger, and middle finger.

Other carpal tunnel symptoms include:

• feeling like fingers are swollen even when no swelling is present
• pain during the night
• pain and stiffness of hand or wrist in the morning
• decreased grip strength
• trouble grasping small objects or preforming certain tasks
• wasting away of the muscles at the base of thumb (severe cases)
• difficulty feeling the difference between hot and cold

Common treatments:

• splinting
• avoiding uncomfortable activities
• using ice or cool packs
• taking over-the-counter (OTC) pain medications
• getting injections of anesthetic or steroids
• taking oral steroids
• exercising and stretching
• having acupuncture
• having surgery

De Quervain’s tenosynovitis is a painful condition affecting the tendons around your thumb. Swelling in the two tendons around the base of your thumb causes the area around your tendons to become inflamed. This inflammation puts pressure on nearby nerves, causing pain and numbness around the base of your thumb.

Other symptoms of de Quervain’s tenosynovitis include:

• pain around the thumb-side of your wrist
• swelling near the base of your thumb
• trouble grasping something or making a pinching motion
• a sticking or popping feeling when moving your thumb

Common treatments for De Quervain’s tenosynovitis include:

• splinting
• applying ice or cold packs
• taking OTC pain relievers, like ibuprofen or aspirin
• avoiding painful tasks and pinching motions
• having physical therapy or occupational therapy
• having surgery
• injecting the area with a steroid

Ganglion cysts of the wrist and hand are not typically painful, but they can be unsightly. They most often appear as a large mass or lump coming out of the back of the wrist. They can also appear in varying sizes on the underside of the wrist, the end joint of the finger, or the base of the finger.

These cysts are filled with fluid and can quickly appear, disappear, or change size. If your ganglion cyst becomes large enough to put pressure on nearby nerves, you may experience pain, tingling, or numbness around the wrist or hand.

Ganglion cysts can often go without treatment. Rest and splinting can reduce the size of the cyst and it may go away with time. If it’s causing pain, your doctor may choose to drain the fluid from the cyst or remove it entirely.

Gout, which is a complex form of arthritis, is an extremely painful condition that can affect anyone. People with gout experience sudden, severe attacks of pain in their joints. Gout most often affects the joint at the base of the big toe, but it can occur anywhere in the feet, knees, hands, and wrists.

If you have gout in your hands or wrists, you’ll experience intense attacks of pain, burning, redness, and tenderness. Gout often wakes people in the night. You may feel like your hand is on fire. The weight of a bed sheet can feel intolerable.

There are several medications available to treat painful gout attacks, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) and colchicine. There are also medications that help prevent future attacks and complications. Learn more about managing gout with both traditional and alternative treatments.

Lupus is an autoimmune disease, which means your immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells and damages healthy tissue. Joint pain and stiffness are often the first signs of lupus.

When lupus flares, there is inflammation throughout the body. This inflammation causes a thin lining around the joints to thicken, leading to pain and swelling in the hands, wrists, and feet.

Other symptoms of lupus include:

• muscle pain
• an unexplained fever
• red rashes, often on the face
• hair loss
• pale or purple fingers or toes
• pain when taking deep breaths
• fatigue
• swelling in the legs or around eyes

There is no cure for lupus, but there are many treatments available that can help you manage symptoms. For pain and stiffness in the hand and wrist joints, try:

• a warm or cold compress
• OTC pain medications
• NSAIDs
• physical or occupational therapy
• resting painful joints and avoiding painful activities

Peripheral neuropathy is a condition that causes numbness, pain, and weakness in your hands and feet. Peripheral neuropathy in your hands occurs when your peripheral nerves are damaged.

There are a number of things that can cause peripheral nerve damage, including diabetes, traumatic injuries, infections, and metabolic problems.

Peripheral neuropathy can affect one nerve or many different nerves throughout the body. Your hands and wrists have different types of nerves, including sensory nerves that feel things like touch, temperature, and pain, and motor nerves that control muscle movement.

The type and location of your neuropathic pain will depend on which nerves are affected.

Common symptoms of peripheral neuropathy include:

• numbness, prickling, or tingling in your feet or hands that comes on gradually
• sharp, jabbing, throbbing, freezing, or burning pain in hands or feet
• extreme sensitivity in hands or feet
• muscle weakness or paralysis
• lack of coordination; falling

Common treatments for peripheral neuropathy include:

• prescription medications that treat nerve pain
• OTC pain relievers
• prescription painkillers
• anti-seizure medication
• antidepressants

Raynaud’s phenomenon, also known as Raynaud’s disease, causes certain areas (particularly the fingers and toes) to become numb and cold when you’re stressed or exposed to cold temperatures.

When you get cold, it’s normal for your body to save heat by slowing the supply of blood to the skin. It achieves this by narrowing the blood vessels.

For people with Raynaud’s, the body’s reaction to cold or stress is more intense. Blood vessels in the hands can narrow much faster and tighter than normal.

The symptoms of a Raynaud’s attack might include:

• cold fingers and toes
• fingers and toes changing colors (red, white, blue)
• numbness or a tingling, throbbing, prickly feeling
• sores, gangrene, ulcers, and tissue damage (in severe cases)

Primary Raynaud’s is usually so mild that no treatment is required. But secondary Raynaud’s, which results from another health condition, can be more severe and may require surgery.

Treatment focuses on preventing further attacks and reducing the likelihood of tissue damage.

This primarily means keeping hands and feet warm in cold temperatures with gloves, socks, boots, and chemical heaters.

Trigger finger, also known as stenosing tenosynovitis, is a painful condition that occurs when your finger or thumb gets stuck in a bent position.

When you move your fingers, your tendons slide through tunnels called tendon sheaths. When these tunnels swell, the tendon can no longer slide through, and it gets stuck.

If you have trigger finger, you may feel a tender bump and heat on the top of your palm, at the base of your finger, where the tendon sheath is located. Other symptoms include:

• a popping or snapping feeling as you straighten and bend your finger
• one or more fingers stuck in a bent position
• stiffness and inability to straighten your finger in the morning
• severe pain at the base of the finger

Common treatments for trigger finger include:

• NSAIDs
• a steroid injection directly into the tendon sheath
• surgery to release the tendon sheath

Hand injuries are extremely common. The complex structure of the hand is delicate and vulnerable. Your hands are constantly exposed to danger. Hand injuries are common in sports, construction, and falls.

There are 27 small bones in each hand that can be broken in a number of different ways. Fractures in the hand can heal poorly when not treated properly. A poorly healed fracture can permanently change the structure and dexterity of your hand.

There are also muscles in the hand that can be sprained or strained. Always go to your doctor for an X-ray to ensure there are no fractures. Physical or occupational therapy is an essential component of treating any serious hand injury.

Treatments for fractures and sprains will vary depending on the type and location of the injury. Splinting is a common treatment option. Here’s how to make a temporary splint from materials you have.

In severe cases, surgery may be necessary to prevent long-term damage.

There are a few strategies you can use to relieve hand pain:

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There are many different causes of hand pain. Generally, you should see your doctor when you have any new pain or when pain suddenly worsens.

Some hand problems develop gradually. Talk to your doctor if gradually worsening pain has been bothering you for some time. In the event of a traumatic injury, go to your local emergency room or critical care center for an X-ray.

You can connect with a primary care doctor in your area using the Healthline FindCare tool.

Arms hurt from the elbow to the hand

The nature of the sensations is half of the diagnosis

The nature of the pain from the elbow to the hand can be different: aching, pulling, burning, stabbing. It can occur at rest, during exertion, or during certain movements. It can be one-time occurrence, regularly repeated and incessant. Sometimes pain is accompanied by dysfunction of the joints of the hand or fingers.

In order to establish a diagnosis, the doctor needs to know all these features: their combinations allow in some cases to accurately establish the diagnosis without additional costly studies.

Causes of pain

The main causes of arm pain from the elbow to the hand are the same as for wrist pain. This is inflammation. The factors that cause it are injuries, diseases of the spine and edema, tunnel syndromes. Tumors are less common.

What diseases do the hands suffer from

When the arm from the elbow to the hand is very sore after an injury or a sudden load, it is necessary to contact a traumatologist to rule out a fracture. If at the same time the sore spot swells, mobility is impaired, medical attention is needed immediately.

If the arm from the elbow to the hand hurts so badly that it is impossible to endure, and there were no external reasons (trauma, overload) for this, it is necessary to urgently consult a doctor at any time of the day. This can lead to deep vein thrombosis. This condition is life threatening.

Into the arm, more often to the left, may radiate pain in ischemia and myocardial infarction. In this case, the pain is always one-sided and occurs without connection with increased loads on the limb. In this case, pay attention to the general condition of the patient: whether there is shortness of breath, whether the lips turn blue. Measure the pressure. At the slightest deviation from the norm in the general condition of the patient, call an ambulance: without an ECG, even a doctor will not be able to confidently say whether there is a threat to life.

If the muscles of the arms from the elbow to the hand hurt more when the arm is bent, it is worth suspecting a problem with the elbow or shoulder joint – arthritis or arthrosis. At the folds of the wrists, the hands usually hurt if one of the carpal joints is affected.

When burning and pain in the arm occur just below the elbow, and it hurts, as it were, inside the forearm up to the hand, one can confidently speak of an infringement of the median nerve. Especially if the pain spreads to fingers other than the little finger. This disease is caused by overexertion and, as a result, microtrauma and swelling of the muscle that lifts, flexes and rotates the forearm. At risk are musicians, dentists, athletes and nursing mothers. Depending on the load, pain can occur on one or both hands.

The outer side of the forearm bothers with radial nerve compression syndrome. The disease has three variants that are distinguished by origin: the pain arose due to compression in the armpit (occurs in those who are forced to move on crutches for a long time), in the middle of the shoulder (occurs in people who sleep deeply in uncomfortable positions, in newlyweds when one partner falls asleep with his head on the shoulder of the other, or directly at the elbow, which is caused by degeneration of the tissues surrounding the joint.0005

If, according to the patient, the bones of both arms hurt from the elbow to the hand, this is most often associated with diseases of the cervical spine.

How to find out the diagnosis

In order to establish a diagnosis for pain from the elbow to the hand in the right or left hand, examination data are used first of all: many diseases and syndromes give an unambiguous reaction to certain motor tests, which makes it easy to establish a diagnosis.

X-ray or ultrasound may be used to confirm the diagnosis. Blood tests are rarely ordered. Diagnosis is carried out by a neuropathologist, a surgeon, in rare cases a cardiologist and an endocrinologist are involved.

Treatment, treatment and more treatment

If the arm between the hand and the elbow hurts, start treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs. It is better to use them inside, ointments and gels are shown in rare cases. Often you can immediately connect physiotherapy. After alleviating the pain syndrome, they begin to treat the cause of the disease or carry out treatment that is designed to prolong the period of remission. It can be massage, continuation of physiotherapy, but with other procedures, physiotherapy exercises. If the problem was caused by incorrect posture or exercise, the patient will have to change their habits.

If you have pain in your right or left arm in the area from the elbow to the hand, do not wait to see a doctor. Conditions that do not require treatment resolve on their own in a few days, proceed without edema, partial loss of sensitivity and motor function. All other cases require medical advice.

Healthy Spine Clinics “Zdravvuy!” certified doctors with many years of experience work. Among them are doctors and candidates of medical sciences, professors and doctors of the highest qualification category, teachers of the Department of Osteopathy and Manual Therapy of the Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education “Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia”. All of them have extensive experience of inpatient work in the leading medical and preventive institutions of the city of Moscow and form the strongest team of experts in the field of diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the musculoskeletal system.

Comprehensive treatment in the clinics of the network is carried out by doctors in such specialized areas as traumatology and orthopedics, manual therapy and osteopathy, neurology and therapy, physiotherapy and reflexology, as well as specialists in other medical professions in demand among the population (cardiology, surgery, nutrition). Unique techniques and innovative equipment allow you to quickly and accurately make the correct diagnosis, and most importantly, competently prescribe the necessary course of effective therapy.

Hand joints hurt: causes and treatment

Wrist pain symptoms

Wrist and hand pain can vary. It greatly affects the quality of human life.

Wrist pain prevents us from doing daily activities: picking up and holding objects, typing, writing.

Weakness, numbness, tingling, soreness, inflammation, and limited mobility may occur in the wrist.

Injury to the wrist is usually accompanied by bluishness, swelling and limited mobility.

How does wrist pain affect us?

Wrist pain makes it difficult to perform fine motor activities such as typing on the keyboard or playing the piano.

Relieve Pain

The long bones of the forearm (radius and ulna) and eight carpal bones join at the wrist joint. *

70% of people in pain have experienced pain in the wrist**

Relieve Pain

* Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology, Eighth Edition, 1996 Tortora GJ, Grabowski S.R. (Grabowski SR), ed. John Wiley & Sons
** According to the Global Pain Index 2018, 70% of people in pain have experienced wrist pain

Why wrist pain occurs

causes, so they are sometimes difficult to identify.

Common causes of wrist pain

Wrist pain is often caused by excessive stress or sprains, incl. with injuries that lead to inflammation of the tendons (tendonitis) and the joint bag (bursitis).

Factors that increase the risk of developing wrist pain

Certain sports (bowling, tennis) and professions (hairdressers, pianists) increase the risk of developing wrist pain. In addition, the likelihood of developing wrist pain increases with diabetes and overweight.

Treatment

If the pain and swelling in the wrist area does not improve within a few days, contact your doctor immediately. In addition to the examination, additional tests (X-ray, MRI, or CT) and blood tests may be needed to rule out diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Your doctor may also recommend wearing a wrist brace and doing hand and wrist exercises.
Over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), cold compresses, and rest may help to relieve pain and inflammation.

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