If you’re experiencing pain in your hands, you’re not alone. A staggering one in four U.S. adults has doctor-diagnosed arthritis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Regardless of the cause, hand pain can be frustrating and disruptive to your life.
While you may have learned to cope with the pain, when you’re hands hurt on a regular basis, it’s time to see a doctor. We’ll go over common causes of hand pain, treatments, and the major red flags to watch for. Let’s jump in and get you one step closer to hand pain relief.
Stinging Sensation Hands or Tingling in Hands: Common Hand Pain Symptoms
If you’re experiencing burning, tingling, or numbness in your hands, it could be a sign that something is wrong. There are many possible causes of hand pain. The most common is carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), which occurs when the median nerve becomes compressed as it passes through the wrist. CTS can also be caused by arthritis or tendinitis, also known as inflammation of a tendon.
You may experience hand burning or pain when typing or driving and think that this is a one-off situation. Unfortunately, this could be a sign of something more serious. As you may have already noticed, the pain is either not going away or getting worse.
In addition to stinging and tingling, it may also hurt when you bend your wrists. You may feel stiffness or shooting pain as well. This pain can happen when you first wake up, at the end of a day using your hands, or even be constant throughout the day.
Constant typing, working with your hands, working with computers, or physical labor can do a number on your hands and wrists. If you notice burning sensation hands or tingling on a regular basis, it’s best to see a hand doctor right away. This pain won’t go away if left untreated.
When Do Your Hands Hurt?
If you’re experiencing pain in your hands, you may feel burning, stinging, or swelling during different activities and times of the day. Before your visit to the doctor, take note of when your hands hurt.
If you work on computers most of the day, you may notice your hands hurt while typing. The same goes for using equipment that requires your hands, construction, using tools, dialing the phone, or painting, for example. Our hands do a lot during the day.
If you pick up children often at home or use your hands to garden or clean, you may notice your wrists hurt when you perform these activities and even well after. This could be a sign of arthritis which also causes inflammation in the joints. Consider what activities you do that cause you the most hand pain or what time of day your hands hurt.
Having this info may help your doctor decide the best course of action for treatment. They can also suggest ways to manage symptoms during activities, sports, work, or leisure when you’re having the most hand pain.
Injury, Fracture, and Overuse of Your Hands
If you play sports, work out, or use your hands during work, you may suffer from a hand injury or overuse. We can diagnose if this is the case or if you have a more serious hand injury or condition. As the result of an injury, fracture, or overuse, there are helpful treatment plans to help reduce your pain and get you back to your favorite activities.
Falls, car accidents, skiing accidents, or sports injury, for example, doesn’t have to be a permanent problem. You don’t have to suffer from hand pain due to an injury. The sooner you come in to have your hand treated, the better you’ll feel.
After an accident or injury, your hand may take longer to heal or endure further injury if left untreated. Surgery, braces, physical therapy, rest, and anti-inflammatory medication are often used to treat these types of hand injuries or pain.
Physical therapy, exercises, and rest may be all you need to get your hands feeling better. Coming in for a consultation will help us better understand what is going on with your hand pain and what we can do to help. The sooner you come in, the faster you’ll be out of pain and back to gripping a golf club or working without discomfort.
Your Hands are Causing Additional Pain in Your Neck or Back
If you have hand pain, it’s important to be aware that it can be a symptom of another condition. Some people with hand pain may also experience symptoms elsewhere in the body. For example, patients with carpal tunnel syndrome often have neck and back pain as well as hand stiffness or tingling sensations.
In addition to these conditions, there are many other potential causes of hand pain that require medical attention, including arthritis, diabetes, and infection. If you experience any type of unusual symptoms along with your hand discomforts, such as fever or swelling, make sure to contact your doctor immediately for further evaluation and treatment options before things get worse.
Hand pain that travels to your neck and back will make everyday tasks uncomfortable. Your sleep can also be disrupted. It may be painful laying down, sitting at your desk, or lifting your children without discomfort. When pain travels into other areas of your body, it’s time to see a hand specialist.
You could have a more serious problem, and leaving it untreated may make it worse. Watch for some of these red flags and speak to a professional before your symptoms or injuries get worse.
Common Symptoms of Carpel Tunnel Syndrome
Carpel tunnel syndrome is a common cause of hand pain. If you’re experiencing any of the symptoms of carpal tunnel, it’s time to see a doctor. Tingling, numbness, and pain in the thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers are often symptoms.
Additional symptoms include pain that is worse at night or when pressing on the palm of the hand. Pain also tends to be worse when using a computer or driving and gripping the wheel, for example.
If you’ve experienced one of these symptoms for more than six months without relief from rest or medication, it may be time to see a doctor who specializes in diagnosing carpal tunnel syndrome.
The most important thing to do is to rest your hands as much as possible. This will help prevent further damage and allow the inflammation to subside. If you have difficulty performing your daily activities due to pain, it may be time to see a doctor who can prescribe anti-inflammatory medications that can help reduce pain and swelling.
Common Symptoms of Arthritis
Arthritis is another common source of hand pain. Pain and stiffness in the joints are common side effects. This can make it difficult to open a jar, tie shoes or even hold a pen. You may also notice swelling in your joints.
Swelling is due to fluid buildup around your bones and tissues as they try to repair damage caused by arthritis. This can also be an indication that you’ve injured yourself. If you notice swelling that doesn’t go away after two weeks or so, it’s best not to ignore it.
Tenderness when pressing on specific spots around affected areas, such as your knuckles, is also a symptom. These symptoms won’t resolve on their own or go away with time.
Common Symptoms of Tendinitis
Tendinitis is a common source of hand pain. You may feel swelling and pain in your hand, wrist, and elbow. Pain is often worse with activity. Pain is also worse at night.
With tendinitis, you might feel pain in your arm or shoulder as well as in your thumb, index finger, or middle finger. The pain can be sharp or aching, and it may go from your thumb to the back of your hand. Your thumb may feel stiff or weak. You might have difficulty straightening your thumb completely.
It can be hard to bend your thumb and index finger toward each other. You may notice that your thumb is swollen or tender to the touch. The first metacarpal bone in your hand may hurt when you press on it, especially if you have arthritis or a fracture.
You may notice that your thumb is bent or rotated in an unusual way, especially when you try to straighten it. You may have swelling or tenderness around the base of your thumb, near where it connects with the wrist.
Common Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis
If you’re experiencing pain in your hands, it’s important to know that there are a number of possible causes. One of the most common conditions that cause this kind of pain is rheumatoid arthritis (RA). There are a few common signs of RA to watch for and speak with your doctor about.
Common RA symptoms include wrist pain, tenderness in the joints, joint swelling, and fatigue. Joint stiffness is another area of concern. If you have these symptoms, it’s important to see a doctor right away so they can help determine whether or not you have RA and begin treatment if necessary.
RA isn’t something that will go away on its own. This is something that may worsen over time. You will need to seek treatment to get relief from your symptoms and get a better handle on what is going on.
Treating Hand Pain at Home
If your hands hurt all the time or you have recently had an injury, it may be tempting to try and fix your hands yourself. You may be thinking you can relieve your symptoms or fix your hands yourself. This isn’t always the case.
While resting your hand, exercising, or at home physical therapy may help in some instances, it could also do harm or do nothing at all. You need to get back to work, get back to your activities, and get back to doing what you love. This is where treatment, medication, therapy, or rest will be prescribed by a doctor.
Seek professional help when you need it. You may have a more serious injury or disease than you thought. Treating your hand pain at home could make it worse or even cause further injury. You don’t know what problems you may have without a professional taking a look at your hand pain.
Before you attempt home treatment, come in for a professional consultation. Get the help you need and rest easier knowing you’re doing the right thing. Put an end to your hand pain and get the proper treatment so that you can get back to doing what you love.
If You Have Pain in Your Hands, It’s Time to See a Doctor
If you’re experiencing pain in your hands, it’s important to talk with your doctor about what’s causing it and how best to manage it. If the pain is caused by a medical condition, treatment can be prescribed to help reduce or eliminate symptoms. Many hand conditions, unfortunately, don’t go away by themselves.
Hand pain is often a symptom of other conditions and can be caused by diseases such as arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome. Tingling in your hands, burning sensations, or pain from injury, while working, or gripping, are all problems to address. To speak with a hand specialist, fill out the contact form here to get seen and start feeling some hand pain relief.
