We hardly consider how much our hands do every day, but many people in Creve Coeur, Missouri, become very aware of the value of their hands when they start to hurt. Hand pain can make typing, opening doors and other common tasks harder. It can also cause you to take time off of work, which can lead to lost wages and financial hardship. You can avoid hardships like these by getting help from a local physical therapy team, but first, you’ll need to know the cause of the pain in the top of your hand.
What’s causing your hand pain?
The complexity of the hands means there are many issues that can lead to pain in the top of them. Muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones and nerves all have a part to play, and an injury or other problem with any of these structures can easily lead to pain. There are five issues in particular that are usually responsible for hand pain.
- Muscle strain/tear — Muscles are found in the palm and top of the hands. These muscles have an increased risk of being strained or torn because people use their hands so frequently. This can lead to pain in the top of the affected hand if the muscles in this area are strained.
- Fracture — Fractures are when a bone breaks. They can range from tiny cracks to serious breaks that pierce the skin. They’re especially common in people who play high impact sports like rugby or football. Hand fractures are also more likely to affect people who use tools at work, such as mechanics, construction workers and assembly line workers.
- Tendinitis — Ligaments can be irritated and inflamed by repetitive movements or an impact to the hands. This irritation and inflammation forms known as a condition called tendinitis. This can lead to pain and stiffness in the hands, especially if you don’t take a break from repetitive activities.
- Ligament sprains — Like the muscles and tendons, the ligaments in the hands can also be stretched too far or torn. This is known as a sprain rather than a strain. Hand ligament sprains are common in athletes who play tennis, handball and sports where there are frequent impacts to the hands.
- Damaged nerves — Nerves allow your finger to feel heat, contact and other sensations. They’re the reason you can use your hands for delicate tasks. Impacts to the hands can damage the nerves in your hands, and they can also be irritated by inflamed muscles, tendons or ligaments. Both damage and irritation of hand nerves can lead to pain.
Visit Excel Sports & Physical Therapy in Creve Coeur for effective hand therapy
Are you tired of living with pain in your hands? Our team at Excel Sports & Physical Therapy in Creve Coeur is ready to help you. We can have you come in for a free screening to determine the source of your hand pain. Our team can then construct a personalized therapy plan for you, which could include techniques like:
- Hand therapy
- Manual therapy
- Therapeutic exercises
- Joint mobilization
Take the next step to start getting our help with your hand pain.
Request an appointment or call us today at Affton, North O’Fallon, St. Louis, Creve Coeur, Ellisville, Saint Peters, O’Fallon, Saint Charles, Warrenton & Wentzville, MO centers.
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