Common Overuse Hand Injuries

12 Nov Common Overuse Hand Injuries

At East End Occupational Therapy, we take pride in offering the sessions of hand therapy to the local community. When issues with pain or mobility of the hands take place, completing everyday tasks can feel next to impossible. If you’ve recently been diagnosed with an overuse hand injury, our team will be able to help. Our hand therapists will work diligently to get you back to full strength, so your quality of life can be restored.

Tendonitis 

When talking about common overuse injuries, it’d be impossible to leave tendonitis off of your list. It is the most common overuse injury a person can suffer from. Tendons are cords of tissues that connect your muscles to your bones. Although these tissues are essential for movement, they can become inflamed and irritated through overuse. Symptoms of this condition can include the following:

• Swelling.
• Tenderness in the affected area.
• Pain.

Strains 

In a similar vein to tendonitis, another overuse injury that commonly takes place is a strain. Strains can affect both the tendons and muscles in your hand. They occur when these tissues are forced outside of their normal range of motion. When you continuously perform specific tasks and actions with your hands, the tendons and muscles can begin to stretch past the point of no return. If you don’t take care of this type of problem, you leave yourself open to developing any of the below:

• Bruising.
• Limited mobility in the affected area.
• Complete tearing of the tissue.    

Stenosing Tenosynovitis (Trigger Finger)

Another injury our team is well versed in treating is known as stenosing tenosynovitis, or trigger finger. This condition got its nickname because it causes the affected finger to get stuck in a bent position. Trigger finger takes place when the integrity of your flexor tendons become compromised. These flexor tendons allow you to bend your fingers, and when they cannot function properly, it leads to the involuntary bending.    

De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis

One final overuse hand injury that our team would like to discuss is De Quervain’s tenosynovitis. This painful condition affects the tendons on the thumb side of your wrist. When the tendons in this area become affected by this condition, you’re likely to experience pain near the base of your thumb, as well as having a difficult time managing your grasp and making a fist. Swelling around this area is also a common symptom. While you may think you can try and handle these symptoms on your own, if you’re still experiencing pain after trying the below, it’s time to see a doctor:

• Not using the affected thumb.
• Icing the affected area.
• Using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication. 

What Is Hand Therapy?

When you’re faced with the previously mentioned conditions or any other types of overuse injuries, hand therapy could be the answer to your problems. This form of treatment was developed to focus specifically on ailments plaguing upper extremity. Hand therapy needs to be administered by a certified hand therapist, which our team here at East End Occupational Therapy can offer patients. Hand therapy merges both occupational and physical therapy theory to facilitate the optimal healing outcome within our patients.  

Benefits Of Working With Our Team

If you’ve never heard of hand therapy before, it’s understandable if you’re a bit hesitant to undergo sessions of this practice. However, our team would like to ease some of the nerves you’re experiencing by sharing the benefits you can receive by scheduling an appointment. Benefits that patients can expect when they choose to work with us include:

• Elimination of pain.
• Improved flexibility and range of motion.
• Potentially avoiding the need for surgery.
• Post-operative recovery aid.  
• Restored functionality levels.  

Contact Us

Patients dealing with hand issues can attest to how quickly they can drain one’s quality of life. Fortunately, at East End Occupational Therapy, our team can help with that situation. To schedule the hand therapy sessions needed for you to make a full recovery, contact our team today.  

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