No matter your age or job, you will always use your hands. Your hands contain many bones held together by muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Any injury or damage to these parts can lead to pain or alter your regular activities. Common hand injuries include fractures, sprains, strains, dislocations, tendonitis, and osteoarthritis. La Jolla hand injuries mainly result from repetitive movement and sudden impact. You are more prone to hand injuries if you play sports or your career involves repetitive use of your hands. There are many types of hand injuries, which include:
Hand fracture
A thin layer of muscle and tissue protects your hand anatomy, so an impact can cause severe damage. If something strikes your hand suddenly, you can get a bone fracture. A car accident or falling on a hand can lead to a fracture. Swelling, bruising, numbness, tenderness, severe pain at the fracture site and pain that worsens when you grip your hand are the symptoms of hand fractures. Sometimes you can spot a fracture quickly, especially in compound fractures where a bone breaks your skin.
Tendonitis
Tendonitis happens when tendons, flexible tissues that connect muscles to bones, become inflamed. It can cause swelling and irritation, leading to severe pain and making it difficult to use your hand. Aching sensation around the inflammation site and tenderness are other symptoms of tendonitis. Tendonitis can result from repetitive movement of your hands or sudden impact. Sports that involve hand movements like golf and fishing can lead to tendonitis.
Hand strain
There is a similarity between strains and tendonitis. Both conditions harm muscles and tendons that connect them to the hand bones, but strains affect a larger area of your hand. You can strain your hand muscles by angling them suddenly. Straining occurs by stretching out your muscle fibers, causing pain. Over time, the fibers knit together, but it can take a long time. During the recovery process, your hand can feel achy, so rest it as much as possible to speed up healing.
Hand sprain
Sprains happen when you damage your hand ligaments. A ligament is a tough tissue that holds bone and cartilage together. Although rigid and flexible, it can still tear or stretch out of place. Falling awkwardly on your hand can lead to a sprain, primarily if you use your hand to break a fall. Pain at the injury site, swelling, tenderness, bruising, weakness around the injury, and difficulties moving your hand or fingers are the symptoms of sprains.
Dislocations
Dislocations happen when you exert too much force on your hand while in an awkward position. Your hand bones may be broken and moved out of place. Dislocations can affect most of your hand bones, but capitate and lunate are mostly damaged. People confuse dislocation with fracture, but you can quickly identify a dislocation. Dislocation is very painful; your hand usually looks distorted or out of place, and you struggle to move your hand.
Hand injuries involve any of your hand bones, ligaments, tendons, or muscles. Fractures, dislocations, sprains, strains, and tendonitis are common injuries that affect your hands. Schedule an appointment at Upper Extremity Specialists for hand injury treatment to resume your daily activities.
