Hand Surgery

What is hand pain?

Hand pain is a feeling of discomfort in your hand, wrist, or fingers. The hand consists of numerous bones, muscles, ligaments, and sheaths. Pain might result from an injury, disease, or degeneration over time. 

If your hand pain doesn’t subside on its own or is severe, visit Western Orthopaedics, P.C., for an evaluation and treatment.

What are the symptoms of hand pain?

Hand pain might be mild or severe, short-lived, or long-lasting. It can present as dull, aching pain, sharp pain, numbness, burning, or tingling. You may experience redness, swelling, stiffness, and reduced range of motion in the joints of your hand or wrist.

What causes hand pain?

Hand pain might result from one or more of the following musculoskeletal conditions:

• Osteoarthritis
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Fractures
• Ganglion cyst
• Sprains
• Strains
• Ligament injuries
• Tendon issues
• Trigger finger

Your risk of developing hand or wrist pain increases with age, playing sports, or completing repetitive motions like typing.

How is hand pain diagnosed?

To diagnose the root cause of hand pain, your orthopaedic specialist asks about your medical history and symptoms and examines your hand, fingers, and wrist. They may complete blood tests, X-rays, MRIs, or other imaging tests to determine the type and severity of your condition and develop a treatment plan.

How is hand pain treated?

Western Orthopaedics, P.C., offers the following treatments for hand pain relief:

Home care

Sometimes, simple at-home solutions can reduce hand pain, stimulate healing, diminish inflammation, and prevent re-injury. Examples include ice, heat, braces, and splints.

Fracture care

Your orthopaedics specialist can treat hand fractures using casts, braces, traction, external fixation, or surgery in severe cases.

Medication

Anti-inflammatory medication helps reduce inflammation and pain while a hand injury heals. Some medications alleviate pain associated with arthritis or delay disease progression.

Injections

Steroid, hyaluronic acid, and pain-relieving injections, as well as regenerative medicine, can alleviate hand pain and optimize healing. Western Orthopaedics, P.C., offers platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and stem cell injections to stimulate cell regeneration and healing naturally.

Physical therapy

Physical therapy exercises with a specialist can strengthen tissues in your hand, increase joint range of motion, stimulate healing, and help prevent re-injury.

Surgery

If you have a cyst, other mass, or a severe hand injury that doesn’t heal with conservative methods, your provider might recommend surgery to fully restore hand structure and function. The Western Orthopaedics, P.C., providers specialize in arthroscopic/minimally invasive surgical procedures.

Don’t let hand pain diminish your quality of life when numerous treatments can offer relief. Schedule an appointment with the experts at Western Orthopaedics, P.C., by phone or request one online today.

Learn More »

What is the anatomy of the wrist?

Your wrists are highly complex structures and, in reality, they aren’t just one joint, but a combination of small joints that work together to allow the wide range of motion your hands enjoy.

Your wrist is made of many bones, including the:

• Two long bones that run down your forearm — your radius and your ulna
• Eight carpal bones
• Metacarpal bones that run into your hand

The main role of your carpal bones is to form a tunnel, through which your median nerve travels as well as nine flexor tendons that control the movements in all your fingers except your pinkie.

Surrounding these bones are a number of muscles, ligaments, and tendons, which provide support and movement.

What are the most common causes of wrist pain?

There are many problems that can cause pain in your wrist, including:

• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Fractures
• Arthritis
• Sprains
• Tendonitis, which includes the aforementioned carpal tunnel syndrome

The symptoms of wrist pain may also include numbness and tingling, especially if your median nerve is compressed inside your carpal tunnel. If you have an acute injury, you may experience swelling and stiffness in your wrist.

How is wrist pain diagnosed and treated?

When you first see your orthopaedist at Western Orthopaedics, P.C., they sit down with you to review your symptoms. Armed with this information, they perform a physical exam and turn to diagnostic imaging to see what’s going on inside your wrist.

Once they locate the problem, your doctor comes up with a treatment plan that relieves your pain and restores your movement as quickly as possible. This plan may require some patience on your part — for example, if you’ve fractured a bone in your wrist, your doctor immobilizes the area so that your bones can heal properly.

If you’ve developed carpal tunnel syndrome, which is a repetitive stress injury, your specialist typically recommends rest and anti-inflammatory medications. As well, certain exercises can help with the inflammation and help maintain function.

In certain cases, your best chances for relief may lie in surgery, in which case you’re in good hands at Western Orthopaedics, P.C.

To resolve your wrist pain, call Western Orthopaedics, P.C., or request an appointment using the online scheduling tool.

Learn More »

What is trauma and fracture care? 

Trauma and fracture care at Western Orthopaedics, P.C., includes treating bone fractures and other traumatic injuries to alleviate pain and help your injury heal properly.

You might experience a traumatic injury from:

• A forceful fall
• Physical assault
• An automobile accident
• A sports injury
• Older age
• Osteoporosis

Seeing an orthopaedic surgeon at the first sign of a traumatic injury can greatly improve your chance of making a quick, effective recovery.

What are the symptoms of trauma and fractures? 

Common signs and symptoms of a fracture or other traumatic injury include:

• Intense pain
• Swelling
• Redness
• Bruising
• Tenderness
• A deformity
• Bone puncturing through skin

At the first sign of an injury, ice the affected area and see an orthopaedic specialist right away. The severity of a fracture or other traumatic injury determines which treatment is right for you. 

How are fractured diagnosed?

When you arrive at Western Orthopaedics, P.C., for an appointment, your doctor reviews your medical history, accident history, and symptoms. They examine the injured area and use imaging tests, such as X-rays, MRIs, or bone scans, to detect the type and severity of an injury and determine the best course of action.

What is the treatment for fractures? 

Your personalized trauma and fracture care treatment might include:

Medication

Your doctor offers you medication to alleviate pain associated with a fracture or other traumatic injury.

Casting or bracing

You may receive a fiberglass or plaster cast to immobilize bone while a fracture heals. A functional cast or brace allows limited movement in nearby joints.

Traction

Your orthopaedic surgeon uses traction to properly align bones using steady, gentle pulling action.

External fixation

Your surgeon places metal screws or pins in the bone through the outside of your skin, to hold bones in place while an injury heals.

Open reduction and internal fixation

Open reduction and internal fixation is a surgical procedure in which your orthopaedic specialist uses rods, screws, or metal plates to repair bone.

How long will my recovery take?

Recovery after a fracture may take several weeks or months to heal from. Your orthopaedic surgeon lets you know what to expect. After the bone heals, physical therapy helps you regain strength, flexibility, and optimal musculoskeletal function.

Don’t live with pain associated with a traumatic injury or fracture. Seek medical treatment right away. Call the specialists at Western Orthopaedics, P.C., today, or use the online appointment request feature.