Hand And Arm Tendonitis: Pain Management And Recovery
June 17th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
If you’re a computer user, or your work involves constant repetitive movements with your hands and arms, you may develop tendonitis. Tendonitis is the inflammation of a tendon - the tough elastic fibers that connect muscles to bones.
You can get tendonitis in any tendon, but it’s very common in the hands and arms. Your first symptom may be pain, but it’s more likely to be swelling initially, and a sensation of numbness or pins and needles. Then your hands and arms become sore and painful, and you may be woken by pain at night.
Rest Is The First Solution To Hand And Arm Tendonitis
Since most hand and arm tendonitis develops from over-use, your first solution is to rest from the activities which are causing the tendonitis. Of course since we use our hands and arms constantly, this is not completely possible. But try to rest as much as possible. If you suspect that computer-use is the culprit, cut down on keyboarding as much as you can.
You can also try using ice packs. Some gel packs which you can freeze are available with velcro ties, and this is very useful to ice your arms. The cold packs will relieve the swelling, and the pain.
Hand And Arm Exercises Will Help To Prevent A Recurrence Of Tendonitis
If you strengthen your muscles, your tendons won’t have to do as much work, and this is useful in preventing a recurrence of tendonitis.
Yoga, because it involves stretching, and helps with stress, is also very useful in managing tendonitis. People with chronic hand and arm tendonitis find that stress is a factor in tendonitis recurrence, so relaxation exercises, and yoga, can be of immense benefit for tendonitis sufferers. Unfortunately, there’s no cure for tendonitis as such.
However, you can learn to manage tendonitis, especially if you do daily exercises. Exercising and stress management can keep your tendonitis at bay for years.
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Hand Tendonitis: coping with painful hands
May 7th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
If you hands hurt at the computer keyboard, pay attention. You could be suffering from RSI (repetitive strain injury). It may be carpel tunnel syndrome, or it may be hand tendonitis, a completely different, but no less painful, condition.
Hand tendonitis is like any other type of tendonitis, and is a condition caused by the inflammation of the tendons in the wrist and hands. This inflammation causes swelling, particularly of the wrist, and pain in the hand and wrist. Often hand tendonitis affects one particular tendon, but it can spread throughout the hand.
This irritation occurs usually around the wrist joint, where the tendons are housed in sheaths. When they are irritated, this sheath thickens, and the tendons cannot glide in their normal range of motion, making moving the hand painful. Hand tendonitis can affect that ability to do just about any activity that requires the use of the hands. It is common to see swelling in the effected area when a patient has hand tendonitis.
How Is The Condition Diagnosed?
A hand tendonitis diagnosis must be made by a physician. Often, general practitioners are not able to accurately diagnose the condition. Sometimes a hand specialist is needed to isolate the affected area, particularly if the problem has become severe, because the pain spreads throughout the hand. Most of the time, doctors will perform stretches of the affected hand to try to locate the exact spot that is affected.
How Is It Treated?
Treating hand tendonitis can be tricky. Not ever person responds to the same treatment, but there is a common route of treatment that doctors usually choose to take. The first step is to immobilize the affected area. This is done through wearing a hand brace. The purpose of this immobilization is to allow the inflammation to come down. This is particularly vital for hand tendonitis caused by overuse. During the time of immobilization, the area is usually iced several times a day. This also helps cut back on the inflammation.
Doctors will usually prescribe anti inflammatory medications, such as naproxen, to help with the pain and inflammation associated with hand tendonitis. If these steps do not take care of the problem, some doctors will inject cortisone directly into the tendon. This is a painful procedure, but it does help cut down on the inflammation. Surgery is considered a last resort for treating hand tendonitis.
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