Find out the common causes why your hand hurts when you move your thumb
The bones, connective tissue and small joints of the hands and wrists are vulnerable to a number of types of injuries. These injuries can occur in otherwise healthy joints– for instance, a blow to the finger causes it to flex backward or jamming a finger causes the tendons to retreat from the bone. In other cases, a disease procedure may make an injury most likely. For example, wrist bones weakened by osteoporosis are vulnerable to fracture. The following are a few of the more common hand and wrist injuries.
Flexor Tendon Injuries
The flexor tendons are long hairs of connective tissue that connect muscles in the lower arm to the small bones of the finger and thumb, enabling them to move. If one of these tendons is severely injured the finger it connects to can not move.
The most typical causes of flexor tendon injuries are cuts and sports injuries. Flexor tendons might also burst spontaneously in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis.
Extensor Tendon Injuries
Injuries to the extensor tendons (tendons on the backs of the hands and fingers that enable fingers and thumbs to straighten) can lead to a number of different problems. The most common are:
- Mallet finger – a drooping of completion of the finger that takes place when an extensor tendon ends up being separated from the bone. This can occur if the finger is cut or jammed. It is also called baseball finger.
- Boutonniere deformity – a deformity in which the joint in the middle of the finger (proximal interphalangeal joint or PIP) flexes toward the palm and the joint closest to the nail (distal phalangeal joint or DP) bends upward, according to iytmed.com. It can result from a cut or tear of the extensor tendon at the middle joint, a blow to the bent finger or damage from rheumatoid arthritis.
Other hand and finger injuries:
- Finger dislocations. If a finger is struck or bent back beyond its typical variety of motion, it can end up being dislocated, meaning the ends of the bones move so that they are no more effectively aligned. Any of the finger joints can be dislocated.
Finger fractures. Finger fractures can result from a number of causes, including jamming a finger, falling on it or - closing it in a car door. No matter how it happens, the result can be the same: pain, swelling, inability to move the finger, and in some cases, defect.
- Wrist fractures. A typical cause of wrist fracture is stopping a fall with outstretched arms. Although anyone of any age can fracture a wrist this way, the risk is greater in individuals whose bones are deteriorated due to osteoporosis.
Wrist fractures may be categorized as either Colles’ fractures or Smith’s fractures. Both are breaks of the radius (the bone of the lower arm) near the wrist. The difference remains in the method the bone is broken. A Colles’ fracture takes place when the bone is broken with the hand outstretched. A Smith’s fracture (often called a reverse Colles’ fracture) occurs when the hand is flexed and the back of the hand is hit.
De Quervain’s tendinitis
This is also referred to as de Quervain’s tendinosis. It causes pain on the thumb side of the wrist.
The pain might develop slowly or unexpectedly. It can take a trip the length of the thumb and up the lower arm. If you have de Quervain’s tendinitis, motions that can be painful include:
- Making a fist
- Understanding or holding items
- Turning the wrist
The pain results from swelling of the wrist tendons at the base of the thumb, which is caused by inflammation or inflammation. Repeated activities and overuse are typically responsible for the beginning of de Quervain’s.
New moms are at high risk since of the awkward position in which they hold their baby and their rising and falling hormones. Wrist fractures can also increase your risk of de Quervain’s. Pain relief treatments include:
- Wearing a splint to rest the thumb and wrist
- Anti-inflammatory medications
- Cortisone injections
Surgery is a choice if symptoms stay severe after other treatments have been tried.
