Pain when gripping | Pain in the hand

Pain when gripping

There are also several possible causes for pain when grasping. On the one hand, this can also be provoked by an inflammation of the tendon sheath, since the muscles or tendons of the finger flexors, among other things, run through the tendon sheath. Carpal tunnel syndrome can also cause pain when grasping, since the median nerve, which runs through the carpal tunnel and is constricted and irritated there in the context of the syndrome, supplies the muscles responsible for bending the fingers.

In addition to tendosynovitis and carpal tunnel syndrome, arthrosis in the thumb saddle joint (rhizarthrosis) is often responsible for pain when grasping. Women over 50 are particularly affected by rhizarthrosis. The arthrosis can be caused by mechanical overload or can be provoked by hormonal changes. Therapeutically, splinting, physiotherapy, pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory drugs are used. Only if these measures do not bring about an improvement can surgery be considered.

Therapy

The therapy depends on the type of disease and the cause. In the case of a fracture, either a surgical procedure with screws etc. may be necessary or it is sufficient to perform a conservative therapy.

Conservative therapy consists of immobilization, cooling and drug-based pain therapy. This type of conservative therapy is used almost exclusively for arthroses. However, immobilization should not be performed, since joints that have been immobilized for a longer period of time can stiffen. Cooling and pain therapy are among the most important therapeutic measures. In carpal tunnel syndrome, the main form of therapy is surgical splitting of the ligament above the carpal tunnel in order to relieve the pressure on the nerves below.

Prevention

Pain in the hand can have different causes. In particular, a distinction must be made between acute and chronic events. Acute causes are mostly fractures after accidents.

Chronic causes are mostly degenerative changes due to postural defects or age-related changes. In addition to the bones that cause pain in the hand, nerve damage or impaired vessels can also be responsible for hand pain. In the so-called carpal tunnel syndrome, the nerve tracts supplying the hand are constricted by a narrowing at the transition between the forearm and the side of the palm.

In addition to the pain in the hand, functional impairments can also occur. The diagnostic means are chosen according to the presumed cause of the pain. For example, an x-ray of the hand would mainly show fractures in the hand.

A magnetic resonance tomography could show swelling of the muscle, but also changes in the ligamentous apparatus or injuries to the capsules of the hand. Therapeutically, one has the option of either conservative therapy or surgery. Among the conservative measures are cooling and immobilization of the hand, but also physical measures to help minimize the inflammation and pain are applied.

Fractures can be operated on and stabilized with wires and screws. Carpal tunnel syndrome can also be treated surgically by cutting the ligament that runs across this anatomical narrowing and removing the pressure from the nerves supplying the hand. Chronic causes that lead to pain in the hand (e.g. arthrosis) are usually treated conservatively.