Look closely at your hands. You might just realise how special they are. You will see a system built from muscles, bones, ligaments, tendons, and more that provide mobility and dexterity for your everyday activities. While your fingers may look delicate, it takes a lot more for the hands to sustain damage over a lifetime of use. Think about how we have been using our hands for almost our entire lives— ageing hardly stops us, as our hands still help us manipulate objects and do our necessary tasks. Some people assume that some individuals do not need hand surgery in Singapore when they are young because of this reason.
But that is a dangerous misconception that can have serious consequences. While the hands can endure much, it does not mean they are immune to surprise incidents or damage accumulated over years of improper handling. We use our hands daily, so if you move recklessly or get caught in an accident, the risk of sustaining an injury to your hands skyrockets. Hands can withstand years of abuse, but wrist sprains and other injuries will affect the way your hands work.
Hand conditions may make it challenging to do some of the things you want to do in everyday life. It may reduce your mobility or inflict enough physical pain to incapacitate you. Pain may flare up at the most inconvenient times. When dealing with these challenges, you only have one choice. You need to seek a hand doctor or specialist.
When you experience debilitating pain or injuries that limit your range of motion, a hand doctor may help you. Hand specialists know how to treat specific hand issues that may inconvenience you.
For example, a wrist fracture or trigger finger are just two of the many common hand conditions that your doctor may diagnose. Your hands are a part of your musculoskeletal system and you need to know how to prevent and recover from specific injuries. Because your hands are essential to everyday activities, you should learn how to recognise and consult a hand doctor when you see specific symptoms.
What are Some Common Hand and Wrist Conditions?
Unfortunately, our hands and wrists are prone to many common injuries that may make life more difficult for us. If you want to avoid the inconvenience of many hand conditions you could encounter, learning more about them may prove advantageous. You can visit a doctor before they become serious.
Learning more about your specific condition allows for early diagnosis and treatment. If the hand issue is allowed to progress, your chances of fully recovering from the disease may decrease. Take wrist arthritis treatment, for example. Arthritis is notoriously difficult to cure. Sometimes the only solution is to slow its progress.
Here are some common hand conditions you need to watch out for.
1) Distal Radius Fracture
This condition is also known as broken wrists. Distal radius fractures mostly happen in accidents, though there are other ways for this condition to occur. Distal radius fractures are recognised by the following symptoms: immediate pain, swelling of the wrist joints, tenderness of the skin around the affected area, and moderate bruising. If the fracture is severe, the wrist may noticeably bend or twist unnaturally.
Wrists have a handful of nerves and nerve endings, so a broken wrist may affect your sense of touch. For example, you may experience numbness in the affected area.
If distal radius fractures have impacted your sense of touch or caused numbness, go to a hand specialist immediately. Refraining from getting urgent medical care can lead to permanent nerve damage.
2) Hand Infections
A hand infection may happen when skin, fingers, or nail injuries occur and bacteria or viruses enter your hand. Many common causes of hand infections exist. Some examples of hand conditions are bites or puncture wounds from an animal, scrapes or wounds from an object infected with bacteria, and even manicures with unwashed tools.
Infections may appear in the folds of your nails, tips of your fingers, and other parts of your hands. Symptoms of an infection may vary depending on the type of bacteria or virus and the nature of the injury. Symptoms of such an infection include pain, swelling, redness, itchiness, and more. Sometimes viral infections can cause blisters or burning sensations.
3) Trigger Finger
There are some times when you cannot move the joints in your fingers. Sometimes, these may point to a condition called stenosing tenosynovitis, commonly known as trigger finger. Trigger finger is the name of a condition wherein one of your fingers cannot move from a bent position. What causes this is the sheath-like covering that protects the tendons in your fingers.
Inflammation can narrow the space between the protective sheath and the tendon. When this happens, your joints cannot move. Now, if you have a trigger finger, a doctor does not require you to have surgery. Trigger finger treatment in Singapore may be as simple as wearing a splint or brace to help you move, and performing different exercises to treat the muscles.
4) Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Also known as median nerve compression, carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition that can weaken the grip of your hands. You can usually recognise it when you have a numbing or tingling sensation in your hands. As the condition worsens, it can become quite painful or uncomfortable. The condition happens because you put too much pressure on the median nerve of your hand that runs through the carpal tunnel.
Ensure that your hand and wrist pain does not go unnoticed. With Advanced Hand, Wrist, and Nerve Centre, doctors can assess your hand infection or other ailments that might bother you. Learn more about how you can get a hand specialist when you check out their website.
