HAND & WRIST PAIN
Understanding Hand & Wrist Pain
Your hands and wrists are involved in nearly everything you do—from typing and gripping to lifting, working, training, and playing sports. Pain in this area can develop suddenly following an injury or gradually from repetitive activity and increased loading. Understanding which structures are involved and what may be contributing to your symptoms can help guide the right approach to recovery.The elbow plays an important role in nearly everything we do with our hands and arms—from lifting and gripping to working, training, and playing sports. Elbow pain can develop suddenly following an injury or gradually from repetitive activity and increased loading. Understanding what’s contributing to your symptoms can help determine the right approach to recovery.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR SYMPTOMS
Hand and wrist pain can affect even the simplest tasks.
The wrist and hand contain numerous joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and nerves working together to provide both mobility and strength. Symptoms can vary significantly depending on the area involved and the activities that aggravate it.
COMMON SYMPTOMS
Pain around the wrist, hand, or fingers
Pain with gripping, carrying, or twisting
Discomfort when pushing through the hand
Stiffness or reduced wrist movement
Numbness or tingling into the hand or fingers
Weakness or reduced grip strength
COMMON CONTRIBUTING FACTORS
Repetitive gripping or hand use
Sudden increases in activity or training
Muscle or tendon irritation
Prolonged computer or tool use
Sports or workplace demands
Previous injury or trauma
COMMON HAND & WRIST CONDITIONS
Hand & wrist pain can be associated with a number of different injuries and conditions. Some commonly encountered examples include:
Wrist Sprains
Injury to the ligaments supporting the wrist, commonly occurring after a fall onto an outstretched hand or other sudden trauma.
Tendon Irritation & Tendinopathy
Repetitive or increased loading can irritate tendons around the wrist and hand, producing pain during gripping, lifting, or certain wrist movements.
De Quervain's Tenosynovitis
Irritation involving tendons along the thumb side of the wrist, often producing pain during gripping, lifting, thumb movement, or repetitive hand use.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Compression or irritation of the median nerve at the wrist can produce numbness, tingling, discomfort, or weakness affecting the hand and fingers.
TFCC Injuries
Injury or irritation involving structures on the little-finger side of the wrist may cause pain with gripping, rotation, weight-bearing, or certain wrist movements.
Finger & Thumb Injuries
Sprains, strains, tendon injuries, and joint irritation can affect hand function following trauma, repetitive loading, or sporting activity.
Where you feel symptoms is only part of the picture.
Hand and wrist symptoms can sometimes be influenced by structures elsewhere along the arm or neck, particularly when numbness, tingling, or weakness is present.
HOW WE CAN HELP
Restoring the function you rely on every day.
We assess how your hand and wrist move and respond to load while also considering the elbow, shoulder, and neck when relevant. Your work, sport, hobbies, and everyday demands help us determine what your hand and wrist need to be able to tolerate.
Thorough Assessment
We’ll discuss your symptoms, injury history, activities, and goals while assessing movement, strength, grip, relevant joints, muscles, tendons, and neurological function when appropriate.
Hands-On Care
When appropriate, joint mobilization and soft tissue techniques may be used to help manage symptoms and restore comfortable movement.
Rehabilitation
Progressive mobility, strengthening, and loading exercises can help restore function and gradually build your capacity for gripping, lifting, work, sport, and everyday activities.
Education
We’ll help you identify aggravating activities and determine how to modify and gradually reintroduce them during recovery.
Your hands need to do much more than simply move without pain. Our goal is to help restore the strength, movement, and confidence you need for the activities that matter to you.
TAKING THE NEXT STEP
Manage the load without unnecessarily avoiding movement.
Modify Aggravating Activities
Temporarily adjusting how much, how often, or how intensely you grip, lift, type, train, or perform other aggravating activities can help reduce irritation while maintaining function.
Maintain Comfortable Movement
Where appropriate, continue gently moving your wrist, hand, and fingers through comfortable ranges rather than avoiding movement altogether.
Consider an Assessment If:
- Pain isn’t improving
- Symptoms repeatedly return
- Grip strength or hand function is decreasing
- Numbness or tingling persists
- Symptoms interfere with work, exercise, sport, or everyday activities
*Please note that these are general examples and do not replace medical advice.
Seek Urgent Medical Attention If:
- Significant pain or loss of function follows trauma
- The wrist, hand, or finger appears visibly deformed
- You cannot normally move or use the affected area after an injury
- Significant swelling, redness, warmth, or fever develops
- Numbness, weakness, or loss of sensation develops suddenly or progressively worsens
*Please note that these are general examples and do not replace medical advice.
Let's build a plan that works for you.
Whether you’re recovering from an injury, dealing with ongoing pain, or looking to improve the way you move, we’re here to help you take the next step with confidence.