What is the one thing that you probably use a lot at your work desk, aside from your eyes? The hands. You might think that your workplace can’t lead to hand and wrist injuries, but you’re wrong. Here are some of the most common hand injuries related to your workplace. Some can be recovered with rest or home remedies, but for others, you may help from an orthopedic surgeon.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a disorder that can affect your wrist as well as your fingers. If you have a history of wrist injuries or even arthritis, then you can experience carpal tunnel syndrome. It is the disorder or nerves in the carpal tunnel that connect your arm to the palm of your hand.
Symptoms may include pain and loss of sensation in the thumb, the middle, and the index finger. If you also have a hard time gripping things and twisting your wrist, then you need to see a doctor ASAP.
Ligament Tears
Ligaments are soft and stretchy tissues that hold your muscles and bones together, and they can even be found near the joints. Well, no matter how stretchy the ligaments are, they are not indestructible, and they can be torn as well, especially if you overuse your hands a lot and do work that is too strenuous on a daily basis.
The ligaments can get torn and it can lead to severe pain and the inability to use your hand. Some ligament tears can be healed if you give your hand a break, while other, more serious tears will need surgery to fuse them back together.
Trigger Finger
Trigger finger is also a very common hand injury at the workplace and this can occur if you have a habit of grasping things a lot. Trigger finger is basically the locking of your fingers in a position that makes it look like you’re holding a gun and you’re trying to pull the trigger.
The finger tendons become really strained and inflamed, and they can actually lock in a very weird way, making it really hard for you to work. It can occur on one finger or more than one, but you will hear a distinct popping sound when you try to get your finger to loosen up. Obviously, it will hurt a lot too.
Fractures
Your hand is composed of many tiny bones, joints, and complex connections, so yes, there is a possibility of fractures in this body part as well. You might think that fractures are not likely to occur in something like a workplace where you’re doing pretty light work, but you don’t want to be too sure of anything.
Even the slightest impact on your hand in the wrong way can lead to fractures. Your hand might get deformed, there might be an inability to move your hand as you please, and many other things along the same line.
Lacerations
Lacerations are physical injuries on the hand that can be caused by cuts and even impact on the hand. Lacerations lead to the appearance of scars and bleeding on the hand, and they’re most common in places where you work with your hands solely, like in workshops, with dangerous and sharp equipment and materials, and so on.
Lacerations are mostly treatable, but you have to be careful with those too, especially depending on where the laceration is. If it has bled out too much or if it has affected an important nerve or vein or worse, an artery, then it can turn into a full-on medical emergency.
Nerve Damage
Nerve damage can also go hand in hand with lacerations or not. If the cut or injury is close to where major nerves are in the hand, then it can lead to loss of sensation in the hand, a feeling of numbness, and a very needle-like, piercing and tingling feeling.
These are classic symptoms of nerve damage and if said damage is too much then you can permanently lose sensation in the hand, which is why you should be careful and use proper hand protection when dealing with things that can likely seriously injure you.
In some cases, hand nerve damage is linked to nerve damage or compression in the back and your GP may refer you to a back pain doctor Woodbridge.
Repetitive Strain Injury
Repetitive strain injury is exactly what it sounds like. It is the repetition of strains on your hand when you don’t allow them to heal properly. This is really bad and this is why healing is extremely important for the hand. You can’t be constantly working when your hand is strained.
Strains occur when the muscles or tendons of the hand and wrist are overused, and they are not healed properly. This leads to frequent pain and the inability to use your hand on a daily basis. Prolonged posture can also cause neck and back problems, so consult a doctor if you experience pain.
Hand Sprain
If you are someone who spends long hours of your workday typing away on your laptop, then you might have experienced hand or wrist sprains a lot. Hand sprains occur when the ligaments or the connecting tissue of your bones are stretched beyond their limit, and they are at risk of getting torn.
Sometimes, a serious sprain can also lead to ligament tears and that is also very painful. You want to give your hand a break during this time, otherwise, the injury won’t heal properly and it will come back again and again to bug you.
Ganglion Cyst
Imagine you’re working at your desk, click-clacking on the keyboard, when you see a growth or bulge on the hand, wrist, or near the palm. That would make anyone rear back from the shock. This fluid-filled sac that can appear on your hands is a ganglion cyst. It is not harmful. It’s usually benign, but it doesn’t take away the fact that it can limit your hand movements as well as pain around the joints, especially when the pressure increases.
The reason for a ganglion cyst can be many, including overuse of the hand, any previous unhealed trauma on the hand and associated hand injuries.
De Quervain’s Tensosynovitis
The thumb alone can also be affected at your workplace, especially if you constantly do work like typing or holding things with your thumb engaged. De Quervain’s tenosynovitis is a very serious condition that affects the tendons of the thumb. This can lead to inflammation in the tendons and you will be unable to move the thumb as freely as you normally do.
This is really bad, because if you can’t engage your thumb, then you are unable to do a lot of mundane tasks, like even picking up the phone.
Common symptoms may include pain on the base of the thumb, especially where the palm is, and swelling in the wrist. You will also be unable to move or bend the thumb and it will hurt like the devil.
This is why you need to check in with your doctor as soon as possible and figure out something before the tendons reach a point of no return. Rest and early diagnosis can lead to better management.
Conclusion
Hand injuries are really common and they can or cannot have a particular reason. So, you need to be careful when you’re concerned with your hand, because you don’t want to put too much strain on it. And consult a hand injury specialist Woodbridge if you feel pain or the any of the above symptoms.
