Hand and wrist injuries can be painful and disruptive to your everyday activities. Below, we have described some of the most common hand and wrist injuries, as well as how to identify and treat them. We have rated this injuries from bad to worse, so stay tuned for part 2 of this blog post to read about the top 5 worse injuries.
These injuries can affect anyone, so be sure to read through this list and keep it handy in case you ever find yourself in need of more information about a particular hand or wrist injury.
15. Jammed Finger
This injury happens when you hit the end of your finger against something while the finger is fully extended. This is not a serious injury but it can be very painful and cause swelling of the joint and difficulty bending the finger. A jammed finger can usually be treated with ice, rest, and taping the finger to the adjacent one to keep it immobile.
14. Tendonitis
Tendonitis can affect any tendon in the hand and wrist and its main symptom is a feeling of tenderness over the affected tendon with hand or wrist motion. Tendonitis is caused by repetitive activities of one specific movement and can be temporarily treated with rest, icing, and NSAIDS. However, you should seek the help of a hand specialist if this condition continues to cause you pain.
13. Growth Plate Stress
Creating too much stress on a growing child’s bones, like a young gymnast or baseball pitcher, usually causes growth plate stress. This injury causes persistent pain, tenderness, and swelling over the affected bone. The best treatment is to stop the stressing activity and see a physician for proper evaluation.
12. Wrist Ligament Tear or Sprain
This injury is caused by an impaction on the wrist like landing a fall on your hands or hitting your wrist against a hard surface, which causes damage to your wrist ligament. The main symptom is pain with gripping or rotating of the wrist. You will need to seek medical attention for proper treatment.
11. Nail Bed Injury
This type of injury happens when there is an impact on top of your fingernail that has torn the nail bed below it. With a nail bed injury, there is usually blood under the nail. Medical attention is required to repair the nail bed.
10. “Mallet” Finger
A “mallet” finger injury, also known as “baseball finger”, can happen to anyone whether they play baseball or not. This injury is caused when the tendon that holds your fingertip straight is ruptured because of a strong impact. The symptoms of “mallet” finger are tenderness just behind the nail and not being able to hold your fingertip straight. This injury requires medical attention to be treated properly.
9. Finger Tendon Tear
This happens when your finger is pulled away with enough force to rupture the tendon. The main symptom of this injury is not being able to flex your fingertip and it usually requires to be treated with surgery.
8. Ulnar Collateral Ligament Tear
This injury is known as “skiers’ thumb” because it is common for people who ski often to suffer from it. Skiers’ thumb happens when the ligament that stabilizes your thumb is torn when grasping object. This injury causes pain and instability of the thumb, and requires a physician evaluation for proper treatment.
Stay tuned for the second part of this list where we will explore the last 7 most common hand and wrist injuries. Don’t forget to give us a call or visit us at one of our multiple Houston hand centers.
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