Most hand pain isn’t an injury. It’s a load.
The same 3 grips, 2,000 times a shift. The same wrist angle for 8 hours. The same tendon doing the same job until it can’t.
Which means the fix usually isn’t rest. It’s changing the dose: how much, how often, at what angle…while you keep working.
Find your job, sport or hobby below. Each guide names the usual culprits, what helps, and how long it takes.
Healthcare and lab work
Food and hospitality
- Chefs
- Bakers and pastry chefs
- Sushi chefs
- Baristas
- Waiters and bar staff
- Butchers and meat processing
- Bartenders
Trades, driving and manual work
- Construction: carpenters, electricians, plumbers, bricklayers
- Power tools and vibration
- Mechanics
- DIY and renovation
- Warehouse and logistics
- Cleaners and housekeeping
- Cashiers
- Truck and delivery drivers
Desk, screens and creative work
- Typing and mouse use
- Ergonomic mouse and keyboard
- Digital artists
- Photographers
- Handwriting
- Gaming
- Phone and texting
Beauty, body art and communication
Musicians
Gym and training
- Weightlifting
- Powerlifting
- CrossFit
- HYROX
- Yoga
- Pole and aerial
- Push-ups and handstands
- Tennis elbow from weightlifting
- Gymnastics: gymnast’s wrist
- Back to the gym after an injury
Racquet, ball and team sports
- Tennis, badminton and squash
- Padel
- Pickleball
- Golf
- Golf: tennis elbow
- Table tennis
- Golf, baseball and hockey: hook of hamate fracture
- Young baseball pitchers: little league elbow
- Baseball pitchers and throwers: UCL injury
- Basketball and volleyball
- Goalkeepers
- Cricket
- Football
- Rugby
- Hockey
Combat sports
Outdoor and adventure
- Climbing: A2 pulley
- Climber’s elbow
- Cycling
- Motorcycle riding
- Skiing and snowboarding
- Rowing
- Swimming
- Horse riding
- Archery
- Bowling
- Fishing
- Juggling and flow arts
- Kayaking, dragon boat and SUP
Home, hobbies and everyday life
- Gardening
- Smartwatch and fitness band wearers
- Knitting, crochet and sewing
- Pottery
- Dog walking
- Pregnancy: carpal tunnel
- New parents
- Wheelchair users
- Crutches
- Perimenopause
Rest takes the load away for a week. Changing the load takes the problem away.
Your job didn’t injure your hand in a day. The fix is a different dose, not a different career.
Written by Nigel Chua, hand occupational therapist in practice since 2005. Thousands of hands, wrists and elbows assessed and treated. My credentials are here. These pages explain; they don’t examine. Your surgeon’s or doctor’s plan comes first.