Hand Therapist Nigel Chua 
Most people are splinted for 3 to 4 weeks after a tendon transfer, retrain the new movement from week 4, and return to heavier work between 3 and 6 months. Here is the rehab, week by week, and why the brain is the slow part.
Pain on the point of the elbow that hurts when you push, not grip, is usually triceps tendinopathy. Most settle in 6 to 12 weeks with graded loading, not rest; here’s how to tell it from bursitis or a tear.
After a crush injury the bones usually heal in 6 to 12 weeks, but swelling decides the outcome and can take 3 to 6 months to settle. The first 48 hours, the warning signs, and how to stop the hand setting stiff.
Most finger extensor tendon injuries heal in a splint worn continuously for 6 to 8 weeks, but the deadline to start is days to two weeks. The zones, the tests, the healing timeline and the knuckle wound that’s an emergency.
A cut flexor tendon does not heal on its own. If a finger joint won’t bend after a cut, see a hand surgeon within days: the repair window is about 2 weeks, followed by about 6 weeks in a splint.
A hard, pea-sized lump at the base of a finger that hurts when you grip and doesn’t slide when the finger bends is usually a seed ganglion. Harmless, often settles on its own, and padding or a needle usually sorts the pain.
Hand osteoarthritis wears three specific places: the end and middle finger joints and the thumb base. There’s no cure, but pain usually settles in phases, and heat, movement, smarter tools and flare splints keep the hand working.
Your fingers are moved by tendons from muscles in your forearm: two flexor tendons bend each finger, one extensor mechanism straightens it. Here’s the map, the self-tests, and which tendon matches your symptom.
Hand swelling after an injury or surgery peaks at 48 to 72 hours and mostly settles over 2 to 6 weeks. How to bring it down, and why swelling left sitting for 3 weeks turns into stiffness.
Hypothenar hammer syndrome is ulnar artery damage in the heel of the palm from using the hand as a hammer: cold, color-changing ring and little fingers in one hand, thumb normal. How it’s diagnosed, treated and how long recovery takes.