Conditions and injuries of the finger, hand, wrist, forearm and elbow: what they are, how they behave, and when they stop being minor.
For new hand or wrist pain with no red flags: elevate, keep the fingers moving, ice for swelling, cut the activity that caused it, and mark day 7. Not clearly better by then? Get it assessed.
After a small release, most people use the hand for light tasks within 2 weeks; after tendon, fracture or thumb-base surgery, plan on 6 to 12 weeks of restricted use. Here’s how to shower, dress, eat and use the toilet one-handed, and what to set up before you go in.
Before hand surgery, ask what a realistic good result looks like, what you’ll lose, what happens if you wait, exactly what you can move and when, and whether hand therapy is booked. Here’s the full list and how to ask it.
The right wrist brace depends on the diagnosis: a flat night splint for carpal tunnel, a thumb spica for de Quervain’s, an ulnar wrap for TFCC. What to look for, when to wear it, and what to skip.
WALANT is hand surgery done wide awake, with a numbing injection, no tourniquet and usually no fasting. Here’s why moving your fingers during the operation improves the result, what it feels like, and how long the numbness lasts.
Your hand or wrist MRI report describes what the scanner saw, not what’s causing your pain. What each common phrase means, and how to tell if a finding is actually yours.
Most hand surgeons get cautious after 2 to 3 steroid injections in the same spot, at least 3 months apart. Where they work, where they backfire, and how to use the good weeks.
If you can’t make a full fist, it’s stiffness, a tendon that’s stopped pulling, or a nerve that’s stopped signaling. Bend the fingers with your other hand: if they close, the joints are fine.
Which fingers tingle tells you which nerve: thumb to half the ring finger is the median nerve, the little finger side is the ulnar. Sudden one-sided tingling with weakness is a possible stroke.
A weak grip is pain switching the muscles off, a nerve not delivering the signal, or a torn tendon. Painful weakness usually recovers as the pain settles; painless weakness needs checking within weeks.