Conditions and injuries of the finger, hand, wrist, forearm and elbow: what they are, how they behave, and when they stop being minor.
A superficial hand burn heals in about a week, a blistering one in about two, and a deep one takes three weeks or more and scars. The first 6 months of splinting, stretching and pressure decide how much movement you keep.
If a ring catches and pulls your finger, go to the ER now, even if it only looks like a graze: the hidden arteries fail first. Recovery runs from 2 to 3 weeks for skin-only injuries to 6 to 12 months or more after microsurgery.
If one finger joint is hot, swollen and too painful to move, a whole finger is swollen and held bent, or red streaks run up your arm, go to the ER now. Cellulitis with a finger that still bends needs a doctor and antibiotics today.
Hypermobile hands hurt because the joints rest at end range on ligament instead of muscle. The fix is strength in mid-range, fatter tools, ring splints and pacing, not more stretching.
Psoriatic arthritis in the hands shows up as a sausage-swollen finger, swollen end joints and pitted or lifting nails, often with negative bloods. How it’s diagnosed, how it differs from rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, and what splints and exercises help.
Carpal tunnel numbs the thumb side of one hand and wakes you at night. Neuropathy numbs both hands in a glove pattern and usually started in the feet. Here is how to tell, and why it matters before surgery.
Thoracic outlet syndrome squeezes nerves or vessels under the collarbone, giving ring and little finger tingling and a heavy arm that worsens with arms overhead. Most nerve-type cases settle in 3 to 6 months; a swollen, blue or cold arm needs the ER today.
Desk work often returns within days to 2 weeks of a hand injury; heavy gripping usually takes 6 to 12 weeks, and 3 months or more after a tendon repair. Go back task by task, with specific restrictions, not all at once.
Yes, diabetes affects the hands: trigger finger, Dupuytren’s, carpal tunnel and stiff, tight fingers all come from sugar stiffening collagen. The prayer sign checks for it in 10 seconds, and daily stretching keeps the range you have.
After a hand injury, four exercises do most of the work: tendon glides, blocked bending, an intrinsic stretch and forearm rotation. Do about 10 slow rounds with 5-second holds, every 2 to 3 hours while awake.