Hand Pain Relief

Hand pain can be caused by a variety of different conditions or injuries. Knowing what is causing the hand pain is very important to determine what kind of hand treatment for would be most effective to use. If you have hand pain that is reoccurring or severe or persistent pain caused by injury, consult a physician to find out what could be causing the pain.

Common Hand Conditions

• According to UT Southwestern Medical Center the most common hand pain problems are arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, ganglion cysts and tendon problems. An injury of the hand in the present or past may also be the source of the pain or simply overworked hands due to repetitive stress or activity. Treatment of pain will vary according to the type of problem that is being experienced. There are treatments available to try to reduce the pain no matter what the underlying condition may be to at least find some temporary relief.

Hand Exercises

• The Mayo Clinic advises some simple exercises for fingers and hands for arthritic pain but these exercises can help in many generalized hand pain situations. Exercises include stretching your hand out and then gently making a fist. Another exercise would be stretching your fingers out as much as possible then slowly bringing them back together again. None of the advised exercises should cause pain or too much discomfort; if they do, than hand exercises will probably not be the right choice for your particular pain.

Over The Counter

• Some of the over the counter remedies may be all that is needed. Choose anti-inflammatory medications such as naproxen, ibuprofen or aspirin. These types of NSAIDS are usually more effective because they can also help reduce inflammation or swelling. Topical creams, balms or ointments can help with hand pain management and there is a variety to choose from that use various active ingredients from menthol to salicylate or capsaicin. It may take some experimentation to see find out which topical solution is right for you.

  Wrist or hand supports, hand braces and stabilizers are another option. If the hand pain is caused by repetitive motion, then this may be the solution, but you need to be careful about wearing a hand brace for prolonged periods or securing them to tightly. This may lead to muscle atrophy or cause more troubles because your muscles need to have free range movements at times, you should talk to your doctor about how to wear your support brace and for how long.

Other Options

• Hand pain relief can be had at times by applying ice and resting your hand especially if the area is swollen or tendonitis is indicated. If ice therapy does not help, consider soaking hands in Epsom salts, hot water and witch hazel to sooth muscles and tendons. Many people find that simply applying cold or hot packs alleviates the pain or use a rotating combination of the two by applying heat and then switching to cold. Try different solutions to come up with whatever works best for the pain.