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OT- Medical.... Pains in hands while gripping... any cure ?

Milacron

Milacron

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Staff member
Joined
Dec 15, 2000
Location
SC, USA
No pain at rest....but sharp pain between thumb and forefinger when gripping objects a certain way*....curiously my left hand is worse than my right (I am right handed). Went to orthopedic doc just yesterday mostly because about every 4 years I develop minor bursitis in my left shoulder....steriod shot takes care of that... I mention the doc visit only because they X Rayed hands while there and he sees nothing unusual with the bones or joints.

Time frame...probably a few months with left hand but recent with right.

Posting to see if any of you might have or had similar trouble and found any hand stretch or exercise that helps ?

==========

*What I mean by that is just to grip say a two inch round object doesn't hurt, but the simpliest things can hurt sometimes...like holding a large cup of coffee by the handle or picking up a quart box of milk. Pain has occasionally been sharp enough in left hand I almost drop a cup of coffee, for example. :nopity:
 
My hands hurt nearly all the time. Might be arthritis, carpal tunnel, or just plain worn out. When my hands are bad, fair bit of pain just picking things up. Every night I sleep wearing wrist braces on both hands which helps significantly. You can find them in the pharmacy section of CVS, etc.

Steve
 
Pain is a funny thing

People in our business are prone to repetitive stress injuries. Pain in the hands could be anything from back, shoulders wrists etc.

Unscientific, but perhaps try a little self torture[hah]. Try picking things up in different positions, perhaps 'elbows on the table' or lying down arms outstretched[think lying on the couch picking a beer off of the coffee table]

If isolating it makes no difference, maybe it is actually the hands.

I mean, not like you are too young to have arthritis, ISTR real aspirin was better at relieving good old fashioned arthritis.

A good friend has an autoimmune disorder [PMR?]recently diagnosed[he's in mid 60's] that is a more generalized pain but is really showing in his hands. Sudden weight loss brought him to the doctor.

Hope you find relief, none of us is getting any younger
 
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Might be worthwhile to see a Rheumatologist (specializes in arthritis and similar problems) since it sounds more like that sort of problem. As I understand it, xrays wont show up any soft tissue problems, and bone doctors are generally looking for strictly bone and joint problems.
 
Milacron said:
No pain at rest....but sharp pain between thumb and forefinger when gripping objects a certain way*....curiously my left hand is worse than my right (I am right handed). Went to orthopedic doc just yesterday mostly because about every 4 years I develop minor bursitis in my left shoulder....steriod shot takes care of that... I mention the doc visit only because they X Rayed hands while there and he sees nothing unusual with the bones or joints.

Time frame...probably a few months with left hand but recent with right.

Posting to see if any of you might have or had similar trouble and found any hand stretch or exercise that helps ?

==========

*What I mean by that is just to grip say a two inch round object doesn't hurt, but the simpliest things can hurt sometimes...like holding a large cup of coffee by the handle or picking up a quart box of milk. Pain has occasionally been sharp enough in left hand I almost drop a cup of coffee, for example. :nopity:
Click to expand...

Chiropractor who was working on my back pressed on the hands, told me I was dehydrated and needed more Vitamin B. Took more fluid's. Took vitamins briefly, until I had altered the diet, hands (and feet) went back to normal.

I don't have the grip strength I once had. balance ain't so great, but then...
 
Cannot remember the name but tendons are inside tunes like brake cable on 10 speed bike.

Tube gets inflamed or tendon does and movement can be painful.

Sometimes they get barnacles that need to be scraped off.

The one for our thumb shifts and the thumb only closes and while like this is very painful and pulling open and some exercise fixes it until next time.

Normal doctor usually does not mess with it but there are folks that do.

Get to a "hand specialist" as the barnacle issue is difficult to confirm but simple to fix.

Others dependent on cause but too many possibilities to just guess.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
 
An orthopedic surgeon who operates on hands will want an MRI or other soft-tissue scan because that sort of pain is often due to swelling of tendon sheaths and the like. They can give you shots for that, which works maybe half the time, or release it surgically, which works pretty much all the time. Osteoarthritis shows up on Xrays but rheumatoid arthritis won't, except for bone effects which might not have occurred yet.

Good luck!
 
SteveF said:
My hands hurt nearly all the time. Might be arthritis, carpal tunnel, or just plain worn out.
Click to expand...
Had some electrical muscle testing many years ago where doc says I have beginnings of carpal tunnel in hands. But reading thru carpal tunnel symptoms that doesn't seem to be it... no numb or tingling sensations, and actual grip strength seems to be the same. Just if I grip a certain way, get a sharp pain. Can grip a bicycle handle full force for example but might get a sharp pain just holding a fork to eat !
 
We are fortunate that in my town (a long way from you, I know) that we have one of the premiere hand therapists in the country. He does not believe in MRIs for most ailments, rather he uses a muscular-skeletal ultrasound machine. The cost is a fraction of an MRI (about $160), and the results are remarkably better. It gives real-time results and you are able to watch the screen while he manipulates the affected area and see what parts are actually causing the pain. They also specialize in a technique called 'dry needling' that has helped a number or people I know with pain.

Check them out, perhaps they can refer you to someone in your area that uses their techniques: http://www.paradigmpt.com/
 
Milacron said:
...............Can grip a bicycle handle full force for example but might get a sharp pain just holding a fork to eat !
Click to expand...

Then you're in better shape than I am. Sold my 10 speed at least 10 years ago because leaning forward on the handlebars would make my hands go numb after about 15 minutes of riding.

I guess my mom was wrong. It's not the eyes that go bad from a certain activity.

Steve
 
SteveF said:
Then you're in better shape than I am. Sold my 10 speed at least 10 years ago because leaning forward on the handlebars would make my hands go numb after about 15 minutes of riding.

I guess my mom was wrong. It's not the eyes that go bad from a certain activity.

Steve
Click to expand...

Serves you right for having more than a handful.

Regards Tyrone.
 
Milacron said:
Had some electrical muscle testing many years ago where doc says I have beginnings of carpal tunnel in hands. But reading thru carpal tunnel symptoms that doesn't seem to be it... no numb or tingling sensations, and actual grip strength seems to be the same. Just if I grip a certain way, get a sharp pain. Can grip a bicycle handle full force for example but might get a sharp pain just holding a fork to eat !
Click to expand...

First things first, if you're concerned, see your primary care physician. Second, eat a well balanced diet and drink plenty of water. By well balanced, I mean eat your veggies like momma and poppa said to when we were kids. I can't tell you how many people think McD's or spaghetti with sauce counts as veggies (not saying you do). Third, watch for numbness. Pain is one thing, but if you start having numbness...get an appointment with your doctor. If the pain doesn't stop, go to the doctor. Fourth, get a small pamphlet and record the things you were doing when you have an 'attack'. Your description of symptoms, while good, is not enough to give a picture of what the possible cause would be. Try to find out if it correlates with a time of day, the size of object you are picking up, how much exercise that hand had for the day, how long the pain lasts, whether stretching helps or hurts, what things can you do force the pain to come on, if you take an ibuprofen -- will the pain stop/not appear, etc etc. A booklet with a log of your symptoms will be incredibly helpful and will make your visit to the doctor more productive. As always, PM me if you have any questions or want to chat offline.
 
car2 said:
B12 is supposed to help carpal-tunnel and related. Good Luck.
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B Vitamins also alter a person's perspiration to make it less attractive to mossies and other biting insects.

Standard-issue, outbound for 'nam, was a big jar of 'em.

Even "too much" had far fewer deleterious side-effects than the damned-if-you-do-worse-damned-if-you-do-not anti-malarial pills.

Decent steaks, neither bloody nor charred, modest portion sizes, just "often", are nicer, though.

Ditto "Chinese vegetables" AKA any vegetable interesting and edible - or near-as-dammit. Some of those with the most beneficial food-value DO take some getting used to. No fear. So did Collards and such.
 
cg285 said:
is this not a suck it up thing
Click to expand...

Sure it is, to some extent. But that doesn't mean there aren't things out there which can help. If I travel and forgot my wrist braces my hands ache one hell of a lot more the next morning than if I had worn them in my sleep.

Pain sucks. Less pain sucks less.

Steve
 
medsar said:
I think you mean B6, right? And even that treatment is controversial.

Be careful with taking a bunch of vitamins when you don't have a documented deficiency.
Click to expand...

Typical US diets, you don't need a "bunch".

Our deficiencies tend to be edge-case, minor, and usually episodal, such that a modest supplement seldom even needs to be continued.

Try a modest multi-B supplement, check that the fluid intake is not skewed toward diuretics, and the pain very well may abate as it is dealt with by the ordinarily superbly competent human system - no long-term supplements required.

Wise to watch salt intake - Americans can easily run about 60 times the minimum required.

"Diet" drinks and foods with artificial sweeteners? Reports are now out there that where not DIRECTLY toxic, they cause some of our gadzillion gut bacteria to produce toxins. Cane sugar, we handle better. We just need one hell of a lot LESS OF IT - even "zero" can work, given we produce our own sugars - than we've accustomed ourselves to.
 
I have similar episodes in various parts (shoulders, knees, elbows). In my case it is always due to inflammation. For me the solution is easy. Ibuprofen - 600mg every 6 hours without missing any for 3-4 days. Lay off the problem area for that time. The ibuprofen will treat the inflammation and the pain will cease. The problem with inflammation is that it perpetuates itself. You have to break the cycle. Learned this from my most trusted physician, my wife.
 
Bruce Griffing said:
You have to break the cycle. Learned this from my most trusted physician, my wife.
Click to expand...

There's a funny in there. Expensive one, too.

After three dozen X-rays at every weird angle as could be contrived, eminent physician with dual board certification as Osteopath and Neurosurgeon, the grave opinion was that I had a form of "Ankylosing Spondylitus" and then... my now-ex said:

"Did you not realize you sleep with that whole shoulder uncovered under the air-con vent?"

Started wearing a tee-shirt to bed, and the problem was gone for good in less than a week!

"Trust" was a whole 'nother can of worms, though. Medical bills wouldn't begin to cover that part.

:(
 
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