Losing Your Grip? Feeling Pain In Your Hands?
By Sandy Schroeder
We all depend on our hands to do everything. As we whip up breakfast, organize the family, and drive to work, our hands are seldom still.
Repetitive motion on a keyboard throughout the day, or pulling and pushing tasks at home, can accelerate hand pain.
When stiffness, soreness or swelling occurs, we may try to muffle the pain with over-the-counter medications. It’s only when pain becomes constant and our hands lose their flexibility that we may realize how serious painful hands can be.
If you are reaching that point, see your doctor and your chiropractor for a diagnosis and assistance. The sooner you get answers the better.
What May Be Happening
According to Harvard Health, pain may come from tendonitis, when tissue linking bone and muscle becomes inflamed. Tingling can be nerve pain if there is pressure on the median nerve in the wrist or the ulnar nerve near the elbow. Osteoarthritis can develop if cartilage in fingers and at the base of the thumb loses its ability to absorb shocks. To retain flexibility, simple exercises may help.
Gliding Hands and Fingers
- Start with fingers flat and straight, Return to straight each time
- Make a hook
- Make a full fist
- Make a straight fist
Seeing Your Chiropractor
If you are having pain and losing function in your hands, see your chiropractor for answers. When you come in, your chiropractor will use a spinal adjustment to assess your spinal health and provide pain relief.
Your chiropractor will review your medical history, ask how your pain developed and how long you have had it. He or she will also want to talk about your normal activities, and the effect hand pain is having on your life. Together, you and your chiropractor can put together a plan to diminish pain and regain function without using pain medications or surgery.
I have watched friends and co-workers follow this course, happily getting back on track, piloting their families through the day or moving ahead with their schedules at work. Hands-on control worked just fine.
Stop by the Joint Chiropractic clinic near you to get started. No appointments are needed, and an affordable care program eliminates the need for insurance. Flexible weekend and evening hours are available.
To learn more about your health and wellness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic.