Our hands play an important role in virtually everything we do, including getting dressed, driving, playing sports, carrying out work duties, and preparing meals. However, repetitive overuse of the hands, hand conditions, and injuries can cause damage to the hands.
If you have injured your hand or are experiencing pain or reduced mobility, it may be time to talk to a hand surgeon to get the effective treatment you need.
What Is A Hand Surgeon?
A hand surgeon is an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in diagnosing, treating, and preventing disorders in the hand. They have a profound understanding of the complex network of blood vessels, nerves, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and bones that make up the hand and fingers and can provide state-of-the-art nonsurgical and surgical care for a full range of injuries and conditions.
Some hand injuries and conditions are only short-term and go away on their own or with rest and ice, such as a sprain. However, other symptoms may require further investigation and substantive treatment. Contact your hand surgeon if:
- Symptoms don’t improve with rest and ice
- You have a reduced range of motion in the hand, wrist, and/or fingers
- You have pain or discomfort, even while resting your hand
- You regularly experience tingling or numbness in your hand
- Pain, redness, or swelling gets worse
- Simple, everyday activities are difficult because of pain
Some symptoms can indicate a serious condition, such as a fracture or dislocation, and require urgent treatment. Contact your hand surgeon immediately if you are experiencing severe pain, swelling, or bruising around a joint, an obvious deformity, or an inability to move your hand, wrist, or fingers normally.
What Conditions Does A Hand Surgeon Treat?
There are many disorders and injuries that can affect the hand and cause pain. In some cases, pain can be felt immediately and bruising and swelling can follow. This is often the result of a sudden injury or direct blow to the hand. Other conditions can get worse gradually over time and are often the result of overuse or repetitive movements, which can place stress on tendons, nerves, and joints. Arthritis is one of the most common conditions to cause hand pain and reduce mobility. The two main types of arthritis that affect the hands are:
Osteoarthritis is often the result of overuse and wear and tear injuries. It causes the cartilage that protects and cushions the ends of bones to breakdown, resulting in painful bone on bone rubbing.
Rheumatoid Arthritis is a chronic and progressive autoimmune disease affecting joints. It causes the body’s immune system to attack the membrane that protects and lines the joints, resulting in inflammation and pain around joints and a loss of function and mobility.
There are a number of other common conditions and injuries that affect the hands and lead to pain or limited function, including:
- Fractures (Bennett’s (thumb) and Boxer’s (knuckle) fractures)
- Hand dislocations
- Tendon disorders and injuries (trigger thumb/finger, tendonitis, tenosynovitis, flexor and extensor injuries, mallet finger, boutonniere deformities)
- Nerve injuries or disorders (Carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel syndrome)
- Sports/work related hand injuries (sprains, skiers’ thumb)
- Bursitis
- Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)/reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RDS)
- Dupuytren’s contracture
- Animal bite injuries
- Congenital hand differences
- Ganglion cysts (lumps and bumps)
Treatment For Hand Conditions
The type of treatment required for your hand condition or injury will depend on the diagnosis and severity of the problem. Non-surgical treatment methods can include physical/hand/occupational therapy, sports medicine, splinting, medication, injections, and other modalities.
Hand surgery may be recommended if non-surgical treatments prove unsuccessful or if there has been significant damage to the hand, which requires repair. Surgical procedures can include tendon repair surgery, tendon transfer surgery, fracture surgery, cord release surgery, infection surgery, joint replacement, and trigger finger release surgery.
Hand Surgeon Specialists In Maryland
Looking after our hands and keeping them healthy is paramount to our overall wellbeing and quality of life. If you have a hand injury or chronic condition that is causing pain or affecting your mobility, contact the team of hand experts at Greater Chesapeake Hand to Shoulder in Maryland.
Our orthopedic surgeons are highly qualified at diagnosing and treating a multitude of hand conditions and injuries. If you would like to learn more about the services we offer or to make an appointment, call us today at (410) 296-6232 or request an appointment online at one of our Greater Chesapeake locations.
