When to conquer hand pain and when to get help - 5 helpful tips
Pain is a universal experience, yet its emotional impact and complexities are often taken for granted. When it comes to hand pain, the emotional weight can be particularly profound. I was reminded of this recently when my toddler had a splinter in his palm. The combination of heightened sensation and fear of removal made the process particularly eventful and difficult. You may think this would be an issue only with children, but pain and fear, especially when it involves your hands, is real and can significantly impact your daily function and can also limit your ability to seek help. Many people will put off seeing a professional for weeks, months or even years for fear that the solution may be worse than the problem.
Hands are deeply personal parts of our body, so when the pain starts you may start to panic. Stop googling symptoms and let’s talk about how to identify hand pain and when to start taking next steps.
Information provided is not a substitute for professional medical advice and should be used for entertainment and educational purposes only.
Pain is our body’s way of telling us that something is wrong or off. It can be as simple as an unusual body position during an activity or as complicated as an injury or growth that should be assessed by a professional. There’s also a whole range of possibilities in between. More times than not, as a rehab professional, I see issues that stem from the former of these possibilities.
What does the pain feel like? What may seem like a strange question, can actually answer a lot of the root cause of an issue. Throbbing, aching, shooting, or sharp sensations? We will touch more on the differences and causes of these in a later post, but these descriptors can give a lot of information about what is going on with your hands and arms. Sharp and shooting pain are typically more acute issues where throbbing and aching may be a longer term chronic issues. Any pain that you are unable to alleviate on your own and persists despite trying simple interventions should be assessed by a professional. Check out these tips and tricks here.
Is the pain constant or does it come at a certain time or the day or after a certain activity? Pay close attention to when the pain comes and how long it sticks around. Can you change positions to alleviate it or does it subside during certain parts of the day? If the pain is not easily alleviated and is constant, you should be assessed by a professional.
Is the pain impacting your sleep? Having trouble falling asleep is normal with hand and arm pain and can often be helped by positioning or exercises beforehand. However, pay close attention to pain that wakes you up at night, this is something that should be assessed by a professional in a timely manner.
Are you engaged and active in your normal day to day activities? Do you find yourself avoiding activities that you need to do or that bring you joy due to hand or arm pain, Such as work, spending time with loved ones, or hobbies? If so, it’s time to seek professional help.
These are some general guidelines to help guide your decision making process and hopefully help ease your mind. When in doubt, it is always a safe bet to see your physician or another healthcare professional, like a therapist, to be further evaluated.
