Pain or stiffness with a finger, hand, or wrist problem

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Pain or stiffness with a finger, hand, or wrist problem

Overuse of your fingers, hands, or wrists from repetitive activities, such as the motion used in painting a house, can cause temporary pain, swelling, and stiffness. When you stop, change, or take a break from your activities, symptoms should gradually go away. Continued (chronic) overuse can lead to other problems, such as:

• Carpal tunnel syndrome, which is caused by pressure on a nerve (median nerve ) in the wrist. The symptoms include tingling, numbness, weakness, or pain of the fingers and hand. See an illustration of carpal tunnel syndrome .
• Tendon pain, which actually is a symptom of tendinosis, a series of very small tears (microtears) in the in or around the tendon. In addition to pain and tenderness, common symptoms of tendon microinjury include decreased strength and movement in the affected area.
• De Quervain's disease. This can occur in the hand or wrist when tendons and the tendon covering (sheath) on the thumb side of the wrist swell and become inflamed. See an illustration of de Quervain's disease .
• Repetitive motion syndrome, a term used to describe symptoms such as pain, swelling, or tenderness that occur from repeating the same motion over and over.
• Writer's cramps, which develop with repeated hand or finger motion, such as writing or typing.

Finger, hand, and wrist pain may also be caused by:

• Dupuytren's disease, an abnormal thickening of tissue beneath the skin in the palm of the hand or hands and occasionally the soles of the feet. The thickened skin and tendons (palmar fascia) may eventually limit movement or cause the fingers to bend so that they cannot be straightened. See an illustration of Dupuytren's contracture .
• Trigger finger or trigger thumb. This occurs when the flexor tendon and its sheath in a finger or thumb thicken or swell.
• Ganglion cysts. Ganglions are small sacs (cysts) filled with clear, jellylike fluid that often appear as bumps on the hands and wrists but can also develop on feet, ankles, knees, or shoulders. See an illustration of a ganglion .
• Osteoarthritis, which is the progressive breakdown of the tissue that protects and cushions joints (cartilage). It may cause stiffness and pain with movement.
• Rheumatoid arthritis, which may cause stiffness and pain with movement. Over time, deformity of the fingers may occur. See an illustration of rheumatoid arthritis .
• Lupus, a long-lasting autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks normal body tissues as though they were foreign substances. It may cause joint pain.
• Gout, an inflammatory joint disease that causes acute pain and swelling. It is a form of arthritis that develops when uric acid crystals form in and around the joints, commonly affecting the big toe joint.
• Raynaud's phenomenon. This is a condition in which some areas of the body, usually the fingers or toes, have an exaggerated response to cold temperature or emotional stress. During an attack of Raynaud's, the blood vessels in the affected areas tighten, severely limiting the flow of blood to the skin, causing a numbness, tingling, swelling, and pain.
• Infection, which can cause pain, redness, and swelling that occur with red streaking, heat, fever, or puslike drainage. An infection often causes tenderness to the touch or pain with movement at the site of the infection.

Credits

Last updated:	November 13, 2008
Author:	Jan Nissl, RN, BS
Reviewed By:	William M. Green, MD - Emergency Medicine, H. Michael O'Connor, MD - Emergency Medicine
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Tracy Landauer