I sprained my hand when I was tidying up my apartment. I went to see a doctor and my hand was put in a cast. After I removed the cast, I compressed it with ice. Now the swelling is gone but the pain persists. The sprain happened a month ago. Would you consider this normal knowing it has only been a month?
Hello.
From the history you provided, I believe it is unlikely that you have a fracture in the wrist.
The most likely diagnosis is that of a tendinitis, either DeQuervain’s tenosynovitis or extensor carpi ulnaris tendinitis.
This is best managed with a steroid injection into the tendon sheath with an appropriate splint to rest the right tendon.
In the meantime, you should avoid heavy use of the hand.
The outer side of my right palm has been bruised since 3 days ago. I have compressed it with ice but it doesn’t seem to get better. The bruise hurts when I press on it. I didn’t fall or injure it previously. But around a month ago, I had an open wound there when I accidentally cut it. Is it perhaps an infection? But the wound scabbed up and seemed fine.
The first clinical diagnosis would be to rule out an infection.
it can also be an underlying blood clot, the previous cut could have injured a vessel that clotted initially and
because of minor trauma, could have started bleeding again.
Perhaps a short course of antibiotics will be useful for the infection.
It will be useful to see a hand surgeon for a consult
There is a pea-sized lump on my wrist and it hurts my joint when I rotate my hand. But, when I press it, it doesn’t hurt. How should I have it checked?
Most of the swellings in the hand are benign, ie not dangerous.
If it causes you pain, it can be removed surgically.
we would need to examine it and advise accordingly.
I used to play basketball actively and had a basketball land on my right little finger previously. It was swollen for perhaps a week and then the swelling went down and I never thought too much about it. Recently when I was getting my ring finger fitted for my ring, I noticed my little finger is bent at the joint and cannot “close” up to the ring finger properly. Is there anything I can do to fix it?
There was probably some degree of ligament or tendon injury to the little finger from the previous basketball trauma.
If it does not affect your use of the hand, it can be left alone.
If you would like to have it fixed, we would need to examine it and see
Yes, it sounds like probably a little bit of early arthritis. Ff there is no triggering factor, UC 2 collagen can help.
There is a wart on my forefinger. I notice it has grown bigger and because of it, my finger is swollen and has difficulty being bent. Do I need to treat it?
In this instance, the answer is different.
If the patient is sure that the lesion is a viral wart, this is a superficial lesion.
The most minimally invasive treatment for a wart is with laser by a dermatologist.
If it is large , then surgical excision may be required.
Often, warts do not cause swelling of the finger.
Your symptoms may be more attributable to a cyst arising from the joint of the finger.
This can be surgically excised by hand surgery if symptomatic.
It will require a proper consult to advise accordingly.
I have been living with arthritis in my wrist for close to 2 years now. Is there any way to cure it permanently?
In arthritis of the wrist, it starts with activity modification and anti-inflammatory medication use when the pain is bad
In more severe cases, steroid injections can be given for symptom relief.
If a more permanent solution is needed, surgery can be done to excise or replace the joints
Hi Doctor. My question is on behalf of my 75 year old grandfather. We have noticed that the skin on his palms is thickening. He says that it sometimes hurts, and sometimes feels numb. What condition is this? Do we need to take him to a doctor?
If your grandfather is caucasian, he could be having Dupuytren’s disease affecting the palms. This can cause skin chord thickenings and joint contractures.
The hand surgeons can do something for him. Surgery can be done to excise the diseased tissue if functionally required.
On top of that, the numbness could be because of carpal tunnel syndrome, compression of the median nerve in the palm. It can be surgically treated at the same time.
I have carpal tunnel syndrome. I am treating it with braces and painkillers. However, the pain is only relieved temporarily and the tingle still persists. What treatment would you recommend if I want to fix it for good?
Surgical decompression can achieve a cure for carpal tunnel syndrome.
It will resolve the problem long term as it creates more space for the median nerve and stops the compression.
Please do note that following surgical decompression, there will be a period of up to 2 months when there will be some aches
in the wrist when you grip or carry something heavy- otherwise known as pillar pain.
This is a result of movement of the released ends of the ligament being temporarily unstable.
It goes away with time as the new ligament forms.
Is it true that cracking knuckles can lead to arthritis? I do it all the time, almost every day. Am I hurting my hands? And will I suffer from joint disease or pain in my old age?
There is no evidence that cracking knuckles will lead to arthritis.
It is a more habitual thing.
Of course if it causes pain you should not do it anymore