Profy Announcement Bar
Click on 'Add Banner' and choose a banner
Your hands and wrists are incredibly intricate and allow you to perform a wide range of tasks, from simple actions like typing to more complex movements like lifting or gripping. In order to perform both intricate and dynamic movements, there are many bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, and muscles involved.
Without proper function, these small but essential bones and joints can cause pain and limit your ability to perform daily tasks. But with the right care, we can help you restore mobility and get back to living pain-free. Schedule a consultation today with one of our expert sports chiropractic physicians at Hughes Health and take your first step toward relief!
About the Hand & Wrist
Precision & Power for Daily Life
Your hands and wrists are intricate structures that work together seamlessly to allow you to perform both fine and gross motor tasks. With 27 bones, 27 joints, 34 muscles and tendons, and over 100 ligaments, your hands and wrists are finely tuned to carry out countless actions every day whether it’s typing, buttoning a shirt, or picking up small objects.
But with all the daily use and repetitive movement, your hands and wrists are vulnerable to pain and injury. Whether from sudden accidents, overuse, or wear-and-tear, you may experience discomfort that impacts your ability to perform even the simplest tasks. At Hughes Health, we pinpoint the root cause of hand and wrist pain and create a customized treatment plan to restore function and keep you moving.
Common Causes of Hand & Wrist Pain
Understanding Why It Happens
If you’re experiencing hand and wrist pain, you’re not alone. When pain strikes your hand and wrist, it can be frustrating and difficult to pinpoint the cause on your own. That’s why getting expert guidance is key. Pain can stem from overuse, injuries, or even underlying conditions with each requiring the right approach to treatment.
As sports chiropractors in Westerville, OH, we see it all the time. Your hand and wrist are used constantly, from simple tasks like typing to more complex movements like gripping and lifting. So, when pain starts to creep in, it can have a big impact on your daily life. Whether from repetitive movements or sudden injuries, there are many possible causes for discomfort in these areas. For this reason, hand and wrist pain is a very common condition that is treated by our doctors at Hughes Health.
Acute vs. Chronic Hand & Wrist Pain: What’s the Difference?
• Acute Hand & Wrist Pain happens suddenly, often due to an injury, car accident, or fall. The sooner you address it, the faster your recovery.
• Chronic Hand & Wrist Pain lasts more than 3 months and can be harder to treat because your body starts adapting to the discomfort. That’s why early intervention is key!
1) Repetitive Use Injuries - One common cause of wrist and hand pain is tendinitis, which is inflammation of the tendons from overuse. This repetitive strain can cause discomfort and limit your ability to move freely.
2) Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - Another culprit is carpal tunnel syndrome. Inflammation in the wrist can compress the median nerve, leading to pain, numbness, or tingling sensations in the hand and fingers. If left untreated, this condition can worsen and make it harder to use your hands effectively.
3) Arthritis & Cartilage Damage - Arthritis can affect the cartilage in the joints of the wrist and hand, causing pain, stiffness, and a reduced range of motion. Whether from osteoarthritis or other types, this condition can make everyday tasks challenging.
4) Fractures and Sprains - Falls, accidents, or sports injuries can result in fractures or sprains, which may require surgical intervention or therapy for full recovery. Strains in the muscles and injuries to the ligaments can also cause pain and limited function in your wrist or hand.
5) Ganglion Cysts - While ganglion cysts don’t always cause pain, they can become problematic if they compress nearby nerves or structures. If this happens, you may experience discomfort and swelling in the wrist or hand.
The good news? There are many treatment options available, and you don’t have to navigate the pain alone. Our expert sports chiropractors can help you find the right solution so you can get back to moving, working, and living without limits.
Common Conditions of the Hand & Wrist
Because you rely on your hands and wrists all day, they’re at risk for several common conditions that can limit your movement and cause pain. Here are a few of the most frequent issues:
Arthritis of the Hand, Wrist, & Thumb
Arthritis can occur in the hand, wrist, and thumb, causing inflammation and deteriorating cartilage. This leads to painful friction between bones, swelling, and stiffness, making movement difficult. Both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are common culprits that affect these joints.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome happens when inflammation in the wrist compresses the median nerve that passes through the carpal tunnel. This can cause pain, numbness, and weakness in the thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers. The condition can get worse over time, limiting your ability to grasp objects and perform daily activities.
Wrist Sprain
Wrist sprains occur when a ligament is overstretched or torn, often due to high-impact activities like sports. A sprained wrist can cause pain, swelling, and limited movement.
Hand Tendon Injuries
Tendons connect muscles to bones and allow for bending and extending your fingers and thumbs. Repetitive use can cause damage to these tendons, making it difficult to perform basic tasks and requiring hand tendon repair surgery in some cases.
Ganglion Cyst
Ganglion cysts are fluid-filled sacs that can develop in the joints of the wrist or hand. While they’re often painless and may not require treatment, they can cause discomfort if they press against nearby nerves or tissues.
Trigger Finger Syndrome
Trigger finger occurs when inflammation causes the tendons that flex your fingers to become enlarged. This can lead to locking or catching sensations when you try to straighten your finger, and in some cases, the finger may stay in a curled position.
Dupuytren’s Contracture
This condition happens when the fascia beneath the skin of your palm thickens and tightens. It causes knots in the palm, which can interfere with your ability to bend or extend your fingers.
De Quervain’s Tendinosis
De Quervain’s tendinosis is a painful condition affecting the tendons in the wrist that connect to the thumb. The condition limits the mobility of the thumb, making activities like gripping and pinching difficult.
Treatments for the Hand & Wrist
Find Relief Once & For All
Before we are able to treat your hand and wrist pain at Hughes Health, we must perform a detailed consultation and examination. We start with a one-on-one consultation where our doctors truly listen. We want to understand how your hand and wrist pain is affecting your life, whether it's keeping you from working, exercising, or simply enjoying time with family. This conversation helps us gather key details that point us toward the root cause of your pain.
In the examination, we assess your movement, muscles, ligaments, and joints using chiropractic, orthopedic, and functional movement testing. Pain is your body’s way of signaling that something isn’t working right. Our job is to find out why. Once we pinpoint the cause, we create a personalized treatment plan to restore function and get you back to living pain-free—without unnecessary medications or surgery.
Sports Chiropractic: More Than Just Adjustments
At Hughes Health, we believe true recovery goes beyond spinal adjustments and manipulation. While we are chiropractors, we don’t just focus on your joints. We take a whole-body approach through Sports Rehabilitation to target the muscles and tissues that support you. Your body is more than just bones and joints, and your care should reflect that. By addressing movement, strength, and stability, we help you heal faster, stay active, and prevent future injuries so you can get back to doing what you love without limitations.
PiezoWave Focused Shockwave Therapy: Break Through Stubborn Pain
For chronic hand and wrist pain, PiezoWave Shockwave Therapy uses focused and targeted sound waves to:
Break up scar tissue and adhesions
Increase blood flow for faster healing
Stimulate natural tissue repair—without surgery or downtime
Deep Tissue Class IV Laser Therapy: Heal from the Inside Out
Our Class IV Deep Tissue Laser uses light therapy to reduce pain and inflammation at the cellular level. This advanced treatment:
Boosts your body’s natural healing process
Reduces pain and inflammation in just 5-10 minutes
Feels like a gentle, warming sensation—no discomfort, just relief
Soft Tissue Manual Therapy: Digging Deep
At Hughes Health, we specialize in a wide variety of techniques to address the soft tissue causes of the pain.
Dry Needling: This targets tight or dysfunctional muscles by inserting small acupuncture needles into specific muscles and their trigger points to release tension and promote muscle recovery.
Fire Cupping: Using heated cups to create a suction effect on the skin helps increase blood flow to relieve muscle tightness and reduce pain. This warming effect has been shown to be more effective than the dry suction counterpart.
Graston Technique: Using specialized tools, we gently break up adhesions in your muscles and tendons, improving mobility and encouraging proper tissue healing.
Myofascial Release: Active Release Technique (ART), also known as manual trigger point release, takes your muscles through dynamic movement to release tension and alleviate pain at its source.
Sport Rehab and Custom Exercises: Build Strength, Prevent Injury
Pain relief is just the first step. Staying pain-free while moving and grooving is the goal. Our Custom Therapeutic Exercise Programs help you:
Strengthen muscles and improve mobility
Fix imbalances that cause recurring pain
Get back to doing what you love with confidence
The Right Care, Every Time
At Hughes Health, your recovery comes first. While we specialize in advanced chiropractic care and personalized treatment plans, we also know when you need more. If our exam reveals that additional care is necessary, we’ll connect you with our trusted network of physical therapists, orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, and pain specialists. No guesswork, no wasted time—just the right care for the best results.
Your health is our priority. Let’s get you on the path to recovery today!
Why Choose
Hughes Health?
We take pride in providing evidence-based non-invasive approaches to healthcare. Our goal is to identify the root cause of your discomfort and pain to then provide effective and personalized treatment plans to help you achieve long-lasting results. If you're experiencing any of the conditions listed above, don't hesitate to contact us.