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Why can my hand hurt? Are pain medications the only solution? What additional tests are worth doing? Should an ultrasound be performed, for example? Could it be carpal tunnel syndrome? The question is answered by the drug. Anna Mitschke.
Why might the left hand hurt?
Good morning, I’ve been struggling with sore left hand. I am a right-handed person, so I do not think that I should overload my left hand. I work in an office, I rarely lift heavy objects – if necessary, please help. The pain in the left hand radiates all the way to the shoulder and is becoming more and more bothersome. After my first visit to the GP, I was prescribed painkillers and sparing my arm, but that didn’t help much.
I would not like to stuff myself with drugs, but rather diagnose and get rid of the problem. I just don’t know what kind of tests should I do if my left hand hurts – ultrasound? Or maybe some other more professional ones? A friend of mine had a problem with her hand last year and it turned out to be a strait of the wrist. She has undergone surgery and is all right now. I hope you won’t need surgery in my case.
I am terribly afraid of any visits to the hospital, and surgery is even more so. Maybe I will mention that sometimes the pain of the left hand is accompanied by pain numbness of the fingersbut I don’t know if it has anything to do with it. Thank you for your help.
The doctor indicates possible causes of pain in the left hand
Carpal tunnel syndrome (Carpal tunnel syndrome) results from compression of the median nerve that runs through the carpal tunnel. It more often affects women than men, mostly in the age of 40-60. The risk factors for this disease include physical work that requires repetitive wrist flexion and extension movements, e.g. when typing on the keyboard, moving the computer mouse, riding a bicycle, playing instruments.
For this reason, this disease is more common in patients with certain professions, such as office workers, secretaries, writers, IT specialists, and musicians. Carpal tunnel syndrome is also predisposed to smoking, obesity, gout, diabetes, acromegaly, hypothyroidism, rheumatoid arthritis, sarcoidosis, and amyloidosis.
Sometimes the disease occurs as a result of a wrist injury or in the case of swelling of the surrounding tissues, e.g. during pregnancy. There are characteristic symptoms with this condition. There is a feeling of tingling and numbness in the fingers I-III and the radial side of the finger IV.
Often the symptoms worsen at night, waking the sick person from sleep. Usually, the disease progresses over time and the symptoms worsen. In an advanced form, there is a weakening of the grip strength of the hand, quick fatigue, difficulty holding objects, failure to cope with precise activities, such as buttoning buttons. The muscles that are innervated by the damaged median nerve eventually fail.
Diagnosis is made on the basis of a physical examination by a doctor and the characteristic symptoms reported by the patient. Sometimes a nerve conduction test (EMG) is performed to confirm the diagnosis.
Carpal tunnel syndrome should be differentiated from Guyon’s canal syndrome. In this case, the symptoms apply to the IV and V fingers.
The choice of treatment depends on the severity of the symptoms. In mild cases, it is possible to use wrist immobilization in an orthosis, physical therapy, and pharmacotherapy. If the symptoms worsen, surgical treatment can be used to release the median nerve.
Please consult your treating physician. After collecting the interview and examining the patient, the doctor will decide on possible further diagnosis or referral to a specialist.
— Lek. Anna Mitchke
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