Find Your Problem
If you’ve come to this page it’s likely because you or a loved one is experiencing pain or lack of mobility in one of the areas below. We believe that being well informed will lead to better self-care. Feel free to explore the resources below and then click back to our site to find out more or to contact us to make an appointment.
- Ganglion Cysts
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Description
Ganglion cysts are very common lumps within the hand and wrist that occur adjacent to joints or tendons. The most common locations are the top of the wrist (see Figure 1), the palm side of the wrist, the base of the finger on the palm side, and the top of the end joint of the finger (see Figure 2). The ganglion cyst often resembles a water balloon on a stalk (see Figure 3), and is filled with clear fluid or gel.
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- Cubital Tunnel Syndrome
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Description
Cubital Tunnel Syndrome is a condition that involves pressure or stretching of the ulnar nerve (also known as the “funny bone” nerve), which can cause numbness or tingling in the ring and small fingers, pain in the forearm, and/or weakness in the hand. The ulnar nerve (Figure 1) runs in a groove on the inner side of the elbow.
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- de Quervain Syndrome
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Description
Patients with de Quervain syndrome have painful tendons on the thumb side of the wrist. Tendons are the ropes that the muscle uses to pull the bone. You can see them on the back of your hand when you straighten your fingers. In de Quervain syndrome, the tunnel (the first extensor compartment; see Figure 1A-B) where the tendons run narrows due to the thickening of the soft tissues that make up the tunnel. Hand and thumb motion cause pain, especially with forceful grasping or twisting.
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- Dupuytren’s Contracture
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Description
Dupuytren’s contracture is an abnormal thickening of the tissue just beneath the skin. This thickening occurs in the palm and can extend into the fingers. Firm pits, bumps and cords (thick lines) can develop and cause the fingers to bend into the palm (Figures 1 and 2). This condition may also be known as Dupuytren’s Disease. Occasionally, the disease will cause thickening on top of the knuckles or cause lumps and cords on the soles of the feet (plantar fibromatosis).
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- Hand Fractures
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Description
The hand is made up of many bones that form its supporting framework. This frame acts as a point of attachment for the muscles that make the wrist and fingers move. A fracture occurs when enough force is applied to a bone to break it. When this happens, there is pain, swelling, and decreased use of the injured part. Many people think that a fracture is different from a break, but they are the same (see Figure 1). Fractures may be simple with the bone pieces aligned and stable. Other fractures are unstable and the bone fragments tend to displace or shift. Some fractures occur in the shaft (main body) of the bone, others break the joint surface. Comminuted fractures (bone is shattered into many pieces) usually occur from a high energy force and are often unstable. An open (compound) fracture occurs when a bone fragment breaks through the skin. There is some risk of infection with compound fractures.
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- Hand Therapy
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Description
Hand Therapy is a type of rehabilitation performed by an occupational or physical therapist with patients that suffer from conditions affecting the hands and upper extremities. Therapy enables patients to hasten their return to a productive lifestyle.
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- Hand & Wrist Tumors
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Description
Any abnormal lump or bump in the hand or wrist is considered a tumor. The term “tumor” does not necessarily mean it is malignant or that it is a cancer. In fact, most hand and wrist tumors are benign (not cancer).
Tumors can occur on the skin, such as a mole or a wart, or underneath the skin in the soft tissue or even the bone. Because there are so many types of tissue in the hand (e.g. skin, fat, ligaments, tendons, nerves, blood vessels, bone, etc.), there are many types of tumors that can occur. Only a few of them are seen commonly.
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- Jammed Finger
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Description
Jammed fingers are common in sports but may also occur during regular daily activities. Even if the injured finger looks normal and can move normally, it may require medical treatment. The anatomy of the finger joint is complex, and several types of injuries can result in permanent problems if they are left undiagnosed or untreated.
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- Mallet Finger
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Description
A mallet finger is a deformity of the finger caused when the tendon that straightens your finger (the extensor tendon) is damaged.
When a ball or other object strikes the tip of the finger or thumb and forcibly bends it, the force tears the tendon that straightens the finger (see Figure 1a and 1b). The force of the blow may even pull away a piece of bone along with the tendon (see Figure 2). The tip of the finger or thumb no longer straightens. This condition is sometimes referred to as baseball finger.
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- Rheumatoid Arthritis
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Description
Rheumatoid arthritis is just one type of arthritis out of many. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis often wake up with stiff and swollen joints. Early on, many patients feel tired. While this condition can affect many parts of the body, two thirds of patients with rheumatoid arthritis have wrist and hand problems. Often, the joints feel hot and look red. Rheumatoid arthritis is most common in the wrist and knuckles (Figure 1). It typically happens in both hands.
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- Tennis Elbow – Lateral Epicondylitis
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Description
Lateral epicondylitis, commonly known as tennis elbow, is a painful condition involving the tendons that attach to the bone on the outside (lateral) part of the elbow. Tendons anchor the muscle to bone. The muscle involved in this condition, the extensor carpi radialis brevis, helps to extend and stabilize the wrist (see Figure 1). With lateral epicondylitis, there is degeneration of the tendon’s attachment, weakening the anchor site and placing greater stress on the area. This can then lead to pain associated with activities in which this muscle is active, such as lifting, gripping, and/or grasping. Sports such as tennis are commonly associated with this, but the problem can occur with many different types of activities, athletic and otherwise.
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- Thumb Arthritis
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Description
A joint is where bones connect and move. Arthritis is thinning of the cartilage, which is the smooth covering of the joint. The body reacts to loss of the joint surface by forming bone spurs (osteophytes) (see Figure 1).
Thumb arthritis is a genetic predisposition: like graying and thinning of the hair, it comes with age and it shows up earlier in some families. Unlike thinning of the hair, women tend to get thumb arthritis sooner than men do.
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- Trigger Finger
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Description
Stenosing tenosynovitis is a condition commonly known as “trigger finger.” It is sometimes also called “trigger thumb.” The tendons that bend the fingers glide easily with the help of pulleys. These pulleys hold the tendons close to the bone. This is similar to how a line is held on a fishing rod (Figure 1). Trigger finger occurs when the pulley becomes too thick, so the tendon cannot glide easily through it (Figure 2).
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- Wrist Fractures
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Description
A wrist fracture is a medical term for a broken wrist. The wrist is made up of eight small bones which connect with the two long forearm bones called the radius and ulna. Although a broken wrist can happen in any of these 10 bones, by far the most common bone to break is the radius. This is called a distal radius fracture by hand surgeons (Figure 1).
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- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
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Description
Carpal tunnel syndrome is essentially a pinched nerve in the wrist. There is a space in the wrist called the carpal tunnel where the median nerve and nine tendons pass from the forearm into the hand (Figure 1). Carpal tunnel syndrome happens when swelling in this tunnel puts pressure on the nerve.
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- Shoulder Arthroscopy
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Shoulder Arthroscopy Arthroscopy is a procedure that orthopedic surgeons use to inspect, diagnose, and repair problems inside a joint. The word arthroscopy comes from two Greek words, “arthro” (joint) and “skopein” (to look). The term literally means “to look within the joint.” During shoulder arthroscopy, your surgeon inserts a small camera, called an arthroscope, into … Continue reading Shoulder Arthroscopy →
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- Common Shoulder Injuries
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Common Shoulder Injuries In 2006, approximately 7.5 million people went to the doctor’s office for a shoulder problem, including shoulder and upper arm sprains and strains. More than 4.1 million of these visits were for rotator cuff problems. Shoulder injuries are frequently caused by athletic activities that involve excessive, repetitive, overhead motion, such as swimming, … Continue reading Common Shoulder Injuries →
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