Have your hands been bothering you lately? Do they feel stiff and sore when you’re trying to accomplish daily tasks? Are you experiencing shooting, stabbing pains in them at times? None of this sounds fun to go through.
If you’re experiencing pain in your hands, a skilled hand and therapists at Plumas Physical Therapy can help you to return to functioning independently so you can get back to doing the things you love. Give us a call today to set up an appointment!
What is Tendonitis?
Tendons are bands of durable collagen fibers; their role is to connect muscles to bones and help facilitate proper anatomical movement and support. The suffix “-itis” is a telltale clue that tendonitis is primarily an issue of inflammation!
When something stresses or overloads the tendons, small microtears in the tend fibers can occur, leading to tissue damage, inflammation, pain, and related symptoms.
Tendonitis can affect tendons all over the body, but when it occurs in the hand or elbow, basic daily tasks like writing, grooming, and even opening doors and jars can become challenging.
This painful condition is common among people who perform a lot of repetitive movements with their hands. They may lift, move, or manipulate objects too frequently or too quickly, or may lift objects which are too heavy relative to their general physical capacity.
Symptoms Of Tendonitis
The symptoms of tendonitis are fairly easy to spot. Common symptoms in an area of the elbow or hand affected by tendonitis include:
- Swelling
- Pain with movement or when the affected area is at rest
- Tenderness
- Decreased ability to grip items
- Decreased ability to lift, move, turn, or manipulate objects
- Feeling/sound of popping and clicking (common with tendonitis of the fingers and hands)
How Can A Therapist Help?
Hand and occupational therapy can be extremely beneficial if you’re struggling with tendonitis.
Hand therapy addresses symptoms and root causes of inflammation and tendon damage. In this way, relief is more thorough and longer-lasting.
There are several ways a Plumas Physical Therapy therapist may choose to relieve your symptoms of tendonitis. Early in your treatment, therapeutic exercises may be used to facilitate tissue healing, reduce inflammation, and (later in the recovery process) improve the strength of the muscles in the elbow, forearm, and hand.
Electrical stimulation is another method by which tendonitis pain can be relieved. This works by stimulating different sensory receptors and blocking noxious signals sent via the nervous system. You may benefit from therapeutic ultrasound, which uses sound waves to accelerate tissue healing, increase local circulation, and reduce scar tissue formation.
Your therapist may suggest certain lifestyle and ergonomic changes, to improve your body mechanics and prevent repetitive tissue damage. Splinting and bracing are also options to temporarily immobilize and/or support injured tendons as they heal.
Call Us Today For Help
The skilled occupational and hand therapists at our Quincy and Blairsden, CA clinic are here to ensure that your dream can be a reality for you. So what are you waiting for? Give Plumas Physical Therapy a call today and let us help you get back to you!
Your Next Steps…
Request An Appointment
Receive A Custom Treatment Plan
Work Hard and Progress In Your Recovery
Recover & Enjoy Life Pain-Free!
