Hand pain is a common medical complaint with a variety of potential causes. Depending on your circumstances, it can affect a number of structures in your hand, including your bones, nerves and two types of connective tissue called tendons and ligaments. Pain in your thumbs or wrists can involve any of these structures.
Thumb Pain
Pain in your thumb may be a result of an inflammation of your thumb tendons called tendonitis. In some cases, you may also have tenosynovitis, an inflammation in the sheaths that cover the exterior of your tendons. Like tendonitis, tenosynovitis can also result from tendon inflammation. If your tendon sheaths thicken abnormally, in addition to pain, you may also develop difficulty or a "locking" sensation when you try to flex or extend your thumb. Doctors commonly refer to this occurrence as trigger thumb.
Wrist Pain
Pain in your wrist can signal the presence of carpal tunnel syndrome, a disorder triggered when swelling in your wrist leads to impingement of your median nerve, which enters your hand through a structure called the carpal tunnel. In addition to pain, carpal tunnel syndrome can produce tingling, burning, numbness or aching in your wrist or anywhere else in your hand, including your thumb. Additional potential sources of pain in your wrist include broken bones, various forms of arthritis, strains, sprains, tendonitis, a uric acid disorder called gout and a calcium deposit disorder called pseudogout.
Basal Arthritis
If you have pain in the carpometacarpal joint, which joins your wrist and thumb, you may have a form of degenerative arthritis called basal arthritis, according to MayoClinic.com. In addition to pain, potential symptoms of this syndrome include loss of hand strength, decreases in your normal range of motion and swelling. Arthritis in your hand can affect your tendons, which connect your muscles to your bones; your ligaments, which connect bone to bone; or your synovial membranes, which normally release a fluid that lubricates your tendons and joints and eases motion.
Treatments and Considerations
Ohio State lists potential treatments for tendonitis or tenosynovitis that include modification of your hand-related activities, anti-inflammatory or steroid medications, splinting or some other form of immobilization, and surgery. These same basic measures form the main treatment options for carpal tunnel syndrome and basal arthritis. If you have wrist pain accompanied by a rash, high fever or redness and swelling in the aftermath of an infection, Medline Plus recommends visiting your doctor as soon as possible. Get emergency help immediately if you have wrist pain accompanied by significant bleeding; inability to move your wrist, fingers or hand; or deformation of your wrist, fingers or hand that may indicate a serious physical injury. Consult your doctor for more information.
