Metacarpals

Physical Therapy for a 5th Metacarpal Fracture

A fracture of the 5th metacarpal bone usually occurs from hitting a hard object with a closed fist, according to the 5th Metacarpal Fracture website, earning the nickname "the boxer's fracture." Athletes who use their hands are at high risk for...

The Group of Bones in the Human Wrist

The wrist connects the hands to the forearm and allows for the range of motion of the hand. The wrist joint allows flexion, extension and side-to-side deviation. The pronation and supination of the arm (flipping the hand over) is due to the action...

5 Things You Need to Know About Boxer's Fractures

Along with finger (phalanx) fractures and scaphoid fractures, boxer's (fifth metacarpal) fractures are the most common hand fractures. This is the bone leading up to the pinkie finger. The other metacarpals are more cushioned by the muscles and...

Occasional Pain in the Wrist After Doing Forearm Exercise

Forearm exercises are very helpful for strengthening the muscles of the forearm and wrist, but doing these exercises can cause irritation and damage to the tissues. This irritation or damage can cause pain. Typically, this pain only lasts for a...

How to Wrap Boxing Handwraps

Your hands are your most important weapons in your arsenal as a boxer. Your hands will need more support than just the padding in the gloves to prevent injury. Hand wraps provide support for the wrist and thumb and protect the metacarpals and...

Step-by-Step Back Massage

Massage therapy involves structured movements for manipulating skin, muscles, tendons and ligaments. During a back massage, Swedish massage techniques, such as gliding and kneading, combine with focused, deep tissue work. Areas of focus include...

Bag Gloves Vs. Training Gloves

The sport of boxing places importance on one part of the body in particular: the hand. Boxers wear gloves during training and competition that are designed to prevent injury to the tiny bones or metacarpals and ligaments of the hand. Understanding...

Deep Tissue Massage Techniques & Routines

Deep-tissue massage movements involve concentrated strokes, gliding in the direction of the muscle fibers, and focus on areas of localized muscle tension. Knuckle, fist and elbow techniques performed with moderate to heavy pressure constitute the...

Hand Wrap Tutorial

According to a 2007 article by Dr. Derya Dincer published by the International Boxing Association, "hand injuries, especially the fractures of metacarpals and phalanges, are the most common fractures in the skeletal system." These types of...

5 Things You Need to Know About Long Bone Fractures

There are seven spots where you can find long bones in a human body. The humerus bone is the long bone that extends from the shoulder joint down to the elbow. Next, you have the radius and ulna bones, which comprise the forearm. The radius is on...

What Are the Different Types of Joints?

Joints, also called articulations, are where two bones come together. There are three main types of joints. Synarthroses are joints that do not move, such as those that connect the bones of the skull. Amphiarthroses are joints with a limited range...

What Are the Major Bones in the Human Body?

Adults have 206 bones. Babies are born with about 300 bones, but many fuse together as the baby grows. According to St. Louis University's Practical Anatomy and Surgical Education Center, there are four types of bone: long bones, which are strong,...

Wrist & Forearm Strengthening Weights

Strong wrists and forearms are essential for playing sports like golf and tennis, and even simple everyday activities like carrying grocery bags. With all of the gym equipment available for your arms and legs, it may be difficult to find specific...

Difference Between Bag Gloves & Boxing Gloves

In combat sports, the hand is the most important weapon as well as the most frequently injured body part. The tiny bones that make up the hand -- radial carpals, metacarpals and phalanges -- are prone to injury and proper strengthening and...

Occupational Therapy Exercises After Finger Fracture

Occupational therapy involves helping individuals perform recreational, work-related or everyday activities effectively while dealing with a disability or injury, such as a fractured finger. Fractures need to be healed enough to allow movement....

How to Do a Swedish Deep Tissue Massage

Massage therapy involves techniques for manipulating soft tissue. A Swedish deep tissue massage combines flowing, vigorous palm strokes with slower, focused movements using your knuckles, fist and elbow. "These techniques require advanced training...

Exercises for a Broken Hand

A broken hand is really a fracture of one of the bones in your hand or fingers, and may be extended to mean your wrist in some cases. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons recommends you attend physical therapy after your cast has been...

Pain in the Hands After Exercise

Certain physical activities can cause muscle soreness in the hands, but pain that lasts after exercising could be a sign of edema, carpal tunnel syndrome or a break. Determining why you are experiencing hand pain after exercising and how to go...

Bag Gloves Vs. Sparring Gloves

In the sport of boxing the athlete's hand is the most important weapon, and the most likely part of the body to be injured. Due to the injuries that a boxer may sustain to his hands, several types of boxing gloves within the sport provide...

5 Things You Need to Know About Hand Fractures

There are eight carpal bones--the scaphoid, lunate, triquetral, pisiform, trapezium, trapezoid, capitate and hamate--and five metacarpals. Each finger has three phalanges (proximal, middle and distal phalanx), except the thumb, which only has two...

Types of Hand Joints

The hand moves in various and complicated ways and there is a complex array of articulations that allow flexibility of movement. The joints of the hand and wrist include hinge, gliding, condyloid and saddle joints. A hinge joint allows movement...

Bones in the Human Hand

The human hand is a complex structure composed of bones, tendons, muscles, blood vessels and nerves. Hands must master both gross motor skills (grabbing a tree branch or a bat) and fine motor skills (grabbing a pen and writing). There are 27 bones...

What Are the Causes of Pain on Outer Side of Wrist?

The wrist comprises many bones, joints, nerves, ligaments, tendons and blood vessels. The "outer side" of the wrist is the thumb or radial side, and mainly constitutes the radius bone, the scaphoid and lunate carpal bones, the first metacarpal...

What Are the Treatments for a Torn Ligament in the Thumb?

In general, all joints are stabilized by structures called ligaments, which are bands of dense fibrous tissue that span a joint and connect to opposing bones, preventing dislocation while allowing them to perform the functions they were designed...

Different Types of Hand Splints

Hand splints are used to treat inflammatory diseases of the hand and wrist and fractures and to provide stabilization after surgery. The goal of hand splinting is to maintain functionality by keeping the hand in either a resting, or natural, or...

Night Time Pains in the Hands From Arthritis

When hands ache at night time because of arthritis pain, it is difficult to get a good night's sleep. Instead of floating off to a dream state, feelings of agitation, annoyance and a desire for relief and a quick remedy are all too consuming. Two...

The Difference Between Bag Gloves & Sparring Gloves

In the sports of boxing and mixed martial arts, the hands are the most important weapon in your arsenal. The small bones that make up the hand are prone to injury. Protection for the hands should be worn when training; you can choose from either...

6 Types of Synovial Joints

There are many types of joints in the body including fibrous, cartilaginous and synovial joints. The synovial joints are characterized by the presence of synovial fluid within a space that encapsulates the articulating surfaces (surfaces that...