IBJI Blog

What Does Hand Surgery Fix?

Hand surgery is a hybrid of many of many types of techniques usually performed by a wide range of specialists like orthopaedic, plastic, vascular, and neurosurgeons.  It is used to treat a number of problems from repairing nerves to replacing tendons. Hand surgery specialists can treat both chronic (long term) hand pain and acute (recent onset) hand pain. The most commonly treated conditions and injuries treated by hand surgery physicians are:

• Injury – sudden break, tears, and dislocations
• Carpal tunnel syndrome - damage to the never that passes through the carpal tunnel
• Metacarpal bossing – a mass in one of the joints of the hand
• Rheumatoid arthritis – a rheumatic disease causing inflammation (link to RA article)
• Dupuytren’s Disease – one of the fingers is bent inwards and cannot be straightened
• Congenital defect – a condition that is present from birth

If you suffer from or know someone who suffers from arthritis pain, you know just how challenging it can be to get through your daily routine. While there is not a permanent solution for arthritis, there are treatments available to help manage the pain and its progression.

Part of why arthritis is so challenging is our natural response to pain to reduce the use of the body part that is causing a problem. Unfortunately, when arthritis patients do this, the stiffness and pain only gets worse, creating a perpetually worsening condition.

Physical Therapy Aids in Arthritis Treatment

Physical therapy can significantly aid in the treatment and pain management of arthritis. The goal of physical therapy is to maintain and increase the range of motion in the treated joints. What this means for an arthritis patient is those stiff joints becoming a little less stiff, and learning how to work through the stiffness to increase mobility and decrease pain.