What it could mean if you have pain in the back of your hand

Opening your front door to head out for work. Typing work emails and other documents. Playing with your kids or grandkids. These normal daily activities can make you flinch if you have pain in the back of your hand. 

Unfortunately, you’re far more likely to develop this type of pain than you might think; a medical study reveals that up to 26% of the general population has hand or wrist pain at any given time. Physical therapists can help you take the first step toward treating the pain in the back of your hand. This is because these professionals can help you learn the source of your pain. Even better, they offer effective treatment for your hand pain. 

Common causes of pain in the back of the hand

Your hands are complex appendages that have tendons, bones and other structures in them. Physical therapists are trained to treat the structures of the musculoskeletal system, which includes the hands and their parts. 

Your physical therapist can evaluate the affected hand to determine what’s causing your pain. Some of the problems their evaluation could turn up include: 

• Hand osteoarthritis
• De Quervain’s tenosynovitis
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Peripheral neuropathy
• Hand or finger fractures
• Extensor tendon injuries

How your physical therapist can help treat pain in the top of your hand

Once your therapist knows what’s causing your pain, they can take steps to treat it. Typically, your treatment will revolve around an individualized therapy plan, and your physical therapist will include techniques in your plan that can help meet your specific needs. A few of the techniques that therapists use to treat hand conditions and pain are: 

• Soft tissue mobilization intended to decrease tension in hand fascia, tendons and other soft tissue.

• Ergonomics assessments that can pinpoint work equipment or tasks that may be contributing to your pain. 

• Joint mobilization designed to improve flexibility in arthritic joints. 

• Dry needling that can reduce pain and tension by creating a local twitch response in hand soft tissue. 

Advent Physical Therapy offers effective care for hand pain

Ready to start treating the pain in the back of your hand? Our specialists at Advent PT can help you find care for the source of your hand pain. Our team can do a free screening to determine the root cause of your pain. In addition, we’re adept at constructing therapy plans that are personalized to your needs and symptoms. 

Are your hands too painful to drive to one of our clinics? No worries! Our specialists can work with you in your home thanks to our at-home care and virtual therapy services. You can even start getting our help if you don’t have a doctor’s referral. 

Contact our team today for more information about the treatment options we offer for hand pain or to schedule an initial appointment.