Use the link below to find helpful quick facts about some of the most common hand conditions. For more detailed information about these or dozens of other conditions, visit our comprensive hand conditions section of the website.
Dupuytren's Disease
DeQuervain's Tendonitis
Cubital Tunnel Disease
Trigger Finger
Ganglion Cysts
Carpal Tunnel
Dupuytren’s Disease
- Abnormal thickening of the tissue just beneath the skin (known as fascia).
- Thickening occurs in the palm and can extend into the fingers.
- Firm cords and lumps may develop, causing the fingers to bend into the palm (Dupuytren’s Contracture).
- Cause of the condition is unknown.
- More common in men over age 40 and in people of European descent.
- Symptoms usually include lumps and pits within the palm.
- For mild cases, only observation needed; more severe cases may require surgery.
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DeQuervain’s Tendonitis
- First dorsal compartment tendonitis caused by irritation or inflammation of the wrist tendons at the base of the thumb.
- Inflammation causes the compartment around the tendon to swell and enlarge, making thumb and wrist movement painful.
- Making a fist, grasping or holding objects are common painful movements.
- Main symptom is pain over the thumb-side of the wrist.
- Pain may appear gradually or suddenly.
- Common treatments include wearing a splint, oral anti-inflammatory medications or injection of a cortisone-type steroid.
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Cubital Tunnel Syndrome
- Condition caused by increased pressure on the ulnar nerve at the elbow.
- Common symptoms are numbness, tingling and pain in the elbow, forearm, hand and/or fingers.
- Numbness or tingling most often occurs in the ring and middle fingers.
- Symptoms are usually felt when there is pressure on the nerve, such as sitting with the elbow on an arm rest, or with repetitive elbow bending and straightening.
- Symptoms may be relieved by changing patterns of elbow use; or in more severe cases, surgery to relieve pressure on the nerve.
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Trigger Finger
- Stenosing tenosynovitis (trigger finger) involves the pulleys and tendons in the hand that bend the fingers.
- Trigger finger/thumb occurs when the pulley at the base of the finger becomes too thick and constricting around the tendon, making it hard for the tendon to move freely through the pulley.
- Symptoms include pain or a popping/catching feeling in the finger or thumb; when the tendon catches, it produces inflammation and more swelling.
- Sometimes the finger becomes stuck or locked and is hard to straighten or bend.
- Treatment options may include: wearing a splint, changing activities to reduce swelling, oral anti-inflammatory medications, steroid injections, or surgery to open the pulley at the base of the finger.
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Ganglion Cysts
- Common lumps within the hand and wrist that occur adjacent to joints or tendons.
- Most common locations are top of the wrist, the palm side of wrist, the base of the finger on the palm side and the top of the end joint of the finger
- The ganglion cyst often resembles a water balloon on a stalk and is filled with clear fluid or gel.
- Cause is unknown, although they may form in the presence of joint irritation or mechanical changes.
- Occuring in patients of all ages, they may change in size or even disappear completely, and they may or may not be painful.
- They are not cancerous and will not spread to other areas.
- Cysts can simply be observed, especially if they are painless, as they frequently disappear spontaneously.
- If the cysts become painful or limit activity, treatments include: use of splints, anti-inflammatory medication, aspiration and surgical alternatives for more severe cases.
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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Condition brought on my increased pressure on the median nerve at the wrist (pinched nerve at the wrist).
- Symptoms may include numbness, tingling and pain in the arm, hand and fingers.
- The cause is generally unknown, but pressure on the nerve can happen several ways: swelling of the lining of the flexor tendons, joint dislocations, fractures, arthritis and keeping the wrist bent for long periods of time.
- Treatment may often be relieved without surgery. Wearing wrist splints and/or steroid injections are some of the most common remedies.
- When symptoms are severe or don’t improve, surgery may be needed.
View more patient education information on this disease.