How Depression Affects Hand and Arm Symptoms
Sometimes mood disorders like depression can be partially caused by serious hand or arm injuries, especially if a patient has to adjust to a new disability, chronic pain, or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from a traumatic event. However, it is less likely for a hand injury to cause depression than for depression to cause a more painful and limiting experience for a patient after an injury. After a hand injury, patients with depression are much more likely to suffer PTSD than patients without depression who experience a hand injury. Depression and PTSD after a hand injury often worsen a patient’s general health status.
April 3, 2023