Excerpt:
Introduction
Your hands are complex and wonderfully designed machines.
Together with your wrists they help you do a remarkable variety of tasks. From
playing the piano, to cooking dinner, or hammering a nail, your hands respond
daily to various commands that ask for feats of strength and dexterity. To put
it simply, your hands are literally extensions of your brain. More of your brain
is reserved for controlling hand movements than for controlling any other part
of your body. Clearly your hands and wrists are important to every aspect of
your life. You use your hands all day, every day, both at home, and at work.
Yet in doing all these things that they do every day, your hands and wrists are
prone to accidents and injury. This program is designed to show you what you
can do to prevent injury, and what to do just in case an accident occurs.
Anatomy of the Hand
Now before we go any further it’s important to take a quick
look at the structure of your hand and wrist. This will help you to understand
the types of injuries we’ll discuss later. Let’s begin with the bones. Bones
form the structural support and strength in your hand and wrist. Altogether
there are 27 different bones in your hands and wrist. In comparison there are
only 3 bones in your arm. The bones are surrounded and tied together by
muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Ligaments are strong fibrous bands of tissue
that serve to stabilize joints, and prevent damage by limiting side movements
of joints. Tendons permit flexibility. When a muscle contracts the tendons lift
or curl the fingers. All of these working together enable your hand to perform
some remarkable things including grasping, and the ability to pick up small
objects with your thumb and index finger. Now let’s take a look at the
different kinds of hand and wrist injuries. Remember the information we’ve just
discussed about bones, ligaments, and tendons.
Hand and Wrist Injuries
- Wrist Fractures - This injury is most often caused by trying
to break a fall with an outstretched hand. Sometimes the ends of the forearm
bones can be broken too.
- Hand and Finger Fractures - Generally this is caused by
trapping or twisting the fingers suddenly. Fingers caught in a dark door for
example. Accidentally hitting the finger such as with a hammer can also cause a
finger fracture.
- Hand Sprains – These occur when the ligaments in the hands
or wrist are stretched too far and tear. Thumb sprains, for example, are a
common sports injury
- Fingertip Injuries – Fingertips are subject to many
different types of injuries. The bones can be fractured. The fleshy part of the
finger may be torn, or the fingernail may be damaged.
- Lacerations - Lacerations or cuts can be minor, that is only
affecting the layers of skin, or major, serious deep cuts which severe nerves,
muscles or tendons. Lacerations can occur when you’re not careful handling
sharp cutting tools such as knives or saws.
- Nerve Compression – This injury results from a swelling of
tissue that surround a nerve. As a result there is a loss of feeling or
sometimes a tingling. Repetitive movements are a culprit here as they tend to
create the swelling of tissues.
Treatment
Caring for hand and wrist injuries depends upon the type of
injury. A hand surgeon or emergency physician can treat the problem.
Emergencies such as lacerations will be cleaned and sutured, while x-rays will
be taken first for fractures to properly diagnose the problem. Your doctor may
ask you questions about how the accident or injury happened. If the injury to
be believed a sprain or fracture the fingers, hand, or forearm they will be
examined and gently moved to determine the limits of movement. This helps to
diagnose the injury correctly.
