PERSISTENT hand, wrist and finger pain - No explanation!

[LostinThought]

I feel at my wit's end with this. For the past year or so I have been getting periods of cramping, shooting and aching pains in my hands, wrists and fingers. They seem to come on suddenly and it makes using my hands for things like typing and playing piano painful and difficult.

At first I assumed it was tendonitis or RSI. I have been to a doctor twice and they could not diagnose me with anything. I have had x-rays on my neck, back and shoulders and it has all come back fine. I have taken drastic steps to protect my hands and avoid the possibility of over-working them, but the pain still persists.

I can only assume right now that this is some freakish symptom of anxiety, as the pains flare up when I have had an anxiety episode or any amount of stress put on me. The more I am aware of the pain the longer it seems to stay. I have tried massage and stretching, water therapy and supplements, but to no avail.

Is there ANYBODY who suffers from this same problem? Like I said I am completely at my wit's end trying to figure it out and I would be enormously relieved to have any knowledge of this being some crazy psychosomatic symptom, which would make sense given the circumstances it flares up.

Thank you. Please if you read this and have any ideas do please share them. I am desperate for anything you can offer.

[nomorepanic]

Have they looked into Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

[LostinThought]

Not particularly. But my symptoms don't match up to a lot of CT symptoms. I don't get tingling, burning or numbness although last year I was getting electric shocks down my arm from my shoulder.

It is both hands equally. I have tried using a wrist splint at nights when the pain was bad but it didn't seem to help.

---------- Post added at 15:20 ---------- Previous post was at 15:17 ----------

The doctor squeezed my wrists in certain places but there was never a point where I went 'ouch'.

[nomorepanic]

They could refer you to a rheumatologist for further tests

[LostinThought]

I will go back and ask for one. It's having a devastating impact on my well being; I have to give up activities when the pain is bad out of fear of damaging my hands.

The pain moves around, sometimes it's in my palm, sometimes in my knuckles or fingers or the back of my hand or the base of my wrist.
It's worth noting i often get shoulder pain too, often at the same time. Might be a link.

[nomorepanic]

You could try a chiropractor or the other one that I can't remember the name of lol

[LostinThought]

Thanks, Nicola. I am still considering a physiotherapist, only thing is they are expensive and difficult to find one who doesn't just specialist in sports injuries.

I've heard some stories about chiropractors and it has put me off. I think it is dangerous what they do.

---------- Post added at 16:07 ---------- Previous post was at 15:54 ----------

I know I cannot diagnose myself, but I just did some tests I found online where you hold your hands in certain positions and tap parts of your wrists and see if it hurts...

Nothing. I mean, there is no change from the normal. But nothing flared up, it makes mo flippin sense....

[HoneyLove]

Do you happen to have really flexible joints? I've been getting a lot of pain over the last few months, went to see my doctor yesterday and she thinks it's something called joint hypermobility syndrome that means my joints are too flexible and it can cause a lot of pain. There's a bunch of tests you can do yourself to see if your joints are oveflexible, if you google the Beighton Score you'll find them.

[LostinThought]

HoneyLove, I've never heard of such a thing before. That is interesting.

Well, I do have a very prominent hitchhiker's thumb, but other than that I can never do the crazy stretches I have seen some people do, like bending their fingers to their wrists.

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/9057/15062010008.jpg

I can do this!

---------- Post added at 16:42 ---------- Previous post was at 16:41 ----------

Would the pain suddenly start one day or would it always be there? I assume people are born with this condition. I am 21 years old and never had anything like this until last year.

---------- Post added at 16:44 ---------- Previous post was at 16:42 ----------

http://hypermobility.org/help-advice/hypermobility-syndromes/beighton-score/

No, I can't do any of those :roflmao: I have tight hamstrings!

[HoneyLove]

Oh well, it was worth suggesting lol! I can do almost everything on that list, only my elbows don't bend backwards that much.

[LostinThought]

Oh, you are very flexible! I never knew it could create problems, having too flexible joints. Now I know!

[nomorepanic]

Thanks, Nicola. I am still considering a physiotherapist, only thing is they are expensive and difficult to find one who doesn't just specialist in sports injuries.

I've heard some stories about chiropractors and it has put me off. I think it is dangerous what they do..

Physio is free on the NHS

The one I went to see that I couldn't remember is an osteopath.

[LostinThought]

Physio is free on the NHS

The one I went to see that I couldn't remember is an osteopath.

Thank you, I wasn't aware of that and shall look into it.
May I ask what you wanted to get treated? As mentioned, I also suffer from shoulder and upper back pain and grating muscles in my scapula.

[nomorepanic]

I had numbness in my hands and an achey arm every morning.

I was tested for Carpal Tunnel and tests were normal so I was referred to physio and they couldn't do much so I saw an osteopath and that didn't work.

It turns out it is all to do with my posture as I sit hunched over the laptop and if I don't do that then things aren't so bad at night.

[harasgenster]

I used to get sharp shooting pains in my lower arms and fingers under stress that felt like it was travelling down the nerves. It was surprisingly painful! But mine weren't all the time, they were episodic.

[HoneyLove]

Yeah I had no idea being flexible might cause problems either! I always thought it was a good thing to have joints like that, right up until the doctor started explaining how it might be the reason behind many of my health issues.

And you know what else is interesting, apparently people with hypermobility have all kinds of problems with anxiety, because their flexibility causes extra adrenalin in their bodies meaning they're on high alert mode a lot. Very interesting to read about that, given my history with anxiety!

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It turns out it is all to do with my posture as I sit hunched over the laptop and if I don't do that then things aren't so bad at night.

This is a good point Nicola. Lostinthought - do you spend a lot of time looking down at your phone/tablet/laptop? Or do you sit down at a computer a lot? Bad posture might be creating some muscle tension issues, possibly affecting the nerves going down into your hands?

[LostinThought]

It's definitely something I have seriously given a lot of thought to. I have an ergonomic setup for my desk, and searched hard for a chair that was a perfect height. I switch mice hands from time to time and I try to take a break every so often. I think it has helped my general health somewhat, but the problem still persists and it doesn't always flare up when I am sitting at a desk, so it may not be the primary cause.

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According to one of my dance teachers (I don't do proper dance, more movement and body work) I have weak core muscles which can give me back pain.

---------- Post added at 20:14 ---------- Previous post was at 20:11 ----------

I am fairly active and don't just sit at the computer for hours and hours (although I did use to when I was a child and in my teens, almost never had hand or arm pain though). Now and then I will stop and do some shoulder rolls or stretches. I'm not saying I am perfect and always remember to do this things diligently, but the intention is there. I am very conscious of RSI and take steps to avoid it. Some days I can use a computer fine with no pain, some days I press one key and my hands are in agony. You'd think if I had a definite injury from RSI there would be a pattern to the pain, but there usually isn't.