Symptom: Hand pain

Introduction: Hand pain

Pain can arise from a variety of causes ranging from accidental trauma to nerve conditions. Pain-like sensations often described as pins-and-needles, prickling or burning sensations are called paresthesias; see hand paresthesias. All pain or pain-like sensations need prompt medical investigation.

» Review Causes of Hand pain: full list

Causes of Hand pain:

The following medical conditions are some of the possible causes of Hand pain. There are likely to be other possible causes, so ask your doctor about your symptoms.

• Arthritis
• Buerger's disease
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Dupuytren's contracture
• Elbow tunnel syndrome
• Fracture
• Ganglion
• Infection
• Occlusive vascular disease
• Radiculopathy
• Raynaud's disease
• Shoulder-hand syndrome
• Sprain
• Strain
• Thoracic outlet syndromes
• Trigger finger (type of Repetitive Strain Injury)
• De Quervain tenovaginitis
• Polycythemia rubra vera
• Kienbock disease

See full list of 57 causes of Hand pain

» Review Causes of Hand pain: full list

Hand pain: Multiple Symptom Checker

Listed below are some combinations of symptoms associated with Hand pain, as listed in our database. Visit the Multiple Symptoms Checker, to add and remove symptoms and research your condition.

Multiple Symptom Checker - Other Symptoms

• Hand pain: Multiple Symptom Checker

Multiple Symptom Checker Combinations

• Hand pain and Nerve symptoms (47 causes)
• Hand pain and Pain (47 causes)
• Hand pain and Sensations (47 causes)
• Hand pain and Arm symptoms (43 causes)
• Hand pain and Hand symptoms (42 causes)
• Hand pain and Foot pain (33 causes)
• Hand pain and Leg symptoms (32 causes)
• Hand pain and Foot symptoms (30 causes)
• Hand pain and Numbness (29 causes)
• Hand pain and Weakness (28 causes)
• Hand pain and Toe symptoms (27 causes)
• Hand pain and Limb symptoms (24 causes)
• Hand pain and Balance symptoms (23 causes)
• Hand pain and Dizziness (23 causes)
• Hand pain and Fainting (23 causes)
• Hand pain and Syncope (23 causes)
• Hand pain and Hand weakness (22 causes)
• Hand pain and High foot arches (21 causes)
• Hand pain and Foot drop (20 causes)
• Hand pain and Foot weakness (20 causes)

See full list of 402 Multiple Symptom Checker combinations related to Hand pain

Causes of General Symptom Types

Research the causes of these more general types of symptom:

• Pain
• Hand symptoms
• Sensations
• Nerve symptoms
• Common symptoms
• Arm symptoms

Causes of Similar Symptoms to Hand pain

Research the causes of these symptoms that are similar to, or related to, the symptom Hand pain:

• Wrist pain
• Finger pain
• Hand paresthesias
• Finger paresthesias
• Hand numbness
• Finger numbness

Diagnostic Guides for Hand pain

12 MEDICAL SYMPTOM BOOKS: FULL TEXT ONLINE! Read the full text of published book sections related to Hand pain from the following published medical books for more detailed information about Hand pain. Free access (no registration): read all online diagnostic book sections about Hand pain

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2007 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic tests for Hand pain:

Various tests are used in the diagnosis of Hand pain. Some of these are listed below :

• General appearance
  • Looking for bruising, deformity of hand or fingers, swelling of the hand or fingers, abnormal posture of body, muscle wasting, abnormal arm movements
  • Physical examination
  • May be necessary to examine a variety of joints including the cervical spine, shoulder, elbow , wrists and the various joints of the hand
  • Test muscle tone, power, reflexes and co-ordination of upper limbs

See full list of 23 diagnostic tests for Hand pain

Diagnosis Checklist: Questions your doctor may ask (and why!)

During a consultation, your doctor will use various techniques in their assessment of Hand pain. Your doctor may ask several questions when assessing your condition. It is important to remember that your consultation is a two-way process and any extra information you can share with your doctor about your symptoms may help them with their diagnosis. Some of the questions your doctor may ask are listed below:

• How long have you noticed pain in your hand? - to establish if acute or chronic.
• What area(s) of the hand is affected by the pain? - to determine if local or generalized pain and to determine if finger joints may be involved.
• Is the arm also affected by the pain?
• Are both hands affected and is it symmetrical?- helps determine which nerves may be affected e.g. painful peripheral neuropathy is symmetrical compared with individual nerve or nerve root disease which should be suspected if pain is asymmetrical or confined to one hand
• Is there a time of day when hand pain is worse? - can help determine the cause of hand pain e.g. carpal tunnel syndrome wakes the person in the middle of the night ; cervical spondylitis wakes the person with pain and stiffness that persists well into the day; people with thoracic outlet syndrome find it difficult to fall asleep due to pain.

See Diagnosis Checklist for Hand pain (24 listings)

Diagnosis Checklist: Associated symptoms your doctor may ask about (and why!)

Sometimes, other symptoms may be present and may help your doctor analyse your condition. The symptoms your doctor may ask about (in association with Hand pain) may include:

• Hand paresthesia? - if also paresthesia in the involved hand this usually suggests herniated cervical disc , spinal cord tumor or cervical spondylosis. Other conditions to consider are brachial plexus neuropathy, thoracic outlet syndrome, cervical rib, Pancoast's tumor, Raynaud's disease, sympathetic dystrophy or various entrapment syndromes such as carpal tunnel syndrome and ulnar nerve entrapment at the elbow.
• Neck pain? - pain originating from disorders from the neck can transmit to distal parts of the arm and sometimes the hand.
• Fever? - can indicate septic arthritis, osteomyelitis.
• Joint pain in other parts of the body? - may suggest osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus erythematosus, psoriatic arthritis.
• Symptoms of Diabetes mellitus? - e.g. frequency of urination, excessive thirst, weight loss (especially in Type 1 Diabetes mellitus), tiredness, fatigue, increased infections especially of the skin and genitals, blurry vision - Diabetes mellitus is a cause of painful peripheral neuropathy.

See Diagnosis Checklist for Hand pain (24 listings)

Stories from Users for Hand pain

Real-life user stories relating to Hand pain:

• severe burning hand pain
• undiagnosed foot and hand pain 2+yrs
• Severe Pain in Hands and Feet
• Severe pain in hands and feet!!
• finger/hand pain and coldness
• severe pain in hands and feet!!
• hand pain,weakness,swelling,splotchiness
• Hand Pain
• Hand Pain
• hand pain
• Pain in hands/forearms
• severe pain in hands and feet!!!
• sharp, shooting pain in hands when startled

Symptom specific forums: The following patient stories in our interactive forums and message boards relate to Hand pain or relevant symptoms:

• Cardiovascular (Heart and Blood Circulation) (115)
  • Chest pain and shortness of breath
  • Need help with diagnoses
  • Hand numbness
  • Purple-blue skin color
  • High blood pressure from stress? In a 28 yr old with no other risk factors... seems
  • More user stories
• Musculoskeletal (Muscles, joints and bones) (307)
  • Joint and muscular pain after taking chantix
  • Arm pain after sneezing
  • Joint swelling, stiffness, severe foot pain
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Muscle twitches/spasms
  • More user stories
• Integumentary (Skin) (187)
  • Itchy red bumps all over body? Hives?
  • Sensitive Skin to Touch
  • Painful skin and no answers!!!
  • Skin blisters, joint & muscle pain, Photos..
  • Pinprick red dots, itchy skin, wrongly diagnosed
  • More user stories
• Neurological (Nerves) (215)
  • Could this be MS?
  • Numbness and tingling all over
  • Essential tremor
  • Upper extremity Numbness and Tingling ??
  • Eye twitch
  • More user stories
• Endocrine (Growth and Metabolism) (65)
  • Symptoms of Cushing's - Tests all negative
  • Pitutary tumor
  • Has anyone been diagnosed with Wilson's Temperature Syndrome and are being treated??
  • I am at my wits end with these symptoms
  • Im a medical puzzle please help;(
  • More user stories

Videos for Hand pain

Patient Surveys for Hand pain

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Medications or substances causing Hand pain:

The following drugs, medications, substances or toxins are some of the possible causes of Hand pain as a symptom. Always advise your doctor of any medications or treatments you are using, including prescription, over-the-counter, supplements, herbal or alternative treatments.

• Zalcitabine
• Hivid
• Disulfiriam
• Antabuse
• Thalidomide

See full list of 20 medications causing Hand pain

Drug interactions causing Hand pain:

When combined, certain drugs, medications, substances or toxins may react causing Hand pain as a symptom. Always advise your doctor of any medications or treatments you are using, including prescription, over-the-counter, supplements, herbal or alternative treatments.

• Thalidomide and chloramphenicol interaction
• Thalomid and chloramphenicol interaction
• Thalidomide and cisplatin interaction
• Thalomid and cisplatin interaction
• Thalidomide and dapsone interaction

See full list of 32 drug interactions causing Hand pain

Organs affected by Hand pain:

The list of organs typically affected by Hand pain may include, but is not limited to:

• Hand

Detailed list of causes of Hand pain

The list below shows some of the causes of Hand pain mentioned in various sources:

• Arthritis
• Broken hand - hand pain
• Buerger's disease
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, Type 1A - hand pain

See full list of 57 causes of Hand pain

How Common are these Causes of Hand pain?

This information refers to the general prevalence and incidence of these diseases, not to how likely they are to be the actual cause of Hand pain. Of the 57 causes of Hand pain that we have listed, we have the following prevalence/incidence information:

• 2 causes are "very common" diseases
• 1 causes are "common" diseases
• 2 causes are "uncommon" diseases
• 0 causes are "rare" diseases
• 0 causes are "very rare" diseases
• 53 causes have no prevalence information.

See the analysis of the prevalence of 57 causes of Hand pain

Conditions listing symptoms: Hand pain:

The following list of conditions have 'Hand pain' or similar listed as a symptom in our database. This computer-generated list may be inaccurate or incomplete. Always seek prompt professional medical advice about the cause of any symptom.

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Causes of Hand pain Based on Risk Factors

This information shows analysis of the list of causes of Hand pain based on whether certain risk factors apply to the patient: