Imagine completing normal daily tasks with only one hand. Bagging groceries, driving the car, getting dressed, and countless other simple actions would suddenly become tedious and complex. It is very easy to take your hands for granted when they are fully functioning, but the instant that one becomes compromised you realize just how essential they are! This is why you should always seek immediate treatment for your hand injury, regardless of the severity of the injury.
The Intricacy of the Hand
The hand is truly a stunning product of anatomic engineering. A total of different bones work together to allow the hand to bend and flex the way it does. Add in the nerves, arteries, veins, muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, and cartilage that make up the hand, and you realize the potential for trauma is extensive. Any injury carries the threat of a serious handicap to the hands, which means that even the smallest hand injuries require proper medical attention.
Potential Forms of Injury to the Hand
There is virtually no activity that doesn’t require the use of your hands, which means they are always vulnerable to injuries. Lacerations, fractures, dislocations, soft tissue injuries, infections, and burns are the most common categories of hand injuries. If you are a carpenter or construction worker, you are at greater risk of suffering from a laceration or blunt force trauma than an accountant or realtor. As a chef, you are more likely to endure burns than others.
Symptoms of a Hand Injury
Lacerations and blunt force trauma to the hand are both hard to miss, since they will both result in blood and severe pain! But other hand injuries aren’t as obvious. They may begin gradually or feel like symptoms to a different condition. The most common hand injury symptoms aside from bleeding and blinding pain include tenderness, numbness, decreased range of motion, weakness, deformity, and discoloration. Don’t wait to seek medical attention once even one of these symptoms presents itself.
Where to Get Help
Given the complexity of the hand and its role as a key component of your musculoskeletal system, you only want to seek medical attention for your hand injury from an experienced and qualified orthopedic surgeon. Conditions like trigger finger, tumor growth, and broken bones require the skilled attention of the hand specialists at Suncoast Orthopaedic Surgery & Sports Medicine in Sarasota, Florida. Call (941) 485-1505 now to make your appointment.