6 Tips on How to Recover from a Recent Hand Injury

Injuries in your hands, elbows, fingers, or wrists can be both a challenge and a nuisance to daily life. Aside from giving you pain, these injuries can be obstructive and make it inconvenient for you to do necessary household and work-related tasks.

That said, such injuries—especially the more severe ones—will not heal quickly if you simply leave them be. If you have a serious hand injury, you may need to consult a hand surgeon Singapore-based hospitals and clinics consider to be highly knowledgeable in restorative procedures. These experts have the necessary knowledge and experience to help you regain hand function and guide you on your recovery journey.

If you have an injury like a sprain, fracture, carpal tunnel syndrome, or tendonitis, you can expect to deal with common symptoms such as swelling, pain, stiffness, and bruising throughout your recovery process. All of these can be managed with the right treatment, and it’s highly recommended to seek a professional’s opinion on the specifics of what you should do. But you can also supplement their advice by applying a few simple practices. In this article, let’s discuss some things you can do to help you heal properly from a recent hand injury.

Apply Heat, Cold, and Compression

Heat allows your blood vessels to dilate, which leads to improved blood flow and reduced inflammation. As such, you may want to apply a warm compress or heat pad over your hand injury to relax your muscles, improve blood circulation, and relieve pain. Taking warm showers can also eliminate stiffness and soreness in your joints, especially in the morning. However, experts recommend using heat therapy during the recovery process instead of right after the injury, as heat can worsen swelling.

In contrast, cold therapy is preferable when treating injuries incurred within 72 hours. Applying an ice pack or cold pack constricts blood vessels and reduces swelling, which reduces pain, in turn. Experts also recommend cold therapy to reduce muscle spasms. 

Regardless of whether you need to apply a warm or cold compress, you must limit the application to around 15 minutes at a time to prevent discomfort. Other than heat and ice packs, you can also use compression bandages to apply pressure on the injured area. And, as with any form of treatment, it’s best to seek your doctor’s approval before wearing a compression bandage.

Perform Hand Therapy Exercises

While rest is important in your hand’s healing process, performing basic therapeutic exercises can help your hand recover faster. So, it’s a good idea to incorporate exercises designed to improve strength, function, and motion capacity in your daily routine.

There are a variety of workouts you can do at home, some of which are as simple as squeezing a soft ball or pinching it with your index finger and thumb. Aside from these exercises, you can also rotate your wrists, stretch each of your fingers to touch your thumb, and make claw-like motions with your fingers. 10 to 15 rounds of such routines will adequately exercise your joints, bones, and muscles without causing you additional physical strain.

Wear Braces or Splints

While your injury is still fresh, it’s important to immobilise the affected area to keep the injury from becoming any worse. You can use protective items like splints and braces, which are designed to prevent your hand from sustaining further injuries.

However, certain types of injuries require specific kinds of protective equipment, so you’ll need to consult a professional to make sure that you’re wearing the right one for your ailment. Most importantly, your splint or brace must fit properly so that it restricts your hand movements without feeling too tight. You can opt to either buy off-the-shelf products or order custom-fit splints and braces from qualified suppliers.

Get Proper Rest and Keep Your Hand Elevated

Apart from resting your hand, you also need to keep the injured area elevated to prevent additional pressure and bruising. Keeping your hand propped up prevents the increased movement of white blood cells and fluid to the affected area, which signals an inflammatory response in your body and causes swelling. Leaving your hand in an elevated position allows your body to keep the swelling at bay and work on healing the injury.

To keep your hand properly elevated, you can use a pillow to prop it up while you’re sitting, lying down, or applying a cold pack. Experts recommend keeping your hand elevated above chest level during the first stages of inflammation to reduce swelling.

Take Your Medicines as Prescribed

The right medication can go a long way in managing any painful symptoms you may experience as a result of your hand injury. Your attending physician may prescribe you medicines such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to reduce swelling.

Because these medications are often quite effective, some patients become tempted to take more than what was originally prescribed to them by their doctor, mistakenly believing that doing so will improve their pain management. However, overdosing on these kinds of medications can actually result in harmful side effects. For example, overdosing on NSAIDs can cause headaches, vomiting, nausea, and loss of appetite. Knowing that, be sure to stick to your pain management plan and only take your pain medication in the amounts prescribed by your doctor.

You can also ask your doctor about taking over-the-counter (OTC) medications like ibuprofen and other pain relievers. However, it’s strongly recommended to ask your doctor first about taking additional OTC medicines along with any prescribed medications to prevent harmful side effects caused by drug interactions.

Explore Other Forms of Hand Therapy

Apart from applying a warm compress or ice pack to the affected area, there are other forms of treatment that your doctor may recommend for fresh hand injuries.

Paraffin therapy, for one, is a type of heat therapy that uses paraffin wax to promote blood circulation, reduce inflammation, improve motion, and relax one’s muscles. Liquid paraffin is considered an emollient, which is a key ingredient in beauty products like moisturisers and hand creams to keep your skin soft and smooth. Paraffin can also retain high amounts of heat, which is why medical professionals may recommend using it for heat-based treatments.

Essentially, the heat and warmth of the wax penetrate your hand and soothe your tense muscles as well as the small joints in your fingers. To experience these benefits, those with hand injuries can dip their extremities in liquid paraffin to help relieve pain and stiffness while stimulating blood flow.

Another treatment to consider is fluidotherapy or fluidised therapy. This form of dry heat therapy involves putting your hand inside a chamber filled with heated particles that circulate around your hand in a whirlpool-like motion. The chamber, which contains a mixture of heated air and natural cellulose particles, transfers energy from the heat to the soft tissues in your hand. This method stimulates your hand’s sensory functions, oscillates pressure, and essentially massages your hand with heat to improve circulation and diminish swelling, pain, and stiffness.

Well-Informed Practices and Regular Consultation Are the Keys to Recovery

Science-backed home treatments can expedite recovery better than just letting the injury heal by itself. But other than administering these tried-and-tested remedies, regularly consulting a specialist is also important to help your hand heal in the best way possible. Ultimately, the focus should be on compounding recovery practices with the ever-reliable advice that only a trained expert can give.