Although less common than back pain, tennis elbow, wrist pains & pins & needles in the hand occurs relatively frequently.
Hand pain & pins & needles
The most common cause of having hand pain & pins & needles is having an inflamed nerve in your neck. Second to that, you can have something called ‘Thoracic Outlet Syndrome’ (TOS), which is common in many occupations. TOS is usually caused by mal-position of a rib or vertebrae (bone) in your spine & is usually relatively quickly remedied.
Hand & elbow pain – joint & muscle pain
Pain occurring in the hand can sometimes be relieved by gentle manual treatment, depending on the cause. Osteoarthritis or wear & tear in the joints of the hand & the elbow may benefit from treatment & advice from us.
Elbow pain
Elbow pain is often due to two main conditions commonly known as tennis elbow & golfer’s elbow. Tennis elbow causes pain & tenderness around the outside of the elbow joint, whereas golfer’s elbow causes pain around the inner side of the joint.
Tennis elbow is more common than golfer’s elbow, although both are injuries from repetitive overuse or wear & tear from any hobby, sport or activity, not just tennis or golf as the name implies.
Sometimes a single injury such as a sudden unexpected tug on the forearm can cause the symptoms. Once the pain starts, normal activities & habits can maintain the problem.
Pre-existing problems with the neck, wrist or shoulder, that might not be painful in themselves, can make it more likely to experience tennis or golfers elbow.
How can we help?
We use a variety of different massage & mobilisation techniques to try to ease symptoms. Their aim is to get to the root of the problem & get you back to normal. It’s likely that you will need gentle mobilisation of the elbow, wrist, neck & upper back joints.
We may also advise on activities & movements to avoid, specific exercise & an elbow brace support if appropriate .
We may refer you to a GP for advice about pain medication or anti-inflammatories or to a specialist for any additional investigations or treatment.
Osteopathy can be used to help treat any causes of joint & muscle pain.