Health Topic

Hand Injuries and Disorders

Find out what you can do if you are experiencing problems with your hands such as pain or stiffness. Learn about hand injuries and disorders.

Reviewed Reviewed by a registered pharmacistGeneral information

Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Hand Injuries and Disorders

No matter how old you are or what you do for a living, you are always using your hands. When there is something wrong with them, you may not be able to do your regular activities.

Hand problems include :

  • Carpal tunnel syndrome - compression of a nerve as it goes through the wrist, often making your fingers feel numb
  • Injuries that result in fractures (broken bones), ruptured ligaments and dislocations
  • Osteoarthritis - wear-and-tear arthritis, which can also cause deformity
  • Tendinitis - irritation of the tendons
  • Disorders and injuries of your fingers and thumb

It sits within Bones, Joints and Muscles and Injuries and Wounds.

The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Hand Injuries and Disorders

255 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research currently under way

Research already completed

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

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Diagnosis and Tests

Treatments and Therapies

Related Issues

Genetics

Clinical Trials

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Hand Injuries. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Hand Injuries and Disorders, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.