Hand/finger pain & stiffness

[Dawnrnuk72]

Hi,
I have a question about hand pain. I already take a lot of gabapentin for MS pain in my leg and arm (right side) but recently my right hand and fingers have become stiff and painful.

I see a PT and she is referring me to OT but I didn't know if there was anything I could do in the mean time? I've read some previous posts about hand exercises but I wasn't sure if they would make the pain worse. Would heat help? Or ibuprofen cream?
Many thanks for any advice!!

[SusanD]

Stretching the fingers and hand is important as well as exercising. Creams are good (just be careful not to touch your eyes after application), I find they work well. Massage while applying them.

There are many medications that help with pain management, some can help with hands as well.

Be sure to rest your hands. The muscles can fatigue easily and overuse can cause discomfort. Use larger handles, grips on pens, padding, anything that can make the hand work most efficiently requiring less effort.

There are different modalities that will help in therapy. At home you can use moist heat, heated pads, or putting your hands in warm water and squeeze a sponge. If you prefer cold, try flexible cold packs but cold tightens muscles which may cause more discomfort.

[Dawnrnuk72]

Thank you Susan!

I will take your advice on board! I don't think about the muscles in my hands needing stretching, but I can see how this is important to do! I do better with heat so I will try the hand soaks. I will also be getting some grips for my pens as I do find writing quite painful.

You're a star, thanks a lot! xx

[SusanD]

You're very welcome! Let me know if you need anything else.

Happy New Year

[RUBBERBANMAN]

Lost hand control

Hi Susan
B4 my ms I was very active with my hands. Now I can't do the tasks I once was able to do. I've had OT a number of times but didn't seem to help. The instructor would put a warm towel over my hands for a while. Then have me pick up and put down washers,pins etc. also use a device that was bent all diferent ways with a washer around the bent wire. Which I thought was for wrist movement. All in all none of this has helped. Haveing ms is truly hard when you can't do things to keep you busy.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[SusanD]

I'm sorry to hear you are still having these challenges.
Treating pain can be quite difficult and what works for one doesn't necessarily work for the other.

There are different ways that I have worked around pain -in my hands as well. Sometime warm soaks , sometimes using icy hot (BE CAREFUL as it burns eyes and such) and other topical creams, electrical stimulation, and I get acupuncture and massage. You can also talk to your doctor about medicinal intervention.

I try really hard to be proactive and plan ahead. Sometimes it's a matter of finding alternative ways to do things, asking people to help, and sometimes I need to reset my own expectations.

It's not uncommon for people to say ' when I was younger I was able to....' and not be able to do things now... and they don't even have MS!
Make a list of what you really want to do now and see if you OT can get you started achieving your goals.
I urge you to be true to yourself and definitely don't quit!

[Daisy Dead Petals]

Going to try the warm towels on my hands. Thanks! I need some relief.

[SusanD]

Sounds good.
Remember to avoid stress loading and fatiguing hands/fingers.

Use larger, textured items, take rest breaks, and don't be stubborn to perform a difficult task such as opening a jar that is stuck!

[mommyto3angels]

I am still trying to get use to the idea of my hands getting fatigued lol I shampooed my carpets the other day and my hands were what was affected the worst.

i use the creams like icy hot, have my boys rub them, muscle relaxers, but the best thing would be to remember that I can't use them like I use to!

[SusanD]

There are many muscles in the hand and fingers and they can be very small! It wouldn't take much to tire them especially when experiencing weakness.

There are also muscles in the forearm that connect to fingers, hand and wrist.
I would include range of motion and strengthening of the hand, wrist and forearm.

Working on the hand- move hand up, down, side to side for wrist movement. After doing it without anything in your hand, if it's easy to do, try holding a can of soup. See if it makes it a little harder. If so, work out using the can. If it's easy, try using small weights.

Additional exercise for your forearm is to rest your hand on a table, elbow at 90 degrees. Turn hand palm up by twisting. See if it can turn all the way. Then flip it (slowly) down.
Use the same assessment - if range is okay, hold can, then weight as you feel you can do.

Good to set up 2 sets of 8 repetitions. Be sure to take rest breaks.
No matter what, keep moving and using your hands, fingers and wrists.
Pace yourself and take things a little bit at a time. See what works for you and take it from there.

You can also try to hold objects more with the palm than tips of fingers. Your thumb is a base support while the other fingers wrap around
Also, use both hands if need be.

Take note of areas you find are weaker or if certain motions or frequency adds to the fatigue. Writing things down is a great way to monitor how things are going.

Don't give up, just thing outside the box a bit.
We all use trial and error ... you might teach me a thing or two!