Conditions
Twelve things we see every week.
Each one in plain words: what it feels like, what we look for and what usually helps. Six have a full page; the rest are talked through at your first appointment.
Every condition below is marked on the hand by its number. Choose a mark to show only what happens there; choose it again to show everything.
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Wrist
Carpal tunnel syndrome
A squeezed nerve at the wrist: tingling thumb and fingers, worse at night.
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Elbow
Tennis elbow
A sore tendon on the outside of the elbow. Most people have never played tennis.
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Hand and fingers
Trigger finger
A finger that catches, clicks or locks as the tendon snags in its tunnel.
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Wrist
Scaphoid fracture
A break in a small wrist bone after a fall, easy to miss and worth finding early.
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Hand and fingers
Thumb base arthritis
Wear at the root of the thumb: an ache when you pinch, twist or grip.
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Hand and fingers
Mallet finger
A fingertip that droops after a knock, because the tendon that straightens it has let go.
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Hand and fingers Talked through at your first appointment
Dupuytren's disease
Thickening in the palm that slowly pulls one or two fingers into the hand.
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Wrist Talked through at your first appointment
Ganglion
A smooth, harmless lump near a joint or tendon that comes and goes.
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Wrist Talked through at your first appointment
De Quervain's tenosynovitis
Pain along the thumb side of the wrist, common when lifting a baby or a phone.
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Hand and fingers Talked through at your first appointment
Finger joint arthritis
Knobbly, stiff finger joints that ache in the morning and in the cold.
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Wrist Talked through at your first appointment
Ulnar-sided wrist pain
Pain on the little-finger side of the wrist, often a small cartilage tear.
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Elbow Talked through at your first appointment
Cubital tunnel syndrome
The funny-bone nerve, squeezed at the elbow: numb ring and little fingers.