Common witnessed hand-related injuries and trauma

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The hand is the visible part of the brain.
- Immanuel Kant
Much of our everyday learning is through sensory
experiences and conscious tactile explorations
offered by our hands. While a little bit of wear
and tear is natural when it comes to our hands,
there are severely damaging injuries and trauma
that can impact function and ability. Lets dive
into them.
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What is a hand injury?

• Any form of trauma or injury that impacts the
  correct functioning of hands, wrists, or fingers
  is referred to as hand injury.
• Leaving aside simple cuts and surface burns
  (common kitchen injuries), severe injuries
  include the kinds that affect the nerves in the
  hands
• For complete recovery, hand injuries need
  immediate care and quick treatment.

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Types of hand injuries and their symptoms

• Abrasions Scraping away of skin due to contact
  with rough surface leading to some skin loss
  less blood loss
• Symptoms Pain, redness, local swelling or
  redness, rash
• Lacerations Deep cuts to hands from a sharp
  object resulting in blood loss needs cleaning
  and disinfecting some cuts may require stitches
  too
• Symptoms Tenderness, numbness, bleeding,
  decreased range of motion, weakness, pale skin
  (from blood loss)
• Burns Caused by heat, chemical or electrical
  sources first degree burns are mild and can be
  managed with topical ointments second and third
  degree burns are serious, can cause extensive
  nerve damage, and can be life threatening
• Symptoms Deformity, discolouration, complete
  numbness, blisters, redness, change in skin
  texture, loss of tissue, area(s) surrounding
  injury become black
• Bone dislocations and fractures trauma to bones
  and joints
• Symptoms Swelling, discolouration, deformity,
  tenderness, weakness, bleeding

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Types of hand injuries and their symptoms

• Soft tissue injury Include sprains, strains,
  bruises, tendonitis, and stress injuries impact
  tendons and ligaments
• Symptoms Deformity, local tenderness, weakness,
  bleeding, swelling, discolouration
• Infections Occur due to untreated or wrongly
  treated wounds, exposure to toxins early
  treatment may involve antibiotics
• Symptoms Local warmth, redness, fever,
  deformity, swelling, tenderness
• If untreated, infections can cause severe damage
  to the hand, and may need tissue removal and
  draining of accumulated pus.
• High pressure infection injuries Caused by tools
  like tattoo or paint guns affects the dominant
  hand
• Symptoms Small sore at the point of injury,
  pain, swelling, occasional discolouration
• Amputations Caused by serious injuries,
  infection, disease
• Symptoms Pain, numbness, slow healing or
  non-healing of injury, gangrene, absent or
  weakened pulse in the limb

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Causes of hand injury

• Accidents while performing daily activities, such
  as cuts and burns while cooking
• Impact or injury from sporting activities
• Road accidents
• Wear and tear from ageing or from poor muscle use
  during weightlifting
• Use of heavy machinery or equipment

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Treatment and care

• A tailored rehabilitation program is imperative
  for swift treatment of hand injuries. Your
  doctor/therapist will be able to ascertain the
  degree of damage or injury and devise a treatment
  plan accordingly. In order to minimise pain,
  strengthen muscle tone, and restore
  functionality, the patient may be prescribed
• Exercises to improve range of motion, strength,
  and dexterity
• Scar tissue management
• Therapeutic modalities for joint/muscle stiffness
• Compression therapy and edema management
• Custom orthotics to support the hand after the
  injury or to correct a deformity
• Training for the use of prosthetics or assistive
  devices
• Energy conservation training