My hand is hurting like hell...

Joe's advice is spot-on. As someone who worked in the physical therapy and massage therapy fields for over 13 years, I dealt with a lot of patients and even other therapists who had hand/wrist/arm problems. I also had to keep my own hands/wrists healthy or else I was looking at unpaid time off from my own business.

So let me offer up some additional suggestions.

1. Writing or typing 7 days per week is a repetitive activity which sets you up for all kinds of overuse injuries like tendonitis. So right away, pick one day to take off from writing/typing so your body gets some much-needed rest.

2. Get some small paper or foam drinking cups (I like to use Dixie paper cups) for doing a treatment technique known as ice massage. Fill them with water and put them in the freezer. Once frozen, take one of the frozen cups out to use. Grab a towel and put it under your hand that you are going to be treating. Tear part of the cup off and rub the ice on the sore areas in a circle motion. Treat those sore areas for 15 minutes at least twice per day.

3. With many overuse injuries of the hands and wrist, the muscles and fascia of the forearm and wrist become too tight and often become bound up as well. In more severe cases, it can even cause trigger points (pain that shoots or travels from one spot to another) in your arm.

So find a professional massage therapist in your area who specializes in medical massage... specifically techniques like myofascial release, neuromuscular therapy, myoskeletal alignment technique, or active-isolated stretching. Depending on where you live, this may be covered by your health insurance.

4. Try using moist heat (I like to use one of the grain-filled neck wraps) on your forearm for 15 minutes and then stretch your forearm and wrists. After stretching, I'd also suggest putting a general gel cold pack on it afterwards. Stick with gel cold packs instead of ice cubes or a gel block as it's more form-fitting to your wrist.

5. If it doesn't clear up with a few weeks or turns into full-blown carpal tunnel syndrome, then go see your doctor and get a prescription for physical therapy. There are some specific treatment modalities and methods that a P.T. can do to calm the inflammation down in the carpal tunnel region.

For your long-term health, develop the habit of stretching your forearms and wrist every day. Think of it as a warm-up before you start the workout of writing or typing for a long period of time.

Hope that helps,

Mike

Cool, hope it helps, but don't forget. Sitting kills, no matter how good your physical conditioning.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/ma...ng-t.html?_r=0

"Over a lifetime, the unhealthful effects of sitting add up. Alpa Patel, an epidemiologist at the American Cancer Society, tracked the health of 123,000 Americans between 1992 and 2006. The men in the study who spent six hours or more per day of their leisure time sitting had an overall death rate that was about 20 percent higher than the men who sat for three hours or less. The death rate for women who sat for more than six hours a day was about 40 percent higher. Patel estimates that on average, people who sit too much shave a few years off of their lives."

Mike Humphreys has some great advice, particularly on #3.

With many overuse injuries, you need to look "upstream."

In this case, your hand is hurting, but its very liking that soft tissue restrictions, adhesions, and poor fascial quality throughout your forearm and elbow are contributing to the issue.

Mike's suggestion for various soft tissue modalities are spot on. I'd personally look for an Active Release Technique provider in your area.

As an alternative, or for self-therapy in between ART sessions, you should purchase "The Stick" and run that over both the flexion and extension muscles of your forearm (i.e. both sides) and probably some work on the upper arm as well.

Using The Stick on the arms can be difficult since its meant to be used with two hands, but here's how you do it:


And then...always stretch after any soft tissue work. This is when the muscle is ready to be stretched and to "accept" the stretching, which will restore proper tissue lengths and help keep you in a nice preventative state.

When ever you push an extremity too hard and soreness results, try soaking said limb in warm water with a quarter cup of Epsom Salts for about a half hour.

Also, if you can get someone emotionally close to you to massage your hand for 10 to 15 minutes at a time several times a day you may get some pretty amazing results in the reduction of pain and increased mobility. Just sayin. . . .

LLS