This page provides you with information and self-help advice for managing musculoskeletal hand and wrist problems.
There are many causes of wrist and hand pain. You can often ease the pain yourself, but sometimes it can be more serious.
Do not try to diagnose the cause of the pain yourself, but if you think you might have broken your wrist, thumb or finger, do not try to treat it yourself. Contact NHS 111 to find out what to do.
When to speak to a health professional
Non-urgent advice: see a GP if:
- pain in your wrist or hand is stopping you doing normal activities
- the pain is getting worse or keeps coming back
- the pain has not improved after treating it at home for 2 weeks
- you have any tingling or loss of sensation in your hand or wrist
- you have diabetes – hand problems can be more serious if you have diabetes
- you have wrist and/or hand pain and also feel unwell with a high temperature
- your wrist and/or hand are painful, warm, swollen and stiff.
Urgent advice: contact NHS 111 (by phone or online) if:
- you have severe wrist, hand, finger or thumb pain
- you feel faint, dizzy or sick from the pain, or you feel unwell, hot, cold or shivery
- you heard a snap, grinding or popping noise at the time of the injury
- you are not able to move your wrist, hand or fingers or hold things
- your wrist, hand, fingers or thumb have changed shape or colour
- you have a lump on your wrist that's very painful, hot or red (redness may be harder to see on brown and black skin)
- you have lost the feeling in part or all of your hand.
Self help and recovery
There are many steps you can take at home to manage your hand pain.
Below are resources, backed by research, that are designed to support you in taking that action and helping you to ease your pain.
The resources contain information about the nature of your condition, practical advice for managing it and simple exercises you can do in your home to aid your recovery.
The advice has been compiled by NHS England, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, Versus Arthritis, Public Health England and the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Alliance (ARMA).
Resources for hand pain
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome exercises and advice, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
- Looking after your joints leaflet, Versus Arthritis
- Osteoarthritis of the hand educational videos, Keele University
- Hand and wrist pain, Arthritis UK
The above self-management exercises can help you to manage your condition at home. The majority of musculoskeletal conditions get better within six to eight weeks although sometimes they can persist for longer, but this doesn’t mean there is something seriously wrong.
You can make use of the following exercises where appropriate:
- Finger and thumb mobility programme - word document or PDF
- Finger and thumb strengthening programme - word document or PDF
- Hand mobility programme - word document or PDF
- Wrist mobility programme - word document or PDF
- Carpal tunnel pain programme - word document or PDF
You can ask a pharmacist about:
- the best painkiller to take
- the best splint to support your thumb/wrist/finger/hand and ease pain – flexible rubber splints are available if you still need to use your thumb
- if you need to see a GP.
Wrist
Wrist and hand pain is often caused by injuring your wrist, hand, fingers or thumb but there are lots of possible causes.
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Possible causes of pain in the wrist |
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Symptoms |
Possible cause |
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Sudden, sharp wrist pain, swelling, a popping or snapping sound during the injury |
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Pain, swelling and bruising, difficult to move wrist or grip anything |
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Pain, swelling and stiffness at the base of the thumb (near the wrist) that lasts a long time, may be hard to move fingers and thumb, may have a lump |
Tendonitis (de Quervain's disease) or arthritis |
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Aching pain that's worse at night, tingling, numbness or pins and needles in the fingers, hand or arm, a weak thumb or difficulty gripping |
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Smooth lump on top of the wrist, may be painful |
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If you see a GP about mild pain or stiffness in your wrist, they'll usually suggest you try these things:
Do:
- rest your wrist when you can
- put an ice pack (or a bag of frozen peas) in a towel and place it on your wrist for up to 20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours
- keep your hands and wrists moving with gentle exercises to help ease mild pain and stiffness
- use painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen gel (or ibuprofen tablets if needed)
- take off any jewellery if your hand looks swollen
- stop or cut down activities that are causing the pain – for example, typing, using vibrating tools for work, or playing an instrument
- wear a splint to support your wrist and ease pain, especially at night – you can get these at most pharmacies and supermarkets
- think about using gadgets or tools to make difficult or painful tasks easier – for example, to open jars or chop vegetables
Don’t:
- do not use heat packs or have hot baths for the first 2 to 3 days after an injury
- do not lift heavy objects or grip anything too tightly.
Finger
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Possible causes of pain in the fingers |
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Symptoms |
Possible cause |
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Sudden, sharp pain, swelling, a popping or snapping sound during the injury |
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Pain, swelling and bruising, difficult to move finger or grip anything |
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Pain, swelling and stiffness at the base of your finger that lasts a long time, may be hard to move your finger, may have a lump |
Tendonitis (De Quervain's disease) or arthritis |
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Pain, swelling, cannot straighten the end of your finger, often happens after catching your finger on something |
Mallet finger |
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Pain or tenderness in your palm at the base of your finger, stiffness, clicking when you move your finger |
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Ache, numbness, tingling or weakness in your fingers or hands |
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If you see a GP about pain in your finger, they'll usually suggest you try these things.
Do:
- rest your finger when you can
- put an ice pack (or a bag of frozen peas) in a towel and place it on your finger for up to 20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours
- use painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen gel (or ibuprofen tablets if needed)
- stop or cut down activities that are causing the pain – for example, typing, using vibrating tools for work, or playing an instrument
- remove any jewellery on the painful finger
- strap the painful finger to another finger next to it – put a small piece of cotton wool or gauze between the 2 fingers and use tape to loosely strap them together
- think about using gadgets or tools to make difficult or painful tasks easier – for example, to open jars or chop vegetables.
Don’t:
- do not use heat packs or have hot baths for the first 2 to 3 days after an injury
- do not lift heavy objects or grip anything too tightly
- do not stop using your finger completely – after a few days, do gentle hands and finger exercises to help ease any stiffness.
Thumb
How can you ease thumb pain yourself?
If you see a GP about pain in your thumb, they'll usually suggest you try these things.
Do:
- rest your thumb when you can
- put an ice pack (or a bag of frozen peas) in a towel and place it on your thumb for up to 20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours
- use painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen gel (or ibuprofen tablets if needed) – ibuprofen is not suitable for everyone, such as older people who have a higher chance of getting stomach ulcers and kidney problems
- take off any jewellery if your thumb looks swollen
- stop or cut down activities that are causing the pain – for example, typing, using vibrating tools for work, or playing an instrument
- wear a splint to support your thumb and ease pain, especially at night – you can get these at most pharmacies and supermarkets
- consider taping something like a lollipop stick to your thumb – this will keep it in place until you can get a splint
- consider using gadgets or tools to make difficult or painful tasks easier – for example, to open jars or chop vegetables
- keep your thumb moving with gentle exercises.
Don’t:
- do not use heat packs or have hot baths for a few days after an injury or if your thumb is swollen – this can make it worse
- do not lift heavy objects or grip anything too tightly.
Hand
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Symptoms |
Possible cause |
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Aching pain that's worse at night, numbness or pins and needles, a weak thumb or difficulty gripping |
Carpal tunnel syndrome |
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Sudden sharp pain, swelling, a popping or snapping sound during the injury |
Broken bone in the hand |
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Pain or tenderness in your palm at the base of your fingers or thumb, stiffness, clicking when you move your finger or thumb |
Trigger finger |
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Pain, swelling and stiffness that lasts a long time, may be hard to move fingers, may have a lump |
Arthritis |
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Sharp or burning pain, tingling or numbness, palm feels more or less sensitive to touch or heat |
Peripheral neuropathy |
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Heat, pain and redness in the palms |
Erythromelalgia |
Do:
- rest your hand when you can
- put an ice pack (or a bag of frozen peas) in a towel and place it on your palm for up to 20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours
- take paracetamol to ease the pain
- remove any jewellery if your hand is swollen
- stop or cut down activities that are causing the pain – for example, writing, typing, DIY or housework
- wrap a bandage around your hand to support it
- wear a splint to support your palm and ease pain, especially at night – you can get these at most pharmacies and supermarkets
- keep your hands and wrists moving with gentle exercises to help ease pain and stiffness.
Don't:
- do not use heat packs or have hot baths for the first 2 to 3 days after an injury
- do not lift heavy objects or grip anything too tightly.
|
Symptoms |
Possible cause |
|
Pain, swelling and stiffness that lasts a long time, may be hard to move your fingers, may have a lump |
Tendonitis or arthritis |
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Sudden, sharp pain, swelling, a popping or snapping sound during the injury |
Broken bone in the hand |
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Smooth lump near a joint or tendon, may be painful |
Ganglion cyst |
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Aching pain that's worse at night, numbness or pins and needles, a weak thumb or difficulty gripping |
Carpal tunnel syndrome |
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Itchy and painful skin, rash |
Scabies |
Do:
- rest your hand when you can
- put an ice pack (or a bag of frozen peas) wrapped in a towel and place it on the back of your hand for up to 20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours
- take paracetamol to ease the pain
- take off any jewellery if your hand is swollen
- wrap a bandage around your hand to support it
- wear a splint to support your hand and ease pain, especially at night – you can get these at most pharmacies and supermarkets
- gently exercise your hand and fingers to help ease pain and stiffness.
Don’t:
- do not use heat packs or have hot baths for the first 2 to 3 days after an injury.
When should you self refer?
Most hand or wrist pain will settle naturally in time with little or no help, but occasionally you may need some extra help to get your hand/wrist better. Most people do not need further treatment or investigations, and your physiotherapist is ideally placed to advise if you do. If the above self-help information is not improving your symptoms within 6-8 weeks or if your symptoms are getting worse, then see a healthcare professional. To do this, you will need to fill in our self referral form.
Please find below information on hand/wrist conditions and some other useful information:
Please note: The information on this page is not a replacement for professional help but may aid you and any further information or advice given to you by a medical professional. If you are accessing this site for self-help information in the absence of professional advice, please be aware that the advice and/or exercises may not be suitable for you. If you have any concerns or in the event of any problems, please seek professional advice.