How to Relieve Palm Pain

The work performed by your palms may vary from writing extensive homework as children to picking up heavy goods in a menial job to typing on the computer and clicking the mouse during office work or using your palms to hold the rope when doing rock climbing. The pain or stress thus induced may range from mild to excruciating palm pain. Based on the structure of your palm, there can be pain in your palm bones, muscles, nerves, blood vessels, tendons or skin. The nature of pain can range from dull, sharp, burning, stabbing, numbing to severe throbbing. Some of the most common problems causing palm pain include arthritis, common exertion, exposure to cold, muscle twisting, bruising and injury, etc. At times, the pain may not originate in the palm itself. Here are some easy ways to take care of your palms and relieve them of their pain.

Relieving Pain in Arthritis

Affecting approximately 1% of the total world population, arthritis is known to affect people up to the age of 50 years. Almost 75% of the patients happen to be females. Arthritis causes severe joint pain due to swollen and painful joints, stiffness in palms and a decided warmness in the affected area. Some common remedies to relieve pain include gentle massaging, physiotherapy, cortisone therapy and ingestion of analgesics and anti- inflammatory medicine. Doctors might advise you to avoid eating sour foods. Drink plenty of water and make it a point to eat some fat or oil based foods that play the role of natural lubricants between bone joints. Consult a nutrition specialist to know the right proportion of fats required by your body.

Other Common Palm Pain Relievers

• For all those, who are engaged in extensive activities of physical labor such as menial jobs, weightlifting, rock climbing, it is essential to carry out a gentle massage on your palms at the end of the activity or at the end of the day. Gentle circular massage motions and acupressure techniques help reduce the pain and soreness in hands to a great extent. An effective herbal remedy is to use warm coconut oil for massage purposes.
• Gentle bending of your fingers at the palm knuckles and phalanges is known to release the gases shifting between the fingers and palm joints. When the joint is bent, there is a soft popping noise and an experience of immediate relief. However, my readers are advised to get this pain relief technique done only from an experienced massager or physical therapist.
• During winters, your palms might be exposed to severe cold weather thereby causing pain and stiffness in joints. It is advised that patients must use good quality woolen gloves for palm protection. If it is not possible to don the gloves during your work, then make it a point to warm your palms by rubbing them against each other, holding them above a warmer or even dipping them in warm water. When dipping palms in warm water, you may first dissolve a teaspoonful of salt in the water before you actually dip your hands.
• When experiencing muscle pain in palms, use a good elastic band with a tight velcro to strap around your palm. This gives sufficient support to the palm muscles and helps them recover from pain. It is advised to protect your palm for some time from any physical stress.
• For shooting pain in your palms and wrists, due to excessive use of computers and mouse, make it a point to stretch your palms at regular intervals. Make a circular motion of your wrists for immediate pain relief. You may also do a gentle finger stretching and finger pulling massage with the help of your other hand.
• For palm pain on account of any skin injury or bruising, consult a medical expert immediately. The injury might require an external application of medication. Similarly, there might be an internal injury and pus formation in the cuticle of your finger causing severe pain to your palm. This requires a minor surgery on the finger to relieve the pain. The doctor may suggest ingestion of antibiotic medicines to rule out any internal infections.
• For a general throbbing in the palm, you may avoid leaving your hands loosely on the sides when you start experiencing pain. Instead, fold the hands in a cross position to support the palms appropriately.
• When at work, only use those chairs that have proper elbow rests. This helps avoid pain to palms and the overall arm.
• When pain does not actually originate in your palms, it is essential to find its root cause and deal with the problem with appropriate medication. This will take away your palm pain instantly or gradually.
• An effective method to de-stress your palms and maintain a healthy skin on your palms is to get a manicure done. It is not always necessary to get professional manicure done. You may opt for some home treatments as well.

Your hands are like your best friends... you love them but often take them for granted. No work is ever completed without inclusion of the palms and hands in the work. One usually realizes the importance of their palms when they start paining. If you have been ignoring your palms till date, then now is the best time to start looking after them well.