Pain, tiredness and injury in the hands and wrists can be a big problem because most people spend almost the entire day using their hands.

This article outlines some common causes of hand and wrist pain. It also gives you tips to help avoid or treat it.

Common Hand and Wrist Problems
A number of common problems can cause pain in our hands and wrists.

Repetitive stress injuries can result from using a certain part of your body to do the same action over and over. Clerks, carpenters, musicians, mail delivery people and many athletes can develop repetitive stress injuries in their hands and wrists.

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Carpal tunnel syndrome is another well-known condition. The carpal tunnels are passageways through your wrists for the nerves and tendons that bend your fingers. You may have seen people wearing wrist braces for this problem while they work.

Old sprains and injuries can come back to haunt us. Conditions like arthritis, for example, can develop at the site of an old injury. Thumb arthritis is common and painful.

Osteoarthritis, which is a specific form of joint injury, can affect the fingers.

Ganglion cysts, which are bumps or swellings of tissue that usually form around tendons, can be another source of hand and wrist pain.

Who Gets Hand or Wrist Pain?
Anyone can get pain in their hands or wrists — or both. You can find yourself with sore hands whether you are active, inactive or somewhere in between.

Older people are more likely to have osteoarthritis that bothers their wrists, thumbs and fingers. Younger people can get osteoarthritis too, especially from sports injuries or falls.

Hand and wrist pain can also occur in people who do repetitive work like typing, cutting hair, chopping vegetables in a restaurant and working at a cash register.

Prevention
Here are a number of things you can do to help prevent hand or wrist injury:

• Take care with ergonomics. Arrange your workstation or workspace to fit you. For example, make sure your desk and keyboard are set up correctly so that your shoulders, elbows, wrists and hands are in comfortable positions.
• Take regular breaks and stretch your shoulders, neck, wrists and fingers.
• Do morning and afternoon exercises for your wrists and hands during your workday.
• Avoid falls and wear wrist guards for rollerblading and snowboarding. Falling on your hands can cause wrist injury and future pain.

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Treating Existing Pain
Here are some things you can do to treat existing pain in your hands or wrists:

• See your doctor if you have pain that lasts more than a few days or becomes worse. If you can catch a problem before it becomes chronic, you can minimize the amount of damage.
• Physiotherapy or the use of a splint sometimes helps repetitive strain injuries. You need to see your doctor or physiotherapist to decide what is best for you.

Take Care of Your Hands and Wrists
Make sure that you protect your hands and wrists from injury and painful conditions like repetitive stress injury. Take the time to look at your workspace and see if anything needs to be adjusted. Listen to your body: it will tell you what feels right and what doesn’t. And don’t forget the rest of your body — regularly stretch your back, neck and shoulders during your workday too.

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Learn More
Exercising Your Hands and Wrists @ Your Desk
This video by the Alberta Centre for Active Living features a five-minute exercise routine for hands and wrists that can help to prevent hand and wrist pain.

Slide Show: Hand Exercises for People with Arthritis
The Mayo Clinic offers this slide show of hand exercises.

Exercise — The Hands and Fingers
More exercises for the hands and wrists from stretchnow.com