The hands and forearms are two of the most important muscle groups in the body. They’re responsible for nearly everything we do, and they give us our dexterity so they must be strong, but many people experience muscle weakness in their hands that can impede their movements significantly. This can be caused by multiple factors, including illnesses and repetitive actions. Let’s take a look at some of the most common reasons for muscle weakness in hands and what to do about this.
Reasons for Muscle Weakness in Hands
1) Arthritis
In arthritis, small joints are worn away from excessive use, leading to weaker hands overall. The stiffness caused by this condition may also cause grip weakness.
2) Tremor
One of the most common and easily identifiable signs of hand muscle weakness is a tremor, which can be revealed through medical imaging. This symptom, though often related to other forms of neurological disease, is often due to damage in the muscles that control movement and grip strength.
3) Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by compression of the median nerve, which travels from the neck and down through the arm. It has a few different forms, but overuse can lead to reduced strength in hand muscles, which may be painful and even affect grip strength.
Repetitive use of the hands, such as typing or gripping a tool for long periods of time, can overwork the muscles and cause them to become weak. In some cases, this may even cause permanent damage.
4) Osteoarthritis
This form of arthritis is often caused by wear and tear on joints, which can cause pain and muscle weakness in hands.
People that use their hands in a repetitive manner, such as in factory work or with computers, are prone to hand muscle weakness. This happens because they’re using certain muscles so much that they wear out, causing reduced grip strength and reliance on other muscles to compensate (which can end up being fatigued too).
5) Lack of Use
The same is true if you use your hands very little throughout the course of the day. If your job involves a lot of sitting, then using your hands even infrequently can make them more susceptible to weakness. In order to counteract this sort of muscle deterioration, doctors recommend that you exercise them on a regular basis. This will help keep them strong and able to do what you need them to do.
6) Stroke
A stroke occurs when blood flow is restricted to parts of the brain. In some cases, this can lead to hand weakness and problems with coordination and dexterity.
7) Compartment Syndrome
Compartment syndrome occurs when one or more muscle compartments get too compressed from trauma. It causes significant pain and swelling in hand muscles, as well as nerve damage, stiffness, and sometimes death if not treated quickly enough.
What to Do for Muscle Weakness in Hands?
The good news is that there are many ways to avoid and treat these conditions with a few simple steps. There are also natural supplements that can help, so if you have any of these symptoms and you aren’t sure what to do, make an appointment with your doctor to get treated sooner rather than later!
1) Use Your Hands But Not Too Much
The first step is to make sure you use your hands as much as possible on a regular basis. This will help keep your hands strong and healthy over time. If they’re too weak, then using them excessively can cause further damage. Make sure you try to do a variety of activities that use your hands, such as gardening or cleaning with tools.
2) Take Supplements
Supplements are often helpful in improving hand strength and flexibility. Some supplements to look into include collagen, calcium, glucosamine, and fish oil for vitamin D support. These can help keep your hands in good shape by promoting healthy joints and muscles.
Check out this awesome collagen supplement by clicking here!
Read the article below to learn more about calcium to strengthen your bones:
9 Reasons Why Taking Calcium Supplements Is Important
3) Get Enough Sleep
Sleep is another important factor that can affect the health of your hands over time. If you don’t get enough rest on a regular basis then it can affect your muscles’ ability to recover from injury and trauma, leading to weakness and pain.
4) Work on Hand Strength
Strengthening your hands through exercise is one of the most important things you can do to make sure they stay healthy. Exercise machines at the gym, such as an exercise ball, elastic bands, or forearm exercise machines can all help keep your hands strong and give them better dexterity over time.
5) Stretch
This is an easy and effective way to reduce muscle tension that can affect hand strength, coordination, and dexterity. Stretching also helps maintain flexibility in your muscles so there’s less chance that you’ll get injured from straining muscles over time. Start with simple stretches for the forearm, hands, fingers, and wrist.
6) Physical Therapy
Physical therapy is a great way to treat hand weakness and recover from a variety of injuries. Your therapist can also help you build strength in weak areas so you don’t have to worry about muscle weakness in your hands.
7) Surgery
Sometimes the only way to get rid of hand weakness is to do surgery. It’s not something that most people want to do, but if your strength and coordination are so poor that you can’t use your hands properly, then a doctor might have to do an operation.
Summary
There are a few simple steps that you can take to avoid hand weakness if you’re at risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome or other finger issues, including:
- Use your hands as much as possible on a regular basis
- Take supplements to improve wrist and hand strength, like collagen, glucosamine, and fish oil for vitamin D support.
- Sleep well so that your muscles can recover and heal
- Work on your strength
- Stretch regularly to keep your hands flexible and pain-free (fingers, forearms, wrists)
- Get physical therapy when you have any injuries that could cause muscle weakness in the hands (especially repetitive strain injuries) or if you suffer from conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome.
- Lastly, if nothing helps, consider surgery.
If you want to read more on muscle weakness and what to do about it, check the article below:
6 Ways to Get Rid Of Muscle Weakness and Fatigue
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