Wednesday, November 3, 2021
by Liz Bonis & Merby Curtis, WKRC
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CINCINNATI (WKRC) – Many people are working longer hours on computers these days and feeling the effects of that in their hands. Many have returned to the office or are spending more working hours on the computer.
So, the physical therapy team at OrthoCincy says hand therapy is in high demand right now. It can ease aching hands without surgery.
One common complaint is numbness or tingling or hands falling asleep at night. Here’s what Whitney Quiambao, an OrthoCincy hand therapist, said might be behind that:
“For some people, it's arthritis. They've got things where they've got degeneration of their joints. So, they're starting to see after they've used their hands all day, then they go to bed and they're in a position at night for, potentially, six to eight hours, if they're getting a good night's sleep. And then when they wake up, they have a lot of morning stiffness and swelling. And they're having to work some of that out.
"And we've also got some people who are getting carpel tunnel, and they're using their hands a lot for their work and for their computers. So when they go to bed at night, if they get curled up in a really comfortable position, then their wrists are bent or their elbows are bent and then we're dealing with nerve entrapments, cubital tunnels, carpel tunnels and those sorts of things, and that can lead to pain and stiffness and aggravation as well,” Quiambao said.
She reminds everyone that there’s a tool chest of items to make work easier on the wrists and hands. She said relaxing the arms and hands can make a difference.
“So many of the patients we see are go-getters. They are doers, so doers tend to be strong and they tend to go get it. So, if you can have people lighten their grips and actually loosen the grip, it's not as stressful to the joints, and as they're not as stressful; they can do things with more functionality and less pain,” Quiambao said.
If anyone needs a consultation because of hand pain, the team at OrthoCincy invites anyone to reach out to the
hand therapy team for more information,