Why do your hands hurt and have no strength?

Answer 1

Its quite possible that there has been some damage to the body's nervous system. If the damage did not occur in the hands, it is quite possibly either a pinched (impinged)nerve between the c5 and c7 vertebrae (resulting from a slipped, herniated, or ruptured disk) in the neck which is called Radiculopathy, or Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

In either case, the best thing to do is to get to a doctor QUICKLY. The longer that a nerve is pinched, the higher the chance that the condition will NEVER fully recover.

An impinged nerve needs both pressure and inflammation. Anti inflammatory medications such as naproxin sodium, acetomenophin, ibuprofen, and acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) help to relieve the pain primarily by reducing the inflammation. The pain that is associated with an impinged nerve can vary from moderate to excruciating. Often the sensations of pins and needles, burning, itching and the feeling of a pulled muscle are described. From my personal experience with a herniated disk in my neck, it felt like a severe burning tooth ache in my right shoulder and entire right arm accompanied by involuntary muscle twitches and painful muscle spasms, however I did not feel any discomfort or pain in my neck what so ever. Muscle spasms are the involuntary contraction of a muscle that does not relax.

Note on the OTC medications: Always follow the recommended dosage or death can occur. It only takes about 3 to 4 grams of ibuprofen in a 24 hour period to cause the liver to completely shut down, which will result in death, and about 50,000 people die every year from ibuprofen poisioning.

If the pain is felt in both hands, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is the likely diagnosis, but if it is in just one hand or arm, it could be a pinched nerve in your neck.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is usually caused by repetative stress injuries. Ligaments connect bones to bones, and Tendons connect bones to muscle groups. The hands are very complex structures and as such, there isn't a lot of room for muscles to grow in the hands. The strength in ones hands comes from muscles in the forearms. In order for the muscles in the forearms to use our hands in the way they do, they connect to tendons, and these tendons have to be guided through a series of pipes or carpal tunnels. These capal tunnels allow us to have a lot more strength and control in our hands and gives us the ability to move our fingers and different parts of our fingers independently by acting as a pulley system between the power source of our muscles and the limb where the power is applied. The muscles in the arms are used to move the hands and fingers through these carpal tunnels. In Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, these carpal tunnels become irritated and and swell. When this happens, pressure is put on the tendons and they cant just slide thru the carpal tunnels, and limited motion to completely restricted motion may occur. Pain may be felt in the back of the hands and arms, and may cause loss of sensation, a feeling of pins and needles, burning, aching, or a pulled muscle. If you imagine a rope on a pulley, and the pulley stops turning, the rope will not move as easily, if it can move at all. And the more that the rope is pulled on, the more friction against the pulley will occur. If too much force is applied to the pulley, or carpal tunnel, the ligaments and even the carpal tunnels may be damaged, which would require surgery.

Radiculopathy occurs when the pain is felt in places that no damage has occured. In the case of a slipped or herniated disk in the neck or back, the damaged disk between the two vertabrae puts pressure on the nerve root. Nerve roots extend from the spinal cord and continue to branch out to every part of the body and come out of the spine between each of the vertabrae. The pressure on the nerve root causes the nerve synapses to misfire and miscommunicate with the brain, so the symptoms may be improperly diagnosed, as a pulled muscle or torn ligament in the affected limb. Nerve roots in the neck tend to affect the arms and fingers, while nerve roots in the lower back control legs, feet, buttocks, and the bladder and rectum. Pinched nerves in the lower back can result in a person having a total loss of bladder control, as well as possibly preventing a person from walking at all. Usually only one limb is affected.

The nerve that controls the facial muscles and sensations in the head also comes from a nerve root at the base of the skull. If this nerve becomes impinged or pinched, it is probably one of the most painful sensations that can be experienced, period. This nerve is also referred to as the "suicide nerve" because the pain is so extreme that some victims choose to end their lives than to live with this level of pain. It has been described as rating as a five hundred seventy eight on a scale of one to ten. Fortunately, most migraine headaces are not a result of the suicide nerve being pinched as neck damage occurs more frequently between the c3 and c7 sections of the neck. C7 is the big lump on the back of your neck.

Nerves are actually one very big very long cell, and when damaged can take quite some time to heal. They heal by growing at the rate of about 1cm per day, so if the affected nerve has caused toss of sensation in the fingers or toes, it will take at least the time it takes for the nerve cell to grow from the spinal cord to the damaged area. If the nerve was damaged in the neck or the back, the recovery can be relatively quick, meaning a couple of weeks, but if the nerve was damaged elsewhere, the entire nerve may need to regrow. It also depends on the severity of the damage as to how quickly a patient will recover. Vitamin B complexes are recommended for nerve regeneration.

Both Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Radiculopathy should be diagnosed by a doctor. An Xray or an MRI may be necessary to find exactly where the damage has occured.

Treatment: See a doctor. They will most likely advise to limit movement of the neck and back to a minimum and apply an ice pack for fifteen minutes every hour. This will reduce the swelling which may be putting pressure on the nerve. It might help with pain also. Never apply ice directly to bare skin as it can cause frostbite. Wrap the ice or ice pack in a towel or a shirt to prevent the ice from having direct contact with the skin. If only heat is applied to the damaged area, the swelling will likely increase. If heat is applied, it should only be applied after applying ice. If a bath is taken, the temperature of the water should be mildly warm but not hot. Baths may be good if the water is deep enough to allow the head to float, but not deep enough to cover the nose or mouth. Prescription painkillers and anti inflammatory drugs may also be prescribed. Most slipped disks heal with time and do not require surgery. The initial pain may last from two to four days on average, but the appropriate healing time should be at least six weeks. During the entire six week period, strenuous activity should be avoided as the chance of relapse is quite high. Low impact cardio workouts may be recommended, as well physical therapy and appropriate exercise for the affected area. Low impact cardio is recommended for two reasons. High impact exercises will increase the risk of relapse and possibly further damaging the affected disk. Cardio increases the amount of oxygen carried by the blood which helps the disk itself to heal. The disks in the back do not get a lot of oxygen so increasing the amount of oxygen in the blood will help the disk to heal. Physical Therapy may also be strongly recommended after a patient has recovered enough to exercise the area. Although the patient may claim to feel 100% better because there is no longer any pain, the cause of the problem remains. Many times, back injuries occur because the muscles in the back are not strong enough in certain areas to hold the spine in its optimal position. When these musles arent strong enough, the bones in the back may shift enough to cause the initial damage to the disks. Severely damaged, ruptured, or disintigrated disks will most likely require different treatments as treatments for a herniated disk may only cause more damage. So check with your doctor.

**Note: This response was not written by a doctor and it is strongly recommended that you see a doctor to provide a proper diagnosis of any medical problems you may have, especially back problems.

Personal Theory on Migraines: Migraines may occur from impinged nerves but most likely are not impinged at the base of the skull. Impinged nerves may also be caused by pressure from a flexed muscle or a muscle group applying pressure on the nerve. There are muscles in the back of your head that control the movement of the ears. When people become stressed, they tend to flex this muscle. Its similar to the way a dog will pull their ears back if they appear stressed, but since the shape of our ears doesnt change when this muscle group is in a flexed state, it is nearly impossible to look at the position of a persons ears and see if this muscle is in a flexed state or not. If the muscle group in the back of the head remains flexed for a long period of time, a headache can occur, the same way as muscles can ache after extensive use. While these muscles are contracted, if a nerve in the back of the head becomes impinged between the muscle and the skull, a migraine may be the result. It may last for several days also if the muscle group on the back of the head goes into a spam (involuntary contraction lasting for some time) and continues to put pressure on the nerve. As is the case with a herniated disk, the approximate time for the pain to subside is at least two to four days, which seems to fit the pattern of the duration of migraine headaches. If you know how to wiggle your ears, you are using the auricular muscles, which is the same muscle group that I suspect can cause migraine headaches. Accordingly only about 20% of the population can wiggle their ears, and it seems that more men can than women. So if you can wiggle your ears and start to feel a migraine coming on, drink at least a glass of water (helps prevent muscle spasms and aching muscles from over use by allowing the blood to flush out the toxins that cause the ache and spasms) and try to be aware of when you are using these muscles in the back of your head and try to keep at least that muscle group relaxed, it may just prevent you from getting a migraine.

Answer 2

Because its sorta like your muscles are still asleep

Answer 3

There are a few reasons why hands might hurt and they might be lacking strength. A doctor will check for things such as Arthritis and auto-immune diseases while making the diagnoses.