Hands - Caring for Your Precious Hands

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Comment by Lauriann Greene, CEAS on December 27, 2010 at 2:59pm

Join me for a free podcast on injury prevention for massage therapists: http://ning.it/fkbFqT

Comment by Karina Braun on December 24, 2010 at 11:58am

Glad you started this group. I am happy to be a part of it. Happy holiday!

Karina Braun

Comment by Darcy Neibaur on December 18, 2010 at 9:02pm

Very talented fingers Ariana. Too Cool

Comment by Lauriann Greene, CEAS on December 15, 2010 at 4:09pm

Patrice, I'm sorry to hear that you're in pain.  You mentioned that you "almost" feel the need to see an orthopedic hand specialist.  I would encourage you to do just that, or another healthcare practitioner who is licensed to diagnose. When ongoing symptoms are bad enough to interfere with functioning, it's time to get a diagnosis. Hand and wrist pain can come from any number of conditions, and only a healthcare practitioner licensed to diagnose can do the differential diagnosis necessary before you can receive appropriate treatment.  Massage can certainly be part of your treatment plan once you know if you do indeed have carpal tunnel syndrome, or whatever syndrome or condition you are experiencing.

You mentioned that you had great "ergonomics" - I think you mean body mechanics. Ergonomics is the science of fitting the work to the worker and how work affects the worker, while body mechanics involves using our own bodies more efficiently and effectively as we work.  It's an important distinction to make.  Since your body mechanics were good, it would be helpful for you to look at the ergonomics of your situation: perhaps something in your work environment, be it table height, lack of enough time for breaks, an overcrowded schedule, or stress at work, could be contributing to your injury.  Your story shows us once again that you can have great body mechanics and still get injured - this is why only a multifaceted, holistic approach has been proven to prevent injury. I hope that once you have a diagnosis, you'll be able to get effective treatment to get you back to work pain-free.

Comment by Ariana Vincent, LMT, MTI, BCTMB on December 15, 2010 at 11:13am

BREAKDANCING FINGERS - HANDS HAVING FUN!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UH35Lde8nWk&NR=1

 

Comment by Sharon Butler on December 9, 2010 at 1:21pm

Dear Patrice,

In my experience (22 years helping people with upper body repetitive strain injuries), pain in the wrists and thumbs often begins because tissue is adhered higher up the chain (towards the thorax). In many cases I see, adhesions have formed in the armpits, upper arms and forearms. This prevents the normal sliding and gliding of the connective tissues down into the hands and wrists and leads to pain, weakness and disability. When hands and thumbs are as symptomatic as you describe, I first work to release the armpits and upper arms to begin to create some "slack" in the tissues as they enter the hands and wrists. You can do this through stretching or with sessions from someone skilled in myofascial release. My background is in Hellerwork, which is excellent for this type of release.

Check out my contact page for more information on things that can help you. Let me know if I can be of further assistance!

Comment by Patrice Roisman-Carter on December 9, 2010 at 7:36am

After 10 years of practice I have just begun to feel the pain of both long term use. I always prided myself in the fact that I never injured myself as I enjoyed working for myself and my ERGONOMICS were flawless. However in my foolish and desperate need to make up for a financial loose I took on a full time gig where quantity outweighed quality and now I'm paying for it. I had to leave that job and now I'm wearing cool thumb/wrist guards when I'm not doing massage. I have gone back to just my private practice. I had a therapist working on them for a period of time but the base of my thumb and wrist ( carpel?) are not happy.

Any insights or suggestions would be grateful. I can't imagine doing anything drastic like surgery, but I do almost feel the need to see an orthopedic hand specialist.... Ouch and Help please. Left elbow joint hurts too.. Perhaps a long vacation on the Ocean somewhere warm w/o clients !!!!!

Comment by Lauriann Greene, CEAS on December 3, 2010 at 11:33am

I would disagree that gradual application of pressure greatly reduces force and injury. I would also disagree that the forearms suffer more than the hands - since you're applying pressure (force) over a much larger surface area with the forearm, the force is distributed over that entire surface. When you apply force with the hand (or particularly with the thumb or fingertips), you're using a much smaller surface area, so the force is more concentrated. I have never seen a study that showed that forearms were more frequently injured among massage therapists than hands.

The type of injuries that massage therapists and bodyworkers get are gradual onset from the cumulative effects of the work they do, so it isn't a question of how suddenly you apply pressure, but how often, with what intensity, and for how long at a time (frequency, intensity and duration).

Comment by Robert Thomas Parker on December 3, 2010 at 11:17am

The forearms can suffer even more because the skin is much thinner. Gradual, not sudden application of pressure greatly reduces force and injury to hands and forearms (and clients)

Comment by Lauriann Greene, CEAS on December 3, 2010 at 10:51am

Great idea, Ariana, my pleasure to join, and thank you for the kind words about Save Your Hands!

The same strategies apply to saving your hands as apply to saving your neck, back, and shoulders (which are also commonly injured as a result of massage work, and which we also address in our book): a multifaceted, holistic approach involving awareness of risk factors, reducing risk factor exposures through ergonomics (fitting the work to the worker), using good body mechanics (fitting the worker to the work), taking care of general physical and emotional health, and treating symptoms/injury early and effectively.

However, there are special challenges involved in taking care of the hands, particularly since many therapists use them almost exclusively to deliver treatment (i.e., those who don't do massage with their forearms/elbows or their feet), using hand force, repetitive movement and sometimes awkward postures (the "big 3" risk factors for MSDs). The muscles, bones and other structures of the hands are among the most delicate in the body, and it takes special attention to keep them healthy. I'm looking forward to reading the comments in this forum and participating as much as I can, so we can all help massage therapists and bodyworkers save their hands!

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