Common Types of Hand Injuries that Occur at Work

Hand injuries can occur for any number of reasons. The fact is that virtually every job requires you to use your hands to some capacity, and things can go wrong. Injuries can stem from overuse, safety lapses, and unpredictable accidents.



Mostly, workplace hand injuries occur because we tend to spend so much time at work, and many work environments create risk elements (such as working with machinery). While your workplace might take measures to reduce risk, accidents do happen, and injuries are something to consider and understand.

The Most Common Workplace Hand Injuries

Thinking about your own workplace, you can probably imagine certain types of hand injuries. Whether they include power tools, repetitive stress, or just smashing a finger in a door, hands are always at risk in at least some ways. 

Below, we’ll cover the most common workplace hand injuries and what kinds of work see them most often.

Lacerations

Lacerations describe cuts to your skin — on or under the surface. These types of injuries range in severity from minor to major, and they are most common in trades and jobs where you work with your hands.

Fractures

Any break to a bone, no matter how small or large, constitutes a fracture. Fractures in the hands and fingers occur in many lines of work, although they are more common in positions that work with heavy objects, machines, and levers.

Avulsions and Detachments

An avulsion is a special type of fracture where a piece of bone that attaches to a tendon or ligament separates from the rest of the bone. Detachments occur when a ligament or tendon loses its connection to supporting tissue. Detachments can include avulsions.

These kinds of injuries usually stem from heavy or sudden exertion. They are most common as sports injuries, but work that includes lifting or other physically intense actions can lead to detachments.

Damaged Ligaments

Ligaments connect your bones together. When they are damaged, it affects mobility and usually causes swelling and pain. A common sprain is an example of a damaged ligament.

Ligaments typically take damage when they are overexerted. This can come from sudden impacts, repetitive strain and stress, or stretching too far. Because of this, ligament damage is most seen in physically demanding jobs, although any workplace could have the types of accidents that damage ligaments.

Crush Injuries

Crush injuries happen when too much force is applied to an area. This could include dropping a heavy object on your hand, smashing it in a door, or any similar situation. These types of injuries can include bleeding, bruising, lacerations, fractures, nerve injury, and more, depending on the severity.

Crush injuries will appear more often in workplaces that regularly move heavy objects, but they can happen anywhere.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a repetitive stress injury and one of the most common workplace-related injuries for the hands. It happens when pressure is regularly applied to the nerve in the carpal tunnel of your wrist. This compression can lead to numbness, tingling, and/or weakness in your fingers.



Carpal tunnel syndrome is found most frequently in jobs with repetitive motion — namely desk jobs, although other types of repetitive tasks (like assembly line work) can also create issues.

Who Is Most at Risk for Work-Related Hand Injuries?

Hand and Finger Injury Treatments

As hand and finger injuries come in all shapes, sizes, and severities, so too do treatments for these injuries. Before moving on, please consider this disclaimer. If you have an emergency, please go to a hospital immediately. 

Any hand trauma needs an immediate assessment, and interventions often start right away.

For non-emergency treatments, you have a number of options, and the right treatment usually depends on the nature of the injury.

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy is one of the most common treatment courses for hand injuries. Even for severe injuries that require surgery, physical therapy usually plays a role.

In general, these therapies use stretches, massages, and specialized exercises to help you recover from your injury and rebuild control and strength in your hands and fingers.

Physical therapy is the rock bed of recovery treatments for the vast majority of hand and finger injuries.

Orthopedic and Musculoskeletal Therapy

Orthopedic and musculoskeletal therapy fall under the umbrella of physical therapy, but these practices are more specialized. They primarily focus on bones, ligaments, muscles, tendons, and joints, and the therapies are designed to help with injury, pain, and physical performance.

These therapies can help overcome injuries from the smallest to the largest, prioritizing hand and finger function.

Laser Therapy

Laser therapy uses lasers in specialized practices to stimulate a natural healing response from your body. Different from lasers used in surgery, therapy lasers deliver far less energy to your body and do not create cuts.

Instead, these lasers deliver precise amounts of energy to specific locations. This creates a stimulating effect that can speed up cell turnover, helping you heal from a number of hand injuries while reducing inflammation.

Most commonly, it’s used to treat carpal tunnel syndrome and inflamed tissues. The laser can target inflamed areas and help your body remove that inflammation faster than normal, leading to relief.

Our Specialists Are Here to Help

Nobody wants to have a hand injury, but they do happen, and across all kinds of workplaces. If you have suffered such an injury, we’re here to help. We can partner with your other care providers to diagnose and prescribe therapy-based treatments that help you manage or eliminate pain, recover strength, and bring your hands and fingers to their best possible condition.