Hand Specialist
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Tobin Bone and Joint Surgery
Joseph P. Tobin, MD, FAAOS
Orthopedic Surgeon located in Hilton Head, SC & Pooler, GA
Painful hand conditions can severely limit your ability to work and do everyday tasks. If you’re having problems with your hands, board-certified orthopedic surgeon Joseph Tobin, MD, of Tobin Bone and Joint Surgery, provides conservative and surgical treatments to ease your discomfort. At offices in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and Pooler, Georgia, Dr. Tobin helps patients with hand disorders ranging from fractures and arthritis to tendon and ligament injuries. To benefit from the exceptional treatment offered by Tobin Bone and Joint Surgery, call your nearest office or book an appointment online today.
Hand Q&A
What conditions can affect the hand?
Many musculoskeletal conditions can affect your hands. One of the primary conditions is arthritis, which causes joint pain, stiffness, and loss of function. Arthritis — most often osteoarthritis — also causes the joints in your hands to twist and distort.
Other hand conditions include:
De Quervain’s tenosynovitis
De Quervain’s tenosynovitis develops when tendons in your hand get constricted by the sheath surrounding them. It causes pain and tenderness on the thumb side of your wrist.
Fractures
Each hand and wrist has 27 bones. Fractures of the fingers are particularly common and need expert treatment to restore full function.
Trigger finger
Trigger finger (stenosing tenosynovitis) causes pain and stiffness, most often in your ring finger. The affected finger can also catch or lock up when you bend and straighten it. Trigger thumb is the same condition in your thumb.
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common repetitive strain injury. It develops when the median nerve that passes down your arm comes under pressure as it goes through the carpal tunnel bones in your wrist. Symptoms include pain and numbness on the side of your hand and through your wrist.
How are hand conditions treated?
If you have a hand condition, Dr. Tobin is likely to use conservative treatments to start with unless you need urgent surgery. Depending on what’s wrong with your hand, these treatments might include:
- Physical therapy
- Anti-inflammatory medications
- Thermal therapy
- A splint or brace
If your pain persists despite these treatments, steroid injections into the affected tissues can help. The steroid acts as a powerful, long-lasting anti-inflammatory that reduces pain and swelling.
Would I need to have hand surgery?
You might need hand surgery if your condition doesn’t improve using conservative treatments. Urgent surgery might be necessary to repair fractures and damaged tissues that won’t heal properly without intervention.
Dr. Tobin can resolve a condition like carpal tunnel syndrome with carpal tunnel release surgery, cutting the thickened ligament in your wrist that’s compressing your median nerve. To treat De Quervain’s tenosynovitis and trigger finger, Dr. Tobin frees the tendon from its overtight sheath.
Where possible, Dr. Tobin uses minimally invasive techniques when performing hand surgery that keeps tissue damage to a minimum. The approach causes less postoperative pain, and you make a faster recovery.
To find out what’s causing your hand pain and get prompt, effective treatment, call Tobin Bone and Joint Surgery or book an appointment online today.
