.Question for Massage Therapist.What is this pain in the palm of my hand?

Question

I have been a Massage Therapist for 12 years. I do pretty much all deep tissue work. For about 2 weeks I have been noticing a painful tenderness in the palm of my hand between the ring and index finger. I first noticed it when I placed my hand on a banister to go upstairs. I do not feel it when I am working because the contact of my hand is not touching that spot directly. When I place my hand on an object or even touch that spot with the slightest prressure, the pain is excruciating. A very light touch will send my through the roof! There is no redness or swelling. No range of motion difficulty. I don't even notice it is there until I accidently lay my hand upon something in just the right spot. Any ideas of what I am dealing with here? I am thinking some type of tendonitis but can not find any information on tendonitis in the palm of the hand.

Thanks for your input.

Answer 1

You've limited the answering to M.T. but I'll give it a shot.  Sounds like Carpel Tunnel Syndrome.

Answer 2

More than likely you have some joint capsule irritation in/around the metacarpal phalangeal joint or irritation in the tendons.

Being a massage therapist puts a lot of demand through these tissues and they will inflame from time to time. It is possible that you have some arthritic changes to these tissues which is part of the ageing process and this consequently causes irritation to the joint capsule.

Some manual treatment to the hands will probably help, if not try lighter duties.

if the symptoms persist after that you may want to see an osteopath or Chiro who will be able to assess and either treat or refer on.

Answer 3

Sounds like you may have some neuromuscular issues going on. I would go see a therapist who does neuromuscular therapy or trigger point therapy. Also, keep a good watch on your body mechanics and technique, that can play a big role whether or not you keep pain free and add longetivity to your career. You may even want to try Rolfing or Structural Integration to get your body back in complete alignment.

I'm a Licensed Massage Therapist and have been practicing for 9 years and have never once had an injury due to overuse or incorrect body mechanics or incorrect technique. I do alot of deep tissue work and medical-type massage therapy.

Answer 4

It's not carpal tunnel.  Go to a doctor if you really are concerned.  Asking here is useless.

Get regular massage to your forearms.  The muscles there go into the hand tendons.

You could have bruised something, broken something, sprained/strained something or something is out of alignment.