- You might get hand cramps after writing, typing, or holding your phone for long periods of time.
- Dehydration, diabetes, carpal tunnel syndrome, and focal dystonia can also cause hand cramps.
Hand cramps usually happen as a temporary side effect of using your hands too much — after scrawling pages of notes during a grueling organic chemistry class, for instance, or hours of frantic typing to get a quarterly report finished in time.
"It's all too easy to over-stress muscles in the hands from typing, writing, or working on your cell phone. Injuries and overuse can send inflammatory chemicals throughout the hands, contributing to cramps," says $4, the Co-Founder & Chief Medical Officer of $4.
But persistent hand cramps that don't have a clear cause can become more than a passing annoyance. They may cause lingering pain and discomfort and eventually begin to affect your day-to-day life.
Read on to learn four medical causes of hand cramps, plus a few steps you can take to get relief.
1. Dehydration
"In my experience, the most common causes of muscle cramps are dehydration and electrolyte imbalance,'' says $4, a family physician at $4
Note: $4 happens when your body $4 as it typically would — such as when you don't drink $4, lose excessive fluid $4 exercise, or experience persistent vomiting and diarrhea during illness.
You might experience hand cramps when dehydrated because your muscles lose the proper balance of water and $4.
$4 like $4, $4, and $4 help regulate many cell functions, including how your muscles $4 and relax, so losing electrolytes due to dehydration can cause $4 in your hands and arms, legs and feet, and your abdomen.
In addition to cramps in the hands and elsewhere, $4 can cause:
What to do next: You can prevent dehydration and reduce your hand cramps by $4 and taking in plenty of $4 via liquids like $4, sports drinks, or $4 throughout the day.
Note: Experts recommend $4 between $4 each day. This recommendation includes the water you get from the food you eat — generally, about $4 of your daily fluids come from food, and the remaining 80% comes from water.
You'll know you're $4 throughout the day if you rarely feel thirsty and your urine is pale yellow to clear in color — and if your hand cramps improve.
2. Diabetes
$4, a condition that affects how your body uses $4, can cause $4 throughout your body. These cramps most commonly affect your legs, but they can also develop in your hands.
Insulin regulates the amount of glucose — aka $4 — your cells can use for energy, so diabetes can affect various functions $4.
$4 of hand cramps associated with diabetes include:
If you have uncontrolled diabetes, you'll also experience other $4, such as:
- Strong thirst and hunger
- $4
- Fatigue, weakness, and irritability or other mood changes
- Blurry vision
Over time, diabetes can lead to a condition called diabetic cheiroarthropathy, which can cause hand cramps along with thickening skin on your hands. This condition, also known as $4, occurs in about $4of people with diabetes.
Other symptoms of stiff hand syndrome include:
- Difficulty fully extending or flexing your fingers
- Decreased grip strength
- Loss of fine motor control
- Difficulty completing everyday activities
Note: The "$4" is a distinctive diagnostic test for diabetic stiff hand syndrome: When you put your palms together in front of you, your fingers won't fully touch each other because they can't fully straighten.
What to do next: Treating hand cramps caused by diabetes typically starts with managing your $4. Two important steps you can take to maintain better control of your $4 include:
- Exercising regularly>$4: Aim to get $4, if you're able. The current recommendation for adults is 150 minutes of moderate$4 or 75 minutes of $4, plus two sessions of total-body $4 per week.
- Eat a balanced diet>$4: Aim to include a variety of food in your diet like $4, $4, $4, and lean $4.
3. Carpal tunnel syndrome
$4 typically causes pain and numbness in your hands, but it can also cause $4.
Inflammation and swelling of the tendons in your wrist can compress the median nerve where your wrist meets your hand. This inflammation can lead to carpal tunnel syndrome.
Other symptoms, which often intensify at night, can include:
- Numbness and tingling in your hand, thumb, and the first three fingers
- Pain in your hand, wrist, and elbow
- Weakness in your hand
- Decreased coordination during hand movements
$4 for carpal tunnel syndrome include:
- Heredity: A narrow carpal tunnel, which $4, can increase your chances of developing carpal tunnel syndrome.
- Repetitive hand use: Doing repetitive motions like typing, writing, or using tools can make the tendons in your wrist swell and pinch the median nerve.
- Pregnancy: Hormonal changes during pregnancy can cause swelling and pressure on your median nerve.
What to do next: If you have signs of carpal tunnel syndrome, check in with your healthcare team. They can diagnose carpal tunnel syndrome and recommend the right $4, which may include:
- Steroid injections: $4 like prednisone can help reduce swelling in the tendons of your wrist, which may reduce compression of your median nerve.
- A wrist splint: Wearing a $4 at night to keep your wrist immobilized may help relieve mild to moderate carpal tunnel symptoms in just a few weeks.
- Surgery: $4 is a brief outpatient surgical procedure that involves cutting a fibrous band on the flexor retinaculum, or inside of the wrist, to release pressure on the median nerve.
4. Focal hand dystonia
$4 is a neurological disorder that causes spasms and cramping of your hand.
$4 this condition happens due to a dysfunction of the nerves that send signals between your brain and your muscles.
Initially, focal hand dystonia affects your coordination. As time goes on, you may also develop:
- Cramps
- Twitches
- A stuck position of your $4
- Muscle pain
Note: Focal dystonia occurs $4 in people between the ages of 40 and 60, and women develop it about three times as often. Your genes might also play a part, as about 10% of people with focal dystonia have a family history of the condition.
While focal hand dystonia can cause your hand to cramp or move involuntarily throughout the day, you're $4 something called task specific focal dystonia — cramping when performing activities that require fine motor control.
Types of task specific dystonias that can affect the hand include:
- Musician's dystonia>$4: This type of dystonia can cause your hands to involuntarily $4, cramp, or tremble while playing instruments like the piano or guitar.
- Writer's cramp>$4: Initially, writer's cramp causes your hand to tightly grip a pen when writing. Eventually, $4s and$4 in your hand can make your writing nearly illegible.
- The "yips>$4:" $4, particularly $4 or $4 players, may experience a type of task-specific dystonia known as "the yips," which involves involuntary jerking of the wrists, along with hand and arm cramps, Hascalovici says.
You may also experience task specific dystonia during other $4 — for example, if you work as a hairstylist or shoemaker, or frequently type or use a computer mouse.
What to do next: Focal hand dystonia has no cure, but the right treatment can reduce spasms and cramping and help keep your symptoms from getting worse.
$4 may include:
- Medications: A doctor may prescribe $4 to treat muscle spasms and cramping, including anticholinergics like $4, muscle relaxants like $4, benzodiazepines like clonazepam, and dopamine agonists like $4.
- Botox: An injection of Botox into your muscles can block nerve signals that cause spasms and hand cramps. About half of people will get relief from symptoms for an average of $4.
- Sensorimotor retraining: Sometimes, slightly changing how you normally do an activity — called $4 — can help with task specific dystonia. "For example, someone with writer's dystonia could try a different grip of their pen to see if symptoms improve," Hascalovici says. Other examples include using thicker pens or $4 while playing violin.
- Surgery: Your doctor may recommend a procedure called $4 if no other treatments make a difference. In $4, surgeons implant electrodes into your brain to help regulate the areas of your brain that cause focal hand dystonia symptoms.
Insider's takeaway
You might get hand cramps from time to time, especially if you're doing a lot of fine movements in work or recreational activities. Usually, taking a break or changing your activities can provide some relief.
However, if you're experiencing persistent hand cramps with no obvious cause, you might consider checking in with your doctor. They can evaluate you for any underlying medical cause and offer next steps to help relieve any pain or discomfort.