Brandon P. Donnelly, MD

How Stress Relief Can Hurt Your Hands

Stress balls and “squishy” sensory toys have become incredibly popular in recent years. Whether used at work, in the classroom, during long commutes, or simply while watching television, many people reach for these soft, squeezable objects as a way to relieve stress and keep their hands occupied.

And in many cases, they can help.

Pickleball is fast, social, and easy to love—but it can be hard on your elbow and wrist if your tendons aren’t ready for the workload. If your outer elbow aches after play, your grip feels weak, or the wrist is sore on the thumb or pinky side, you may be dealing with overuse rather than a single “bad swing.” As I covered in my blog post -

Warning: This post contains medical images that may be graphic to some viewers.

Palm trees are a common part of the landscape here, but their thorns can cause injuries that are anything but ordinary. This palm thorn hand injury case study shows ho...