Arthritis is a painful joint condition that affects millions of people. It can develop anywhere on the body where there are joints, but arthritis in hands is probably the most common type experienced by arthritis sufferers.
The hand is made up of many small bones and joints. Arthritis occurs when one or more of these joints becomes inflamed. This painful condition limits a person’s ability to use his hands in carrying out daily activities. If the arthritis in the hand persists without treatment, the bones around the affected joint can become misshapen. The hand can become disfigured. This leads to even more pain and further limitations in mobility.
A healthy joint is cushioned by a layer of articular cartilage that cushions the contact between the two bones that meet. Arthritis can cause this cartilage to wear away, causing pain in the surrounding tissues, ligaments and nerves. Previous trauma to the joint can quicken the onset of the arthritic condition. A finger with an old fracture or a previous dislocated joint has a higher chance of developing arthritis. The severity of the condition can also be impacted by genetics and environmental conditions.
Symptoms of arthritis in the
hands include a dull or burning pain in the joints. This pain gets more intense after the hand does a lot of work, like grasping and gripping. Sometimes the pain does not develop until a few hours or even a day after physical activity. This is evident by morning stiffness and pain in the hands that people often feel after they had been working with their hands a lot the previous day. The cartilage can become so thin that there are no longer enough shock absorbing properties to cushion the joint. So, the painful symptoms occur more often. The pain can become so intense that it can wake up the individual at night.
People afflicted with arthritis in hands are unable to do many daily tasks without feeling hand pain. Activities like typing and holding utensils become difficult. The hand loses strength, making simple tasks like opening a jar very challenging.
To reduce the pain, medications can be taken as directed. Steroids can be injected into the affected joint in order to reducing swelling. Splinting can support the hand. For severe cases, surgery may be performed to fix the problem.
Hand exercises can be effective in relieving joint pain and improving flexibility. These are easy to do and can help in improving the hand’s range of motion. People have found pain relief by doing exercises that focus on stretching the fingers, thumb and wrist.
It is important to get a proper diagnosis from a doctor before any course of treatment is followed. The doctor will take the patient’s history, do a physical exam, and take x-rays of the hand. Sometimes he may include a bone scan if the x-rays look normal and early stages of arthritis are suspected. After a diagnosis is made, the doctor and patient can proceed with exploring treatment options that will help the patient get pain relief and allow him to return to activities that he enjoys.
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