Arthritis of Finger

Finger arthritis occurs at the joints of the Fingers. In this the cartilage, wears out due to various reasons. The cartilages are soft tissues that are responsible for the joint movement. This causes the joint bones to rub together, wear out and cause pain and discomfort. In this condition, the bending of the fingers becomes difficult and even normal movements are difficult to perform.

Symptoms

The common symptoms of the Finger Arthritis are:

  • Visible hand deformity in severe conditions (development of lumps)
  • Inability to bend fingers
  • Swelling around the joints
  • Pain on finger movement
  • Stiffness in fingers
  • Loss of motion
  • Weakness in the hand

Causes of the Finger Arthritis

  • Women are most likely to get Arthritis than men. The most common causes associated with Finger arthritis include:

    • Routine work that stress the Finger joints
    • Hobbies that involve much use of the Finger joint
    • Age factors, i.e. older the person, greater the chances to get the condition
    • Other arthritis conditions like RA (rheumatoid arthritis)
    • Family history

Diagnosis of the Finger Arthritis

  • A physical examination is conducted by the doctor on the affected joint. The patient generally develops swollen nodes or lumps around the finger joints.

    An X-ray is to be conducted to find out the extent of wearing out of the joint bones and cartilages. These X-Rays help in finding out the severity of the conditions.

    MRI or other tests could also be recommended to study the symptoms that are causing the pain. Though, these tests totally depend upon patient to patient.

Treatment for Finger Arthritis

  • Arthritis conditions worsen overtime and a timely treatment is must to relieve pain. The non-surgical treatment must also be suggested by doctors. These options help in relieving the pain. Though, these work only on mild to moderate arthritis conditions. Some of the common non-surgical treatment options are:

    • Applying heat or ice pads at regular intervals to relieve pain
    • Hand therapy to ease pain
    • Restricting pain causing motion
    • Medication (Drugs and Injections), to be taken after consulting a doctor
    • Using hand splints to restrict motion and relieve pain

Surgery to treat the Finger Arthritis is very rare.The two options for the finger arthritis surgery are Fusion or Replacement of the damaged joints.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important for any arthritis treatment and the recovery. Though, prevention is the best cure. A treatment should be sought at the early symptoms of finger arthritis. Restricting pain causing motions, hand and finger exercises, regular checkups are all a part of treatment.

 Recovery after treatment

The mild conditions might see relief within a month. For non-surgical treatment the recovery time depends upon patient to patient and the severity of the condition. A chronic arthritis takes a long time to heal.

Recovery from some arthritis conditions demand change in lifestyle. Pain medication is advised after the Finger Joint Replacement Surgery. A slight hand movement exercises could be suggested while in the recovery period. These exercises are recommended prevent stiffness and gain back the lost motion. The exercise must be done in an experienced guidance and should be started only after the suggested gap time after surgery.

A hand splint is recommended to be used over extended time period. This helps in healing the joints and supports the finger movements.

The Upper Limb Clinic, Thane west, is dedicated clinic for all diseases related to Knee, Hand, Shoulder, Elbow and Finger. Contact us today for Finger Arthritis condition to get better and accurate treatment.