What happens if the hand niches stop moving and can no longer function? This is hard to imagine. According to statistics, more and more people suffer from pain in the finger joints. If before these were exclusively age-related problems, now the number of hand diseases has increased and the age of the patients has expanded the limits.
There are more than a dozen common finger diseases. Consider why finger joints hurt and the main methods of treatment.
The main factors for the appearance of the disease:
- pathology of the immune system;
- chronic infection;
- hormonal imbalance;
- inheritance;
- all kinds of injuries and microtraumas of the hands;
- exposure to harmful factors.
Common types of hand joint diseases
Rheumatoid arthritisis a joint disease that affects even children. According to statistics, there are three women for every sick person. Symptom characteristics:
- symmetry of the lesions - concerned about the same pain in the right and left arms;
- as the disease progresses, pain is selected from the fingers to the wrist, elbow and other joints;
- acute attacks of pain disturb the whole night and during the day the pain subsides;
- accompanying symptoms: increased body temperature, finger numbness, chills.
Gouty arthritis: a disease rich people. It was believed to arise from the frequent use of fatty foods and alcohol. As it turned out, the exact cause of the disease is a violation of purine metabolism, which leads to the deposition of salts. Obesity, alcohol, and leukemia are the main contributors to the disease. Most often, men over 40 are sick. In the case of this disease, pain in the thumbs appears.
Sometimes gouty arthritis can be confused with rhizarthrosis. In this disease, the thumbs are also affected, but the reason is excessive stress. This includes working on a computer with a keyboard, knitting, sewing,
as well as frequent written work. An X-ray will help understand what disease has affected the joints.
Psoriatic arthritis.This disease is a component of a disease called psoriasis, in which the skin is affected. Only about 15% of patients have pain in the finger joints, the reasons for this are different:
- the work of the nervous system is interrupted, the person is in constant tension, a difficult and stressful situation; joint injury, with psoriasis already present, can cause inflammation;
- drugs can cause illness. Consult your doctor before using any pain reliever;
- inheritance plays an important role. If someone in the family is known to have had psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis, there is a high probability that the younger generation is susceptible to these diseases.
The distal phalanges of the hand are most affected. Unlike rheumatoid arthritis, the disease is asymmetric. For example: if the thumb and index finger hurt on the right hand, then the little and ring fingers hurt on the left. Or if one hand is affected, the other is in perfect condition, with no signs of disease.
Osteoarthritis: dystrophic disorders of the cartilage tissue in the joints of the fingers. The reasons may be different: heredity, trauma, metabolic disorders, work stress on the hands, hormonal changes in women. Diseases are prone to older people. It often progresses with no visible signs and no pain sensation, although it may sometimes feel like your joints ache in the morning. With the progression of the disease, pain appears in the joints of the hands. In order not to miss this disease, you need to pay attention to the nail plates. In the initial stage, Heberden's nodules are noticeable on the nails.
Then comes the finger damage. Most often, the pain is symmetrical. Not everyone has the same pain. Some patients experience burning during the formation of the nodules, but usually there is practically no pain. Not everyone has swelling and redness on the fingers, either. When the thumb is affected, osteoarthritis is replaced by another form of the disease, rhizarthrosis.
Rhizarthrosis.The main symptom is pain in the thumb. The main causes of the disease can be: joint load, trauma, previous infection.
Busharov's nodules: a rare form of osteoarthritis of the proximal interphalangeal joints of the fingers. Joint deformation occurs due to bone changes.
Stenosing ligamentitis: inflammation of the periarticular tissues of the hands. The disease can be confused with osteoarthritis or arthritis; X-ray is needed to clarify. The disease is also called snapping finger disease. The sore finger bends and bends with a click. And also the main symptoms include pain when flexing, joint swelling, bumps of different sizes.
Infectious arthritis: Infection occurs in two ways: through damage to the skin or through the blood.
Diagnosing the problem
The following doctors treat pain in the joints of the arms and legs: neurologist, rheumatologist, surgeon, hematologist, orthopedic surgeon. Contact a therapist, he will perform an examination and refer you to the doctor you need.
A visit to a doctor is unavoidable in such cases:
- finger joints hurt as a result of injury, the presence of swelling and deformation of the joint;
- hand pain does not go away after taking pain relievers;
- pain in the fingers of the right hand, as well as a temperature above normal, rash.
- joint pain lasts more than ten days;
The full diagnosis includes:
- general blood and urine tests, sometimes additionally a biochemical blood test;
- X-ray of both hands;
- further examination is requested if other symptoms are present.
Based on the examination, test and examination results, the doctor makes a diagnosis.
Treatment for pain in the joints of the hands
After finding out why your joints hurt, continue with treatment. Complex anti-inflammatory therapy is often prescribed. It includes such a complex treatment: elimination of pain, elimination of inflammation, normalization of blood flow, improvement of motor function. In the case of infectious arthritis, the doctor will prescribe antibiotics. The correct treatment to restore the cartilage tissue of the joints will also be fused. The drugs stabilize the level of glucosamine and chondroitin, components of articular cartilage that play an important role in the synthesis of connective tissues.
Physiotherapy occupies one of the main places of treatment. The procedures are divided into two types of general and local action. The general applies to Vermel electrophoresis with novocaine, microwave resonance therapy. Medicinal electrophoresis, diodynamic therapy, laser treatment, magnetotherapy - these are all topical procedures.
Dystrophic injury of the joints of the hands requires preliminary restoration of damaged cartilage with a chondroprotector and additional measures: therapeutic massage, manual therapy, physiotherapy.
In the period when the disease returns, doctors prescribe mud, therapeutic massages, manual therapy and therapeutic exercises. If the pain torments you, homemade ointments are prescribed, but only according to the prescription and prescription of the best doctor. Medications for the remission period are contraindicated.
Folk remedies
Please note that treating the joints of the hands with home remedies should be prescribed exclusively by a doctor:
- Maz-rescuer. To prepare the ointment, combine 20 grams of dried Caucasian hellebore and the same amount of honey, 5 grams of mustard powder, and 10 grams of any vegetable oil.
In a small bowl, in a water bath, melt and stir until smooth. Let the ointment cool and pour it into a dark jar. It is recommended to apply the ointment every day before going to bed. - An equally effective propolis ointment. It is necessary to mix a small piece of propolis with vegetable oil, until it turns into a thick sour cream. Use as an ointment, apply each fan to your hands.
- Fruit vinegar compresses can help relieve pain.
- Rubbing with a chestnut or lilac flower tincture is effective. Tincture, like any other, is prepared with alcohol, placed in a dark place and stirred from time to time.
- Cranberry tea will help relieve pain. I recommend drinking a glass as tea twice a day.
- For the medicine, take the same amount of vodka and valerian infusion. Add a couple of red pepper pods. Put it in a dark place and let it sit for at least a day.
- Almost no folk remedy can do without garlic. It is difficult to list how many diseases garlic can cope with, joint pain is no exception. It is recommended to take garlic with warm milk in small portions after meals; it is also fashionable to make a compress out of it. An equally effective garlic tincture.
- Bay Leaf Juniper Needle Ointment will cope with finger joint pain in just one month. To prepare, grind the bay leaf and needles and add softened butter. For a month, every day massage your hands with this ointment and forget about the pain.
- Another ointment recipe: mix St. John's wort leaves and Vaseline.
- A well-proven remedy for olive oil, turpentine, alcohol, and camphor. To prepare, mix all ingredients in equal amounts and shake the ointment bottle well before applying.
If you have pain in your finger joints, see your doctor and choose one or more recipes for home remedies suggested above. It only takes a month, and after regular use, you will forget about the pain.
Diet
Nutrition plays an important role in health. It can make your condition better and worse.
Limit or eliminate the following foods:
- sweet and starchy foods;
- high-fat dairy products;
- salt;
- spicy dishes;
- smoked meats;
- mayonnaise.
Eat food as often as possible:
- cauliflower
- all kinds of lettuce;
- grenades;
- currant;
- foods containing flaxseed oil and fish oil;
- water is an irreplaceable source of life. Follow your drinking regimen, drinking at least 2 liters a day.
Therapeutic exercises for hands
Repeat the exercises 10 times a day:
- Gently tighten and loosen your fists, gradually increase the pace of the exercise;
- Spread your fingers in all directions and then pinch;
- Use your thumb to touch all the fingers on your hand;
- Starting position: palms on a hard surface, alternately raise and lower each finger without lifting the whole hand.
Prevention is better than cure
It's impossible to find a person you said was good to be sick of. Why think about why finger joints hurt, look for the causes and treatment, if you can simply avoid the disease? In order not to get sick, it is necessary to engage in disease prevention, eat right, give up bad habits, in a word, lead a healthy lifestyle.
So you don't think about why joints hurt and how to treat them, follow these basic tips:
- keep your hands warm:
- eliminate or minimize alcohol and tobacco in life;
- replace foods that are high in fats and spices with vegetables and fruits;
- Put down the coffee and black tea. Drink green and herbal teas;
- under no circumstances tolerates colds in the legs, but goes through the full course of treatment, otherwise complications may arise;
- for the prevention of diseases in the joints, exercise and swimming - this has a beneficial effect on the work of the joints.
Follow the advice in this article and you will solve the problem why your finger joints hurt.