It's hard to imagine a person's life without little helpers and workers - fingers. You carefully hold a cup of coffee, tirelessly write, do the small and difficult work. Because of this high performance, fingers are prone to a number of diseases. In order not to lead pathological processes to irreversible consequences, it is necessary to know why the wrists hurt and how they can be cured.
What is finger joint pain
The human musculoskeletal system contains over 300 joints. The fingers of the hands contain the smallest and most agile. The articular joints at the ends of the hands have a thin synovial membrane and a small articular surface, so they are often exposed to various diseases. Each finger on the hand is made up of three joints (proximal phalangeal, middle phalangeal, distal interphalangeal) and three bones (proximal, middle, distal phalanx).
Pain can be caused by inflammation of the joints. Against the background of hypothermia in the hands, there may be pain, which is accompanied by cyanosis of the skin, which subsequently turns into redness. Paroxysmal pain occurs as a result of an injury or compression of the wrist. Sharp and cutting sensations, accompanied by a sensation of electric current flowing through the fingers, can indicate cervical osteochondrosis.
The duration of symptoms depends on the cause of the disease. The longer pain syndromes in the hands are to be ignored, the more their motor activity is disturbed. If the first signs of the development of diseases of the fingers are not treated, then irreversible deformity of the joints can be allowed, in which a person becomes disabled.
Most dangerous complications:
- necrosis of bone tissue;
- osteomyelitis (purulent-necrotic process that develops in the bone);
- osteolysis (complete resorption of bone tissue elements);
- generalized sepsis (purulent infection.
Why do fingers hurt?
Pain in the joints of the upper extremities, as a rule, is a sign of the development of diseases of the hands. Often such symptoms indicate manifestations of diseases of other organs. Pain in the phalanges is a sign of cervical osteochondrosis, ischemic heart disease, and peripheral nerve pathologies. When the finger joints hurt, it is important to quickly determine the cause in order to identify possible risk factors for human health.
Bending
The following conditions can cause joint pain when bending the phalanges:
- Pinching the spinal nerves. It occurs when nerve roots extending from the spinal cord compress hernias, cartilage, tumors, spasmodic muscles, tendons, or other vertebrae.
- Arthrosis. Articular cartilage degenerates and osteophytes develop on the bones, which leads to impaired mobility.
- Tunnel syndrome. The median nerve is pinched and passes through the carpal tunnel to the palm of the hand, protecting the nerve fibers from compression. This can then lead to tendovaginitis - an inflammatory disease of the tendons and tendon sheaths;
- Stenosing ligamentitis. It is characterized by a blockage of the phalanges in the extended or bent position. More often, the thumb joint hurts in the hand. Pathology refers to disorders of the tendon ligament apparatus.
- Rhizarthrosis. Deformation of the cartilage plates in the joint of the thumb occurs after an injury or excessive stress.
- Vibration sickness. An occupational disease that occurs when working with a vibrating instrument.
The finger joints are swollen and sore
Both elderly patients and young people face the problem of swelling. Sometimes the fingers swell due to fluid retention in the body, but if they hurt too, it can indicate pathological changes in the bone joints.
The reasons for this state can be the following:
- open wounds, abrasions, cuts;
- fractures, dislocations, injuries;
- insect bites;
- Neuropathy of the radial nerve;
- pathology of the heart and / or kidneys;
- fibromyalgia (muscle and joint pain);
- polycythemia (abnormal increase in the number of red blood cells in the blood);
- bursitis (inflammation of the joint capsule);
- osteomyelitis (inflammation of bone tissue);
- chronic arthritis of various origins (rheumatoid, gouty, septic, neglected, purulent and others).
In the morning
Every disease of the finger joints manifests itself in pain in the morning. To prevent the progression of the pathology, it is necessary to make an accurate diagnosis and conduct an appropriate examination. Often the fingers ache in the morning with arthritis of various origins. The disease may not be contagious but rather manifests itself due to disorders of the immune system.
In rheumatoid arthritis, the articular cartilage of the index fingers is more likely to hurt, on which small seals are visible. With this pathology, symmetrical joint damage on two hands can also develop. Infectious arthritis affects several fingers at the same time and develops under the influence of viruses or bacteria. In addition to the pain, there is an increase in body temperature in the morning and poisoning of the entire body. Phalanges ached in the morning and with psoriatic arthritis, with gout and with osteoarthritis.
The latter disease is characterized by stiffness and stiffness in addition to morning pain. Most often, osteoarthritis is observed in middle-aged women, since its development is associated with fluctuations in estrogen levels. Gout can be identified by excruciating paroxysmal pain in the morning or at night, accompanied by redness and swelling of the joint.
Sharp pain
Stenosing ligamentitis of the wrist is accompanied by burning pain in all fingers except the little finger. Burning and numbness are felt not only on the ends of the hand, but also along the entire length of the palm. Symptoms get worse at night and better during the day. Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is also accompanied by severe pain in the limbs, but numbness occurs only on the little finger.
Panaritium (purulent inflammation of the hand tissue) can also cause such a symptom. The disease is caused by an infectious infection. The pain is sharp, twitching and gradually worsens, especially at night. The phalanges swell, turn red, it is very painful to touch, and the body temperature often rises. Panaritium requires immediate medical attention, otherwise a person will not be able to avoid serious complications.
In Raynaud's syndrome, first of all, there is a cold and a spasm in the vessels, and then a person feels a sharp pain in the fingers due to impaired blood circulation, which swells and turns blue. In the third stage of the disease, when blood circulation improves, these symptoms disappear. A painful attack lasts from several minutes to half an hour. Raynaud's disease is a result of atherosclerosis of the extremities and must therefore be treated first.
During pregnancy
Why do finger joints hurt during pregnancy and after childbirth? Gynecologists know exactly.
If the limbs are swollen while carrying a child, this indicates the following pathologies:
- Presence of joint diseases;
- an increase in the level of relaxin, a hormone responsible for softening the ligaments;
- entrapment of the median nerve;
- lack of calcium in the body;
- Fibromyalgia due to depression.
Painful sensations can pass quickly and sometimes worsen day by day. This often happens around the 35th week of pregnancy, which is associated with rapid weight gain that causes compression of the nerve trunks that connect the hand to the arm.
The problem is that a woman experiences not only joint pain but also other symptoms:
- Burning, itching of the palms;
- sudden sharp pain in the forearm;
- Numbness of the upper limbs.
After training
The appearance of painful symptoms in the hands after any physical activity is a clear sign of vascular disease. Painful sensations are accompanied by numbness, cramps, and rapid fatigue of the hands. The skin becomes pale and cold, the hairline thins, the nail plates thicken. The pathology over time becomes chronic, making it impossible to feel the pulse on the radial artery, narrowing the lumen of the vessels, and disrupting blood flow to the extremities. The pain becomes constant and comes back even with light exertion.
With age, the cartilage becomes thinner, fragile, and a crunch can be heard when moving. If there is pain in the hands after physical exertion, these symptoms may indicate the development of polyosteoarthritis. The disease is characterized by destructive changes in the joints that hurt when the fingers are used or when the weather changes. It is difficult for a person to straighten and bend the brush. The pain syndrome subsides when manual labor is excluded.
Diagnosis
Early diagnosis helps eliminate symptoms of joint disease and cure it completely. Only an experienced specialist (neuropathologist, surgeon, traumatologist) can precisely determine the cause of these symptoms. The diagnosis is made based on the results of the examination and the patient's medical history. When collecting information, the nature of the discomfort, the time of the onset of the first pain and the presence of joint pathologies in the next of kin are found out. Familial predisposition plays an important role in the development of arthritis and osteoarthritis.
Need for research into complaints about pain in the joints of the extremities:
- radiography;
- ultrasound examination;
- computed tomography;
- electrospondylography (computer diagnostics of the spine);
- magnetic resonance imaging;
- contrasting discography;
- blood and synovial fluid tests;
- puncture (injection of drug into the lump cavity);
- skin biopsy.
Treatment
The therapeutic tactics is determined by the type of pathology, the severity of symptoms, the dynamics of the inflammatory process and the peculiarities of the clinical course of the disease. When prescribing drug treatment, the patient's hypersensitivity to the active components of the drugs is taken into account. Complex treatment includes the appointment of chondroprotectors, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and glucocorticosteroids.
In addition to medication, local massages and specially designed gymnastics exercises are prescribed. Excellent therapeutic effects can be obtained with the help of acupuncture and other types of physiotherapy procedures.
Diet table number 10 must be assigned the main rules of which:
- Reduction of salt intake;
- fasting days for vegetables and dairy products once a week;
- a diet without tomatoes, sorrel, spicy dishes, fatty meat.
For joint pain, doctors recommend spa treatment. For each patient, the doctors select an individual rehabilitation program that is most effective in each individual case. The sanatorium teaches skills for a healthy lifestyle, conducts therapeutic exercises, physiotherapy and massages. As a rule, after such treatment, the patient forgets relapses of the disease for a long time.
Medicines
When prescribing medication, two goals are pursued: relieving the inflammatory process and eliminating pain. Basically, doctors use cyclooxygenase inhibitors (NSAIDs). If the cause of the disease is autoimmune pathology, then steroid drugs are prescribed. Antibiotics can be used in an acute infection process.
Topical drugs (creams, ointments, gels) are prescribed to quickly relieve symptoms. The use of chondroprotectors is recommended for dystrophic lesions of the articular surfaces.
Massage
Drugs alone are not enough for arthritis or osteoarthritis of the fingers. Specialists in the period of remission of the disease suggest taking therapeutic massage courses, the number of sessions of which the doctor will determine individually. The process begins by kneading each hand section. If the patient does not experience severe pain, the effects on the affected joints will begin in the first session.
The preparatory phase of the massage consists in warming up the arm with spiral movements from the elbow to the fingers. The patient is in a sitting position, the hand is placed on the table, the bent elbow rests on the support, and a roll is placed under the hand. After warming up, the specialist kneads each finger individually with stroking movements without affecting the joints. For the best effect, 2-3 approaches are carried out.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy helps speed recovery, relieve symptoms, and prevent complications.
Patients with severe pain in their fingers are advised to observe the following techniques:
- Electrophoresis. Treatment is based on deep injections of anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs under the skin. The process takes place under the influence of a constant electric current. The course of treatment includes 10 procedures of 25 minutes each.
- Ultrasound therapy. During the session, tissue micromassage is performed using ultrasonic vibrations at a frequency of 800-900 kHz. Ultrasound activates metabolic processes, removes excess uric acid and increases local immunity. The exposure time is 1-5 minutes per zone. The session lasts 12-15 minutes. The course of treatment is 10-12 procedures.
- Microwave (microwave therapy). Treatment is based on the use of electromagnetic vibrations with a wave up to 1 m. The impact is aimed at restoring biological processes and functional systems of cellular structures. The exposure time is 8-12 minutes. The number of sessions - from 2 to 12.
- Thermal processes. Contains the effects of heat on affected joints. Steam baths are used with the addition of essential oils, salts or herbs. The duration of the course is 12-20 procedures of 15-20 minutes each.
- Barotherapy. Treatment in a low or high pressure hyperbaric chamber helps saturate the body with oxygen, which allows muscles, tissues and joints to recover faster. The duration of the procedure is 60 minutes. The full course includes 22-25 sessions.
Folk Remedies
An alternative treatment prevents the destruction of the joint cartilage in the fingers.
Most popular recipes:
- Take a thick fermented milk product and mix it with oatmeal that needs to be pre-chopped. Leave the mixture on sore fingers, wrapped in a towel, overnight;
- Put 500 g Kalanchoe through a meat grinder, pour 1 liter of vodka and let it rest for 5 days. After the tincture, rub it into sore joints daily.
- Mix 1 tbsp. l. Olive oil with a few drops of freshly squeezed garlic. Drink in the morning on an empty stomach
Prevention
In order not to suffer from inflammatory processes in the finger joints and not to treat osteoarthritis and arthritis for a long time, simple preventive measures must be observed:
- keep your hands warm;
- exclude alcohol and cigarettes;
- includes more fruit and vegetables in the daily menu;
- does not tolerate colds on the legs;
- remove the habit of "clicking" your fingers;
- replace tea and coffee with herbal boilers;
- Check your body weight.