Do you feel pain at the base of your thumb, your knuckles, in the joints of your fingers? These are common sites for hand arthritis treatments. Osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis are the common types of arthritis that most patients have.
Arthritis can be disabling, especially when it’s in your hands and fingers. It can prevent you from carrying out normal day-to-day activities.
Arthritis is a disease that attacks the tissues of your joints in your hands. Arthritis can attack the lining of your joints or the cartilage, breaking it down. When the ends of your bones become exposed, they rub against each other and wear away. You have many joints in your hand, making it, unfortunately, a common site for arthritis treatment attacks.
This disease causes joint pain and stiffness that can increase with time. Arthritis Treatment options depend on the severity of your symptoms. They can include splints/braces, medications, steroid injections, etc. If surgery is necessary, this may include joint fusion, joint replacement, and tendon transfer.
If you are experiencing arthritis in your hands, fingers or thumb and need treatment, please contact us at Fair Oaks Ortho. Dr. Stephen W. Pournaras & our professional medical staff has a vast knowledge of the complex network of blood vessels, nerves, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and bones that make up your hand and wrist and can help you to recover by simply contacting us today.
The joints in your hands are constantly exposed to stressors due to everyday life, and in most cases your body repairs the damage naturally. With arthritis, this is not the case. The three forms of arthritis that affect the hands are:
Osteoarthritis effects the protective cartilage that covers the ends of the bones in your hands and effects the joints by gradually breaking it down and wearing it away. Cartilage is a very tough, shock-absorbing material that allows the bones in a joint to glide easily during motion and when gone, causes pain and injury.
The loss of the cartilage causes painful bone-on-bone rubbing. Other symptoms of arthritis include immobility, swelling, and the formation of bony growth spurs in the affected area.
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease, leading to hand deformity and loss of function. The protective membrane called synovium that covers joints, secrete a lubricant called synovial fluid, which acts as a cushion between the joints and ligaments to reduce friction between the bones and prevent “wear and tear.” RA causes the synovium to become inflamed, which prevents it from working properly.
Psoriatic arthritis causes pain, swelling and stiffness in and around the joints in your hands, It affects about 1 in 4 patients who already have the skin condition psoriasis. Some patients may develop psoriatic arthritis before the skin condition psoriasis is even present.
Psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis are both autoimmune conditions, caused by an issue in your immune system.
Your immune system protects you from illness and infection. But in autoimmune conditions, the immune system becomes confused and attacks healthy parts of the body, often causing inflammation.
Patients with psoriasis can get other types of arthritis, such as osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. These conditions are not linked to psoriasis though.
Symptoms Of Prolonged Arthritis
Depending on the type of your hand arthritis, and the stage of which it is in, what joints are affected, your age, activity level, which hand is affected (if it’s your dominant hand) and your other existing medical conditions the arthritis treatment options vary.
These options may include splinting/bracing, medications, injections, and non-drug approaches such as:
Splinting/braces
Splits or braces can support and protect your affected joints, reducing the chances of deformity, as well as providing joint stability, relieving the strain, and promoting proper joint alignment.
Medications
Prescription medications can help to reduce your joint pain and swelling and, in the case of rheumatoid or psoriatic arthritis, to prevent damage to your joints.
Steroid injections
Steroids reduce inflammation and relieve pain. Steroids are usually used if medications don’t manage the inflammation or if the inflammation is limited to a few joints. Injections are added directly into the affected joint.
Other strategies
There are several surgical options based on the type and severity of your arthritis and your overall health. Dr. Stephen W. Pournaras Jr., will discuss options & help you decide which is best for you.
The most common surgical procedures are:
Most hand surgeries are followed by hand therapy to strengthen the muscles and improve function. We offer this therapy as well.
Surgery is recommended to our patients with severe symptoms such as pain, swelling, significant sleep interference, muscle weakness, the beginning of joint deformity. If you haven’t had any relief of your symptoms with at least 6-8 weeks of the non-surgical treatment options please contact us.
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For over 30 years, Virginia Board Certified Physician, Dr. Stephen W. Pournaras, Jr. has provided excellent healthcare and treatment for his patients. As a multi-specialty orthopedic practice, offering the best for you medically to treat, heal and lead you to optimum recovery. We are dedicated to using state-of-the-art technology while building nurturing relationships with each of our patients.
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