Joint pain in the hand not only disrupts normal life, reduces physical activity, leads to a decrease in performance, but also worsens the emotional state due to the constant occurrence of painful discomfort.
Therefore, when a person experiences pain in the joints of his fingers, the first thing they are interested in is the causes of this phenomenon and possible treatment.
causes of pain
Hand pain can be caused by a variety of medical conditions, many of which have fairly similar symptoms.Most diseases are chronic and the conditions for their development often go unnoticed.Let's find out why the joints on the fingers of one or both hands hurt.
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is a steadily progressive connective tissue disease affecting the joints (mainly peripheral). Chronic inflammation of the synovial membrane leads to cartilage destruction. Periarticular tissues are affected. Pathology develops as a result of autoaggression of the immune system.The clinical picture is characterized by:
- destruction of cartilage tissue;
- Osteoporosis;
- Pain, joint deformities (primarily hands), subluxations, contractures;
- deterioration of the condition of blood vessels, damage to the lymph nodes;
- changes in skin, nails, increased pigmentation;
- the formation of specific rheumatic nodules;
- diseases of the heart (rheumatoid carditis);
- dystrophic changes in the muscles;
- various pathologies of the kidneys (most often amyloidosis), liver;
- Dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract;
- neurological disorders, rheumatoid neuropathy.
The disease can be caused by infection, hypothermia, trauma, physical or nervous stress.There is a genetic predisposition to the disease.Women are about three times more likely to develop arthritis.
The earliest and most important symptom is morning stiffness throughout the body, especially in the joints of the hands, which disappears after physical activity. At the initial stage, there may be a temporary deterioration in the general condition, when the joints of the fingers and toes periodically hurt, the appetite decreases, the heartbeat increases, sweating, and there is a low temperature.
Later, the pain increases - especially in the small joints of the hands and feet - especially in the morning, after sleeping and when moving.The period of morning stiffness is prolonged, which becomes painful.The mobility of the joints is increasingly restricted. Pronounced inflammatory edema, hyperemia appears, the temperature of the skin rises above the site of inflammation, fever begins.
Rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by alternating periods of exacerbations and remissions, sometimes long - months and even years. With each exacerbation, the process covers new joints.
osteochondrosis
Osteochondrosis of the spine leads to lumbago in the back, neck, neurovascular disorders, herniated disc, circulatory disorders of the vertebral arteries, pinched nerve roots and signs of other neurological symptoms. Most often, the disease is accompanied by numbness in the fingers, but pain can be confused with pain in the joints.
osteochondropathy. Kienbock disease
Pain in the fingers can be caused by osteochondropathy - necrosis of bone tissue caused by increased mechanical loads, mainly in childhood and adolescence. In adults, the disease is diagnosed less often.The development of pathology is provoked by injuries, functional overload, infections, rapid growth in children, constitutional features, and sometimes vitamin imbalance.
One such disease is Kienböck's disease, which affects the wrist. This form of osteochondropathy is predominantly characteristic of men aged 18-30 years with chronic microtrauma or overuse of the hand (locksmith, lathe operator, carpenter, carpenter). The symptomatic complex includes:
- persistent pain covering the fingers and wrist area;
- persistent swelling;
- increased pain when pressing on the wrist;
- Bone destruction, subluxation of the intercarpal joints in the final stages of the disease.
The process usually only affects one side.
reactive arthritis
A recent infectious disease (1-1. 5 months ago) and the development of inflammation of the joints after it can explain why the fingers on the hands hurt, especially when bent. Reactive arthritis is thought to be the result of an immune response to microbial antigens localized outside the joint, causing the development of immune complex synovitis in the synovial membrane.
The symptomatology of the disease is expressed:
- pain in the affected joints, tendons;
- deterioration of skin condition, changes in nails;
- Diseases of the genitourinary, cardiovascular and lymphatic systems.
The clinic of reactive arthritis is diverse and depends on the causative agent of infection: streptococci, salmonella, meningococci, shigella and many others.
gout
Gout belongs to the group of metabolic arthritis - diseases of the musculoskeletal system caused by metabolic disorders, in this case - uric acid. The disease mainly affects men over 40, but it is possible to develop gout in young people in their 20s and 30s and in women going through menopause.
Violation of purine metabolism can be caused by:
- increased synthesis due to a genetically inherited trait;
- kidney failure;
- some blood diseases;
- Taking medication;
- significant consumption of foods rich in purines and fats (meat, fish), alcohol;
- infections;
- a combination of different factors affecting uric acid metabolism.
The disease is accompanied by the development of hyperuricemia - an excess of uric acid in the blood serum, which leads to the deposition of urates in the tissues of the joints.
Gout is characterized by a paroxysmal course involving an increasing number of joints and tendons in the course, the gradual appearance of persistent visible deformities, stiffness, osteoarthritis, and the formation of tophi (topioid knots).
Symptomatic exacerbation of inflammation is manifested:
- shooting pains, usually at night;
- swelling of the joints, hyperemia;
- weakness, fever, chills;
- increased nervousness;
- stool disorders
The localization of gouty arthritis in the small joints of the hands is atypical. However, gout can be a very possible explanation for why your knuckles hurt.
psoriatic arthritis
Patients with psoriasis often develop chronic inflammation - psoriatic arthritis, the classic form of which is damage to the wrists and ankles. The disease usually develops imperceptibly with a gradual increase in symptoms, although sometimes an acute onset is possible.You can suspect the development of arthritis by the following signs:
- the joints of the fingers and feet hurt in the morning or all day;
- there are painful swellings;
- the skin over the joint becomes cyanotic;
- Trophic changes occur.
The defeat of the joints in the future becomes the cause of deformation of the fingers, contractures, leads to the development of chronic synovitis, arthrosis.
Extra-articular rheumatism
Extra-articular rheumatism in the form of diseases of the periarticular soft tissues often causes pain in the fingers. The main factors of development are injuries, persistent movement stereotypy, hypothermia, dampness, infections and often lack of nutrition and blood supply.Pain can occur due to:
- Tendonitis - a degenerative lesion of the tendons;
- Tendovaginitis (otherwise - tenosynovitis, ligamentitis) - inflammation of the middle part of the tendons, the inner lining of the vagina, extra-articular ligaments;
- Bursitis - an inflammatory process in the serous sac, usually due to tendovaginitis.
On the hands, tendons of the wrist and hand are most often affected, which is associated with their almost constant functional load.The reasons that the finger on the hand hurts over the entire surface or in the joint are most often syndromes caused by:
- de Quervain's disease - tendovaginitis of the tendons of the muscles responsible for the abduction and extension of the thumb;
- carpal tunnel syndrome - tendovaginitis of the flexors of the fingers, often combined with Guyon's canal syndrome - compression in the palmar ligament of the ulnar nerve and ulnar artery;
- Wrist tendon ligamentitis;
- Knott's disease ("snapping" fingers), affecting the tendons of the superficial flexors of the fingers and their sheaths;
- Inflammation of the bursa (tendobursitis).
Pain usually arises or increases with movement, disturbing at night.Swelling, stiffness and sensory disturbances may occur.
arthrosis
Degenerative-dystrophic processes in articular cartilage with the formation of osteophytes - osteoporosis - are the most common variant of joint pathology, the frequency of which increases with age. It occurs for two reasons: increased mechanical impact on the joint and deterioration of the cartilage.
Damage to the joints of the hands leads to the fact that the finger or the entire palm hurts, at first only when bending, with significant physical exertion, and then even at rest, in the morning, sometimes at night.In addition, the disease is accompanied by:
- stiffness, contractures;
- joint deformities;
- sometimes hot swelling.
Osteoarthritis is characterized by a long-term course with gradually increasing symptoms, usually without severe exacerbations. The most important diseases of the hands are arthrosis of the interphalangeal joints and the metacarpal joint.
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Systemic lupus erythematosus
It is a polysyndromic autoimmune disease with a chronic course, generalized vascular damage and changes in the connective tissue. Adolescent girls and young women in their 20s and 30s are particularly affected.
The development of the disease can be both imperceptible and acute and sudden. The gradual onset occurs against the background of weakness, weight loss, subfebrile temperature, signs of arthritis (synovitis), minor skin manifestations. Sharp - characterized by severe pain in the joints, fever and bright rashes on the skin.The disease can also be accompanied by:
- hair loss, nail changes;
- sensitivity disorders;
- stomatitis;
- damage to the cardiovascular system, most often pericarditis;
- sometimes muscle atrophy (mainly of the hands), deformity of the joints of the fingers, wrist, ankle;
- lung diseases (pneumonitis, candidiasis, tuberculosis, etc. );
- kidney damage (lupus glomerulonephritis);
- vegetative and emotional disorders;
- decreased intelligence, hallucinations, convulsions.
Arthritis is the most common symptom of systemic lupus erythematosus.
That is why the appearance of reddening of the skin and discomfort caused by the fact that the joints of the fingers hurt (especially if the causes of pain lie in the force that arises when pressing the hand) are the basis for an examination for this disease.
diagnosis
Since wrist pain can have many different causes, it is necessary to determine the exact cause of the stiffness, swelling and/or pain in the fingers.The diagnosis is made using the following studies:
- radiography;
- scintigraphy;
- ultrasound examination;
- magnetic resonance or computed tomography;
- immunological tests;
- Laboratory analysis of blood, urine.
If necessary, for an accurate diagnosis of the causes of joint pain in the fingers, a tissue biopsy is performed, an analysis of the synovial fluid.
treatment methods
It is impossible to independently determine what to do if painful swelling or joints on the fingers hurt. Treatment is prescribed exclusively by a doctor after diagnosis and examination.
Medical treatment
In the event that the finger on the hand hurts too much (during bending, abduction movements, rest), it is allowed to take analgesics for a short time before a specialist examination.
The joint should not be heated, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial agents should not be taken uncontrollably.
You can use an ointment that relieves acute pain in the joints of the fingers.
Further therapy depends on the disease and is usually expensive.The treatment is aimed at:
- relieve aggravation with drugs, relieve pain with painkillers, anti-inflammatory ointments, gels;
- to normalize metabolic, immunological processes;
- to restore blood supply, improve joint nutrition and increase their functionality.
Therapy of syndromes that have developed against the background of the underlying pathology is carried out. Blood purification procedures are used: plasmapheresis, hemosorption. In severe cases, resort to surgical methods of treatment.
physical therapy
When the exact reason for the pain in the joints of the fingers is established, the main treatment is supplemented with various physiotherapeutic procedures and balneotherapeutic methods: electrophoresis, mud applications, amplipulse therapy and others.
Physiotherapy improves metabolic processes, normalizes blood circulation in the fingers.
physical therapy
The basic therapy inevitably includes the relief of the joint, but the restoration of the range of motion is necessary. To correct motor disorders of the fingers on the hands, gymnastics is performed with various compressions, pinches, abduction and stretching, which allows you to restore joint mobility and sensitivity of the terminal phalanges. Joint pain that occurs in the fingers requires a careful introduction of new exercises and a gradual increase in the load.
massage courses
Therapeutic massage improves tissue trophism and helps relieve the symptoms of the disease.However, with pain in the joints of the fingers, there are often contraindications to massage, so treatment should be carried out only with the permission of a doctor.
home remedies
Phytotherapy, compresses, rubbing, prepared according to folk recipes, can be useful if there are no contraindications and treatment with drugs is not refused. They help relieve the condition when the fingers on the hand hurt too much and for a long time.