It is difficult to imagine a person's life without little helpers and workers: fingers. They carefully hold a cup of coffee, write tirelessly, do all the small and difficult work. Due to this high performance, the fingers are susceptible to a number of diseases. In order not to lead pathological processes to irreversible consequences, it is necessary to know why the joints of the hands hurt, how they can be treated.
What is finger joint pain
The human musculoskeletal system contains over 300 joints. The fingers of the hands contain the smallest and most mobile. The articular joints at the ends of the hands have a thin synovial membrane and a small joint surface, so they are often exposed to various diseases. Each finger of the hand consists of three joints (proximal phalanx, middle phalanx, distal interphalangeal) and three bones (proximal, middle and distal phalanx).
Pain can be caused by inflammation of the joints. Against the background of hypothermia of the hands, pain may occur, accompanied by cyanosis of the skin, which subsequently turns into redness. Following injury or compression of the wrist joint, paroxysmal pain occurs. Sharp and sharp sensations, accompanied by a sensation of electric current passing through the fingers, can indicate cervical osteochondrosis.
The duration of symptoms depends on the cause of the disease. The longer the pain syndromes in the hands are ignored, the more their motor activity is disturbed. If the first signs of the development of finger diseases are not treated, irreversible deformity of the joints can be allowed, in which a person is disabled.
Most dangerous complications:
- bone necrosis;
- osteomyelitis (purulent-necrotic process that develops in the bone);
- osteolysis (complete resorption of bone tissue elements);
- generalized sepsis (purulent infection.
Why fingers hurt
As a rule, pain in the joints of the upper extremities 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. If the joints in the fingers hurt, it is important to quickly determine the cause in order to identify possible risk factors for human health.
Folding
The following conditions can cause pain in the joints when flexing the phalanges:
- Pinching of the spinal nerves. It occurs when nerve roots extending from the spinal cord compress hernias, cartilage, tumors, spasmodic muscles, tendons, or other vertebrae.
- Osteoarthritis. Articular cartilage degeneration and the development of osteophytes on the bones occur, leading to impaired mobility.
- Tunnel syndrome. There is pinching of the median nerve, which passes to the palm through the carpal tunnel, which protects the nerve fibers from compression. Subsequently, it can lead to tendovaginitis - an inflammatory disease of the tendons and sheaths of the tendons;
- Stenosing ligamentitis. It is characterized by blocking of the phalanges in an extended or bent position. Most often the thumb joint on the hand hurts. Pathology refers to diseases of the tendon-ligament apparatus.
- Rhizarthrosis. The deformation of the cartilage plates in the joint joint of the thumb occurs after an injury or excessive stress.
- Vibration disease. An occupational disease that occurs when working with a vibrating tool.
The joints of the fingers are swollen and painful
Both elderly and young patients face the problem of swelling. Sometimes the fingers swell due to fluid retention in the body, but if they also hurt, this can indicate pathological changes in the bone joints.
The reasons for this condition could 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 the bone tissue);
- chronic arthritis of various origins (rheumatoid, gouty, septic, neglected, purulent and others).
In the morning
Any disease of the joints of the fingers is manifested by pain in the morning. In order to prevent the progression of the pathology, it is necessary to make an accurate diagnosis and for this to undergo an appropriate examination. More often the fingers hurt in the morning with arthritis of various origins. The disease may not be infectious in nature, but occurs 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 damage to the joints on two hands can also develop. Infectious arthritis affects several fingers at once and develops under the influence of viruses or bacteria. In addition to pain, there is an increase in body temperature in the morning, intoxication of the whole body. Phalanges hurt in the morning and with psoriatic arthritis, with gout and with arthrosis.
The latter disease, in addition to morning pains, is characterized by stiffness and stiffness. Most often, osteoarthritis is observed in middle-aged women, since its development is associated with fluctuations in estrogen levels. Gout can be identified by intolerable paroxysmal pain in the morning or evening, accompanied by redness and swelling of the joint.
Acute pain
Stenosing ligamentitis of the wrist is accompanied by burning in all fingers except the little finger. Burning and numbness are felt not only in the extremities of the hand, but also along the entire length of the palm. Symptoms worsen at night and improve during the day. Osteochondrosis of the cervical spine is also accompanied by severe pain in the joints of the limbs, but numbness appears only in the little finger.
Panaritium (purulent inflammation of the hand tissues) can also provoke such a symptom. The disease arises due to an infectious infection. The pain is sharp, spasmodic and gradually intensifies, especially at night. The phalanges swell, turn red, touching them is very painful, and the body temperature often rises. Panaritium requires immediate medical attention, otherwise a person cannot avoid serious complications.
In Raynaud's syndrome, at first, there is a cold and spasm in the vessels, and then, due to impaired blood flow, a person experiences severe pain in the fingers, which swell and turn blue. In the third stage of the disease, when blood flow improves, this symptomatology disappears. A painful attack lasts from a few minutes to half an hour. Raynaud's disease is a consequence of atherosclerosis of the extremities, so it must be treated first.
During pregnancy
Why do finger joints hurt during pregnancy and after childbirth? Gynecologists know this for sure.
When the extremities swell 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.
The painful sensations can pass quickly and sometimes get worse every day. Often this happens at 35 weeks of gestation, which is associated with rapid weight gain, which causes compression of the nerve trunks that connect the hand to the arm.
The problem is that a woman is haunted not only by joint pain, but also by other symptoms:
- burning, itching in the palms;
- sudden sharp pain in the forearm;
- numbness of the upper limbs.
After exercise
The appearance of painful symptoms in the hands after any physical activity is a clear sign of vascular disease. Painful sensations are accompanied by joint numbness, cramps and rapid hand fatigue. The skin becomes pale and cold, the hairline thins, the nails thicken. Pathology over time takes a chronic form, due to which it becomes impossible to feel the pulse on the radial artery, the lumen of the vessels narrows, the blood flow of the extremities is disturbed. The pain becomes constant and reappears, even with light effort.
As a person ages, the cartilage becomes thinner, becomes brittle and a creak is heard when it moves. If pain in the hands appears after physical exertion, this symptomatology may indicate the development of polyosteoarthritis. The disease is characterized by destructive changes in the joints, which hurt when the fingers are used or before the weather changes. It is difficult for a person to straighten and bend the brush. The pain syndrome subsides when manual labor is excluded.
Diagnostics
Early diagnosis will help remove the symptoms of joint diseases and heal completely. Only an experienced specialist (neuropathologist, surgeon, traumatologist) can accurately determine the cause of this symptomatology. Diagnosis is made based on the results of the tests and the patient's history. When collecting information, it turns out the nature of the complaints, the time of the onset of the first pains, the presence of joint pathologies in the closest relatives. Family predisposition in the development of arthritis and osteoarthritis plays an important role.
Research Needed for Complaints of Pain in Extremity Joints:
- radiography;
- ultrasound examination;
- computed tomography;
- electrospondylography (computerized diagnostics of the spine);
- magnetic resonance imaging;
- contrasting discography;
- blood and synovial fluid tests;
- puncture (injection of drug into the cavity of the lump);
- skin biopsy.
Treatment
Therapeutic tactics are 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, it is taken into account that the patient has hypersensitivity to the active components of drugs. Complex treatment involves the appointment of chondroprotectors, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), glucocorticosteroids.
In addition to medication, local massage is prescribed, specially designed gymnastic exercises. An excellent therapeutic effect can be achieved with the help of acupuncture and other types of physiotherapeutic procedures.
Diet table number 10 must be assigned to the main rules of which:
- reduce salt intake;
- once a week fasting days for vegetables and dairy products;
- a diet without tomatoes, sorrel, spicy dishes, fatty meats.
In case of joint pain, doctors recommend a spa treatment. For each patient, doctors select an individual rehabilitation program that will be most effective in each specific case. The sanatorium teaches healthy lifestyle skills, conducts therapeutic exercises, physiotherapy, massage. As a rule, after such treatment, the patient forgets about relapses of the disease for a long time.
Medication
When prescribing drugs, two goals are pursued: relieving the inflammatory process and eliminating pain. Basically, doctors use cyclooxygenase inhibitors (NSAIDs), and if the cause of the disease lies in an autoimmune pathology, then steroid drugs are prescribed. Antibiotics can be used for acute infections.
Topical medications (creams, ointments, gels) are prescribed to quickly relieve symptoms. With dystrophic lesions of the articular surfaces, it is recommended to use chondroprotectors.
Massage
Medicines alone are not enough for arthritis or osteoarthritis of the fingers. Specialists in the period of remission of the disease propose to take courses of therapeutic massage, the number of sessions of which the doctor will determine individually. The procedure begins by kneading each section of the hand. If the patient does not feel severe pain, the effect on the affected joints begins already in the first session.
The preparatory phase of the massage consists in heating the arm from the elbow to the fingers with spiral movements. The patient is in a sitting position, the hand is resting on the table, the bent elbow rests on the support, and a roller is placed under the hand. After warming up, the specialist kneads each finger separately with stroking movements without affecting the joints. For the best effect, 2-3 approaches are performed.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy helps speed recovery, relieve symptoms and prevent complications.
Patients experiencing severe finger pain are advised to pay attention to the following techniques:
- Electrophoresis. Treatment is based on deep injections of anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs under the skin. The procedure takes place under the influence of a constant electric current. The course of treatment is 10 procedures, 25 minutes each.
- Ultrasound therapy. During the session, tissue micro-massage is carried out by means of ultrasonic vibrations with a frequency of 800-900 kHz. Ultrasound activates metabolic processes, removes excess uric acid, 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). The treatment is based on the use of electromagnetic oscillations with a wave up to 1 m The impact is aimed at restoring biological processes and functional systems of cell structures. The duration of the exposure is 8-12 minutes. The number of sessions - from 2 to 12.
- Thermal procedures. It includes heat exposure of the affected joints. Steam baths are used with the addition of essential oils, salts or herbs. The duration of the course is 12-20 procedures, 15-20 minutes each.
- Barotherapy. Treatment in a pressure chamber with low or high pressure helps to saturate the body with oxygen, which causes faster recovery of muscles, tissues and joints. The duration of the procedure is 60 minutes. The complete course comprises 22-25 sessions.
Folk remedies
An alternative treatment will help prevent the destruction of the articular cartilage of the fingers.
Most popular recipes:
- Take a thick fermented milk product, mix it with oatmeal, which needs to be chopped. Leave the mixture on sore fingers overnight, wrapped in a cloth;
- Pass 500 g of Kalanchoe through a meat grinder, pour 1 liter of vodka, leave for 5 days. After the tincture, rub it daily on aching joints;
- 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 joints of the fingers and not to cure osteoarthritis and arthritis for a long time, it is necessary to adhere to simple preventive measures:
- keep your hands warm;
- exclude alcohol, cigarettes;
- include more fruits and vegetables in the daily menu;
- does not tolerate colds in the legs;
- removes the habit of "clicking" with the fingers;
- replace tea and coffee with herbal decoctions;
- monitors your body weight.