Pain in the joints of the hand not only interferes with the normal way of life, reduces physical activity, and leads to a decrease in performance, but also worsens the emotional state due to the constantly occurring painful discomforts.
That is why, if a person has pain in the joints of the fingers, the first thing that interests him is the causes of the phenomenon and possible treatment.
Causes of pain
Hand pain can be caused by a number of diseases, many of which have fairly similar symptoms.Most diseases are chronic, and the prerequisites for their development are often not even noticed.Let's see why the joints of the fingers of one or both hands hurt.
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is a continuously progressive connective tissue disease that affects the joints (mainly peripheral). Cartilage destruction occurs due to chronic inflammation of the synovial membrane. Periarticular tissues are affected. The pathology develops as a result of immune autoaggression.The clinical picture is characterized by:
- destruction of cartilage tissue;
- osteoporosis;
- pain, joint deformities (mainly hands), subluxations, contractures;
- deterioration of blood vessels, damage to lymph nodes;
- changes in the skin, nails, increased pigmentation;
- formation of specific rheumatoid nodules;
- heart diseases (rheumatoid carditis);
- dystrophic changes in muscles;
- various pathologies of the kidneys (most often amyloidosis), liver;
- functional disorders of the gastrointestinal tract;
- neurological disorders, rheumatoid neuropathy.
The disease can be caused by infections, hypothermia, trauma, physical or nervous stress.I have a genetic predisposition to the disease.Women are about three times more likely to get arthritis.
The earliest and most important symptom is morning stiffness in the whole body, especially in the joints of the hands, which disappears after physical activity. In the initial stage, the general condition may temporarily deteriorate, when the joints of the fingers and toes periodically ache, the appetite decreases, the heartbeat increases, sweating and low temperature appear.
Later, the pains - mainly in the small joints of the hands and feet - intensify, especially in the morning, after sleep and during movement.The period of morning stiffness is prolonged, which becomes painful.The mobility of the joints is increasingly limited. Pronounced inflammatory edema and hyperemia appear, the temperature of the skin rises above the site of inflammation, fever begins.
Rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by alternating periods of exacerbation and remission, sometimes long - for months or even years. With each exacerbation, the process spreads to new joints.
Osteochondrosis
Osteochondrosis of the spine leads to lumbago on the back and neck, disorders of the neurovascular system, disc herniation, deterioration of blood flow in the vertebral arteries, pinching of nerve roots and signs of other neurological symptoms. Most often, the disease is accompanied by a feeling of numbness in the fingers, but the pain can be confused with joint pain.
Osteochondropathy. Kienböck disease
Pain in the fingers can be caused by osteochondropathy - necrosis of bone tissue caused by increased mechanical stress, especially in childhood and adolescence. In adults, the disease is diagnosed less often.The development of pathology is triggered by injuries, functional overload, infections, rapid growth of children, structural features and sometimes vitamin imbalances.
One such disease is Kienböck's disease, which affects the wrist joint. This type of osteochondropathy is predominantly characteristic of men aged 18-30 who have chronic microtraumatization or overexertion (locksmiths, turners, carpenters, joiners). The symptom complex includes:
- persistent pain that covers the fingers, wrist area;
- persistent swelling;
- increased pain when pressing the wrist joint;
- bone destruction, subluxation of the intercarpal joints in the final stage of the disease.
The process usually affects only one side.
Reactive arthritis
A recent infectious disease (1-1. 5 months ago) and subsequent arthritis may explain why the fingers of the hand hurt, especially when bending. Reactive arthritis is presumably the result of an immune response to microbial antigens located outside the joint, which causes immune complex synovitis in the joint membrane.
Symptoms of the disease are as follows:
- pain in the affected joints, tendons;
- deterioration of the condition of the skin, changes in the nails;
- urogenital, cardiovascular and lymphatic diseases.
The clinic of reactive arthritis is diverse and depends on the causative agent of the infection: streptococcus, salmonella, meningococcus, 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 primarily affects men over 40 years of age, but gout can also occur in 20-30 year olds and menopausal women.
A violation of purine metabolism can be caused by:
- increased synthesis due to a genetically inherited trait;
- renal failure;
- some blood disorders;
- taking medications;
- significant consumption of foods with high purine and fat content (meat, fish), alcohol;
- infections;
- a combination of various factors affecting uric acid metabolism.
The disease is accompanied by the development of hyperuricemia - an excess of uric acid in the blood serum, which results in the deposition of urates in the tissues of the joints.
Gout is characterized by an attack-like progression, during which more and more joints and tendons are involved in the process, and the permanent visible deformities, stiffness, osteoarthritis, and tophi (gout nodes) gradually appear.
Symptomatic aggravation of inflammation manifests itself:
- sharp 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 is a very possible explanation for the pain in the knuckles.
Psoriatic arthritis
Psoriasis patients often develop chronic inflammation - psoriatic arthritis, the classic form of which is damage to the joints of the hands and feet. The disease usually develops unnoticed, with a gradual increase in symptoms, although sometimes an acute appearance is possible.Based on the following signs, you can suspect the development of arthritis:
- the joints of the fingers and feet hurt in the morning or throughout the day;
- there is painful swelling;
- the skin over the joint becomes cyanotic;
- trophic changes occur.
In the future, the defeat of the joints leads to deformation of the fingers, contractures, chronic synovitis, and arthrosis.
Extra-articular rheumatism
Extra-articular rheumatism in the form of diseases of the soft periarticular tissues often leads to pain in the fingers. The main factors of development are injuries, prolonged stereotypy of movements, hypothermia, moisture, infections, often lack of nutrition and blood supply.Pain can be caused by:
- tendinitis - degenerative change of the tendons;
- tendovaginitis (otherwise - tenosynovitis, ligamentitis) - inflammation of the central part of the tendons, the inner lining of the vagina, extra-articular ligaments;
- bursitis - an inflammatory process in the bursa, usually due to tendovaginitis.
In the hand, the tendons of the wrist and hand are most often affected, which is related to their almost constant functional stress.Most often, the reasons why the finger of the hand hurts on the entire surface or in the joint are the following syndromes:
- 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 channel syndrome - compression of the palmar ligament of the ulnar nerve and ulnar artery;
- ligamentitis of the wrist tendon;
- Knott's disease ("snap" finger), which affects the tendons of the superficial flexors of the fingers and their sheaths;
- bursitis (tendobursitis).
The pain usually occurs or worsens when moving, and bothers you at night.Swelling, stiffness and sensory disturbances may occur.
Osteoarthritis
Degenerative-dystrophic processes associated with the formation of osteophytes in the articular cartilage - osteoporosis - is the most common type of joint pathology, the frequency of which increases with age. It occurs for two reasons: the increased mechanical impact on the joint and the deterioration of the condition of the cartilage.
Damage to the joints of the hand leads to the fact that the finger or the entire palm hurts, at first only when bending, during 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 a hot swelling.
Osteoarthritis is characterized by a long-term course, with a gradual increase in symptoms, usually without sharp exacerbations. The main types of diseases affecting the hand are arthrosis of the interphalangeal joints and metacarpal joints.
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Systemic lupus erythematosus
An autoimmune polysyndromic disease with a chronic course, characterized by generalized vascular damage and connective tissue changes. It mainly affects adolescent girls and young women in their 20s and 30s.
The development of the disease can be both imperceptible and acute, sudden. The gradual appearance occurs against the background of weakness, weight loss, subfebrile temperature, arthritis (synovitis), minor skin manifestations. Sharp - characterized by severe joint pain, fever and shiny skin rashes.In addition, the disease may be accompanied by:
- hair loss, nail changes;
- sensitivity disorders;
- stomatitis;
- damage to the cardiovascular system, most often pericarditis;
- sometimes muscle atrophy (primarily of the hands), deformity of the joints of the fingers, wrists, and ankles;
- lung pathologies (pneumonia, candidiasis, tuberculosis, etc. );
- kidney damage (lupus glomerulonephritis);
- vegetative and emotional disorders;
- reduced intelligence, hallucinations, convulsions.
Arthritis is the most common symptom of systemic lupus erythematosus.
That is why the appearance of redness and the discomfort caused by pain in the finger joints (especially if the cause of the pain lies in the force generated when squeezing the hand) are the basis for examining the disease.
Diagnostics
Since pain in the joints of the hand can be caused by a wide variety of disorders, the exact cause of stiffness, swelling and/or pain in the fingers must be determined.The diagnosis is based on the following tests:
- radiography;
- scintigraphy;
- ultrasonography;
- magnetic resonance or computed tomography;
- immunological tests;
- laboratory analysis of blood and urine.
If necessary, to accurately diagnose the causes of joint pain in the fingers, a tissue biopsy and an analysis of joint fluid are performed.
Treatment methods
It is impossible to independently determine what to do if there is a painful swelling or pain in the joints of the fingers. Treatment is only prescribed by a doctor after diagnosis and examination.
Medical treatment
If the finger of the hand hurts too much (during bending, abduction movement, rest), short-term painkillers are allowed before the specialist examination.
The joint should not be heated, and 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 complex.The treatment is aimed at:
- to relieve the exacerbation with drugs, pain relievers, anti-inflammatory ointments, gels;
- on the normalization of metabolic and immune processes;
- to restore the blood supply, improve the nutrition of the joints, and increase their functionality.
The syndromes developed against the background of the underlying pathology are treated. Blood purification procedures are used: plasmapheresis, hemosorption. In severe cases, surgical treatment methods must be used.
Physiotherapy
If they find out exactly why the joints of the fingers hurt, the main treatment is supplemented with various physiotherapy procedures and balneotherapy methods: electrophoresis, mud treatment, amplipulse therapy and others.
Physiotherapy improves metabolic processes and normalizes blood circulation in the fingers.
Physiotherapy
The basic therapy necessarily includes the relief of the joint, but it is necessary to restore the range of motion. To correct motor disorders of the fingers on the hand, gymnastics is performed with various compressions, pinching, abduction, stretching, which allows to restore the mobility of the joints and the sensitivity of the terminal phalanges. Joint pain in the fingers requires the careful introduction of new exercises and a gradual increase in load.
Massage courses
Therapeutic massage improves tissue trophism and helps alleviate the symptoms of the disease.However, with pain in the joints of the fingers, there are often contraindications to massage, so the treatment should only be performed with a doctor's permission.
Folk remedies
Phytotherapy, poultices and rubs prepared according to folk recipes can be useful if there are no contraindications and they do not refuse medication. They help relieve the condition if the fingers of the hand hurt too much and for a long time.