It is hard to imagine the life of a person without helpers and workers. They carefully hold a cup of coffee, write tirelessly, and complete all the small but arduous tasks. Because of this high performance, fingers are prone to many diseases. In order not to have irreversible consequences for the pathological process, it is necessary to know why the joints of the hands are injured and how to heal them.
What is finger joint pain
The human musculoskeletal system contains more than 300 joints. The fingers of the hand contain the smallest and most mobile fingers. The joint synovium at the end of the hand is thin and the joint surface is small, so it is often exposed to various diseases. Each finger on the hand consists of three joints (proximal phalanges, middle phalanges, and distal interphalanges) and three bones (proximal, middle phalanges, and distal phalanges).
Pain can be caused by joint inflammation. In the background of hypothermia in the hands, soreness may occur, accompanied by skin hair, followed by redness. Paroxysmal pain due to injury or compression of the wrist joint. The sensation of sharpness and cuts, along with the sensation of current flowing through the fingers, can indicate cervical chondrosis.
The duration of symptoms depends on the cause of the disease. The longer the pain syndrome in the hands is ignored, the greater the disturbance to their sports activities. If the fingers are not treated as the first signs of disease, irreversible deformities of the joints can be allowed, thus making a person incapacitated.
The most dangerous complication:
- Necrosis of bone tissue;
- Osteomyelitis (a process of purulent necrosis that develops in bones);
- Osteolysis (complete absorption of bone tissue elements);
- Systemic sepsis (purulent infection.
Why does my finger hurt
Generally, joint pain in the upper limbs is a symptom that develops into a hand disease. Usually, this symptom indicates the manifestation of other organ diseases. Pain in the phalanges is a sign of cervical osteochondrosis, coronary heart disease and peripheral neuropathy. If the joints of the fingers are injured, it is important to quickly determine the cause in order to identify factors that may harm human health.
bending
When bending the phalanx, the following conditions can cause joint pain:
- Pinch the spinal nerves. This happens when nerve roots extending from the spinal cord squeeze hernias, cartilage, tumors, spastic muscles, tendons, or other vertebrae.
- Osteoarthritis. Degeneration of articular cartilage and the development of osteophytes on the bones occur, which leads to impaired mobility.
- Tunnel Syndrome. The median nerve will contract through the carpal tunnel to the palm to protect the nerve fibers from compression. Subsequently, it can lead to tendinitis-inflammatory disease of the tendon and tendon sheath;
- stenotic ligamentitis. Its characteristic is that the bone is blocked in the extended or bent position. More often, the thumb joint of the hand is injured. Pathology refers to the disease of the tendon-ligament device.
- Plague. After injury or excessive pressure, the cartilage plate in the thumb joint will deform.
- Vibration disease. Occupational diseases occurred when using vibration tools.
Joint swelling and pain in the fingers
Both elderly patients and young people face the problem of edema. Sometimes the fingers swell due to fluid retention in the body, but if they are also injured, it may indicate pathological changes in the bones and joints.
The reasons for this may be the following reasons:
- open wounds, abrasions, cuts;
- Fractures, dislocations, injuries;
- insect bites; z Neuropathy of nerves;
- Pathology of the heart and/or kidney;
- 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, gout, septicemia, neglect, suppuration, etc. ).
morning
Any disease of the fingers manifests as pain in the morning. In order to prevent the development of pathology, it is necessary to make an accurate diagnosis and conduct appropriate inspections. In the morning, the fingers are often injured for various reasons. The disease may not be contagious in nature, but it manifests due to a disorder of the immune system.
In rheumatoid arthritis, the articular cartilage of the index finger is more likely to be injured, and a small seal can be seen on it. Through this pathology, the joints of both hands will also have symmetrical injuries. Infectious arthritis can infect multiple fingers at the same time and develop under the influence of viruses or bacteria. In addition to pain, the body temperature in the morning will also rise, and the whole person will be intoxicated. The phalanges were injured in the morning, psoriatic arthritis, gout and osteoarthritis.
In addition to morning pain, the latter disease is also characterized by stiffness and stiffness. Osteoarthritis is most commonly observed in middle-aged women because its development is related to fluctuations in estrogen levels. Gout can be identified by unbearable paroxysmal pain in the morning or evening, accompanied by redness and swelling of the joints.
Severe pain
Wrist ligamentitis is accompanied by burning pain in all fingers except the little finger. Not only at the end of the hand, but also throughout the length of the palm, I felt burning pain and numbness. The symptoms worsen at night and worsen during the day. Cervical osteochondrosis is also accompanied by severe pain in the joints of the extremities, but only numbness in the little finger.
Panaritium (purulent inflammation of hand tissue) may also cause this symptom. The disease is caused by an infectious infection. The pain is severe, convulsive, and gradually worsens, especially at night. The finger bones are swollen and red, it is painful to touch them, and the body temperature often rises. Palladium requires timely medical care, otherwise one will not be able to avoid serious complications.
In Raynaud’s syndrome, first, colds and spasms appear in the blood vessels, and then due to blood flow obstacles, people’s fingers will feel severe pain, which will swell and become blue. In the third stage of the disease, these symptoms disappear when blood flow improves. The painful episode lasts from a few minutes to half an hour. Raynaud's disease is the result of atherosclerosis in the extremities, so it must be treated first.
During pregnancy
Why do finger joints hurt during pregnancy and after delivery? The gynecologist must know.
Swelling of the limbs while holding the child, indicating the following pathology:
- The existence of joint disease;
- Increased levels of relaxin, which is the hormone responsible for softening ligaments;
- Intercept the median nerve;
- Lack of calcium in the body;
- Fibromyalgia caused by depression.
The painful feeling will pass quickly, sometimes getting worse every day. This usually occurs at 35 weeks of gestation and is related to rapid weight gain, which causes compression of the nerve trunk connecting the hand to the arm.
The problem is that women are not only troubled by joint pain, but also by other symptoms:
- Burning, itchy palms;
- Sudden severe pain in the forearm;
- Numbness in the upper limbs.
After exercise
Pain in the hands after any physical activity is a clear sign of vascular disease. Pain is accompanied by joint numbness, cramps and rapid hand fatigue. The skin turns white, chills, the hairline becomes thinner, and the nail plate becomes thicker. Over time, the pathology takes a chronic form, as a result of which the pulse on the radial arteries becomes unable to be felt, the vascular lumen becomes narrow, and the blood flow to the limbs is disturbed. Even with mild exertion, the pain will continue and reappear.
With age, the cartilage becomes thinner and brittle, and you hear a crunching sound when you move. If hand pain occurs after exertion, this symptom may indicate the development of multiple osteoarthritis. The disease is characterized by destructive changes in the joints, which can be harmed when the fingers are used or the weather changes. It is difficult for one person to straighten and bend the brush. When no manual operation is performed, the pain syndrome is reduced.
Diagnosis
Early diagnosis will help eliminate the symptoms of joint diseases and completely cure them. Only experienced experts (neuropathologists, surgeons, traumatologists) can accurately determine the cause of this symptom. The diagnosis is made based on the examination results and the patient's medical history. When collecting information, you will discover the nature of the main complaint, the time of the first pain, and whether there is joint disease in close relatives. Family susceptibility plays an important role in the development of arthritis and arthritis.
Complaints about joint pain in limbs need to be studied:
- Ultrasound examination;
- Computer tomography;
- Electrography (computer diagnosis of the spine);
- Magnetic resonance imaging;
- Comparison record;
- Blood and synovial fluid examination;
- Puncture (inject medicine into the cavity of the tumor);
- Skin biopsy.
Treatment
The treatment strategy depends on the type of pathology, the severity of symptoms, the dynamic changes of the inflammatory process and the particularity of the clinical course of the disease. When prescribing drugs, the patient’s hypersensitivity to the active ingredients of the drug should be considered. Complex treatment involves the appointment of chondroprotective agents, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), and glucocorticoids.
In addition to drugs, local massage and specially designed gymnastics should also be performed. Acupuncture and other types of physical therapy procedures can achieve excellent therapeutic effects.
Diet sheet 10 must be specified with the following main rules:
- Reduce salt intake;
- Fasting vegetables and dairy products one day a week;
- A diet free of tomatoes, sorrel, spicy dishes and fatty meat.
If you experience joint pain, your doctor recommends hydrotherapy. For each patient, the doctor will choose an individual rehabilitation plan that is most effective in each particular case. The nursing home teaches healthy lifestyle skills and conducts physiotherapy, physiotherapy, and massage. Usually, after such treatment, patients will forget the recurrence of the disease for a long time.
Drugs
When prescribing medication, two goals are pursued: reducing the inflammatory process and eliminating pain. Basically, doctors use cyclooxygenase inhibitors (NSAIDs), and if the cause of the disease is autoimmune pathology, steroid drugs are needed. During acute infection, antibiotics can be used.
A topical medication (cream, ointment, gel) was prescribed to relieve symptoms quickly. For the lesions of dystrophic joint surface, it is recommended to use chondroprotective agents.
Massage
Medication alone is not enough to treat arthritis or finger arthritis. During the period of remission, experts recommend a course of therapeutic massage, and the doctor should determine the number of treatments. The process begins by rubbing each part of the hand. If the patient does not feel severe pain, the effect on the affected joint has already begun in the first stage.
The preparation stage of the massage is to heat the arm from the elbow to the finger through a spiral motion. The patient is in a sitting position, with his hands on the table, the bent elbow on the support frame, and a roller under his hand. After warming up, the expert will knead each finger separately through strokes without affecting the joints. For best results, 2-3 methods have been completed.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy can help speed up recovery, relieve symptoms and prevent complications.
Patients with severe finger pain are advised to pay attention to the following techniques:
- Electrophoresis. Treatment is based on injections of anti-inflammatory and painkillers deep under the skin. This process is carried out under the influence of constant current. The treatment process consists of 10 steps, each step takes 25 minutes.
- Ultrasound therapy. During the meeting, ultrasonic vibration with a frequency of 800-900 kHz is used for tissue micro-massage. Ultrasound can activate metabolic processes, remove excess uric acid, and improve local immunity. The exposure time for each area is 1-5 minutes. The session lasts 12-15 minutes. The treatment process is 10-12 procedures.
- Microwave (Microwave Therapy). The treatment method is based on the oscillation of electromagnetic waves with a wavelength of up to 1 m, which affects biological processes and functional systems aimed at restoring cell structure. The exposure time is 8-12 minutes. Number of sessions-from 2 to 12.
- Thermal process. This includes heating of the affected joints. The steam bath is used with essential oils, salt or herbs. The course duration is 12-20 courses, each course is 15-20 minutes.
- Barotherapy. Treatment in a low or high pressure chamber helps to fill the body with oxygen, which stimulates muscles, tissues and joints to recover faster. The duration of this process is 60 minutes. The whole course includes 22-25 lessons.
Folk remedies
Alternative treatment will help prevent the destruction of finger joint cartilage.
The most popular recipe:
- Take the thick fermented milk product, mix it with oatmeal, and chop it in advance. Overnight, wrap the mixture in a cloth.
- Pass 500 grams of Kalanchoe through a meat grinder, pour 1 liter of vodka, and leave for 5 days. After the agent, rub into the joint sore every day;
- Mix 1 tablespoon. l. Olive oil and a few drops of freshly squeezed garlic. Drink in the morning on an empty stomach
Prevention
In order to prevent inflammation of the finger joints, and not to treat arthritis and arthritis for a long time, it is necessary to adhere to simple preventive measures:
- Keep your hands warm;
- Does not include alcohol and cigarettes;
- Add more fruits and vegetables to the daily menu;
- Can't bear a cold in the legs;
- Eliminate the habit of "clicking" your fingers;
- Use herbal soup instead of tea and coffee;
- Control your weight.