Why?The causes of pain in the joints of the fingers can be completely different, but the resulting problem is the same. This is an incredible discomfort, which is quite capable of poisoning life, because it is with our hands that we make many movements during the day.
What to do?There are different ways to reduce pain. It is very difficult to completely eradicate the problem, but it is also possible. The main thing is to make a correct diagnosis with the help of specialists and choose a treatment regimen. But it is even more important not to neglect preventive measures.
The main causes of pain in the joints of the fingers
Hand injuries
The pain from a bruised finger is quite mild and goes away quite quickly. True, not without consequences: hemorrhages, bruises, hyperemia or swelling may appear in the area of the bruise. But the finger will function as usual, with slight disturbances. Hematoma of the finger from the palm is characterized by pain of moderate intensity and subsequent peeling of the skin (dark blood accumulates in the cavity).
Subungual hematomas are much more difficult to bear: they are accompanied by strong throbbing and twitching pain, which is especially felt when the arm is lowered. After bruising, the nail plate can completely or partially peel off.
Intense, exploding pain can be caused by a broken finger. Such injuries are accompanied by sharp pain, which then slightly weakens, but does not disappear. The finger stops functioning normally, swells, turns into one continuous bruise, sometimes becomes pathologically immobile, deforms (in the joints and not only), makes crunching sounds. If you try to move the inflamed joint of the finger, it springs up and resists.
Frostbite of the hands is accompanied by a slight tingling pain in the first few hours, which then increases and becomes burning. The finger becomes bluish and swollen. With severe frostbite, the distal parts lose sensitivity, the fingers turn pale and remain cold, pain is felt between the injured and healthy areas.
Infectious infections
The cause of rapidly increasing pain in the finger joint may be panaritium. An abscess forms, the finger swells, turns blue, and hyperemia is observed. The nature of the pain is throbbing and twitching. It bothers the patient at night, especially if the culprit has developed under the nail or deep in the limb (tendon, bone, joint culprit). Superficial forms of this disease (subcutaneous and cutaneous, peri- and subungual) do not particularly affect general well-being, but deep panaritium can lead to fever and general intoxication.
A more exotic cause of pain in the finger joint is ringworm. It affects people who cut up and process marine animal carcasses used for commercial use. A small wound, crack or abrasion in the skin is enough for the infection to penetrate inside and affect the entire finger. The disease begins with a mild dull pain at the site of injury, but after a day or two, discomfort arises and in the joint, most often the proximal one, the pain intensifies, the joint begins to hurt and pulsate, the finger swells, turns pale. or acquires a bluish color.
Arthritis of the joints
Rheumatoid arthritis is a common cause of symmetrical pain in the joints of the fingers of the upper limbs. The intensity of the symptoms varies: in the first degree - only mild arthralgia and stiffness of movements (which, however, quickly passes), in the second - long periods of stiffness, redness of the affected joints, limitation of their mobility, constant pain (both at rest andin motion), and with the third it becomes impossible to move the diseased joint at all, stiffness and swelling do not disappear, hyperemia and pain are constant and very noticeable.
Women usually wonder about the causes and methods of treatment of pain in the joints of the fingers: the beautiful half of humanity most often suffers from gouty arthritis. It can affect one or several joints of the fingers at once, causing sudden severe pain, swelling, hyperemia, increased body temperature and immobilization of the affected finger.
The usual symptoms of the disease are increasing pain at night and at rest, but weakening during the day and with movement, as well as swelling of the fingers, blue or purple skin. The interphalangeal joints of the fingers are most often affected. The finger is gradually deformed in several places.
Post-traumatic arthritis affects only one joint. In arthritis caused by allergic and infectious causes (for example, diseases of a viral and bacterial nature), several finger joints can be affected at once. Occupational peripheral arthritis affects only those joints that are most stressed.
In any case, pain in the joints of the fingers, the cause of which is arthritis in one form or another, is unpleasant mainly at night and disappears during the day, leaving only local swelling, difficulty in movement and some stiffness in the morning. Long-term advanced arthritis leads to deformity of the fingers.
Degeneration of joints due to disease
In the initial stage of arthrosis of the hands, the pain in the fingers is characterized by a short duration, periodicity and uncertainty. Joint movements are limited in the morning. As arthrosis progresses, the pain becomes stronger and longer, accompanies every movement of the fingers, sometimes has a burning character. Household chores and small operations become increasingly difficult to perform with the affected hand. Lateral deformities appear and Bouchard's and Heberden's nodes become noticeable.
Pathologies of tendons and ligaments
Pain in the palm and base of the finger is usually caused by stenosing ligamentitis. At first, the pain is felt only during some small-amplitude movements and pressure, but gradually begins to appear at rest. Movements are limited, joints click. The more the disease develops, the more noticeable is the recoil after such clicks and the flexion contracture.
If the cause of the pain in the finger joints is de Quervain's disease, then the discomfort is initially noticeable only when bending and abducting this finger, but subsequently any movement causes pressing, painful pain (and sometimes it is not even necessary to move everything, the jointalso hurts at rest). The pain syndrome often radiates to the distal phalanx, in some cases to the forearm on the side where the first finger grows.
Angiotrophoneurosis
When vasospasm occurs, Raynaud's syndrome occurs. As a result, the fingers become cold and paroxysmally numb. The second phase of the attack is accompanied by excruciating pain with a spreading and burning effect. The attack did not last long. After it, the distal parts of the hands become red and feel hot. The causes of this condition, which causes pain in the joints of the fingers, are very diverse. Can not be:
- rheumatoid arthritis;
- systemic lupus erythematosus;
- scleroderma;
- Sharp's syndrome;
- antisynthetase syndrome;
- thromboangiitis obliterans of the hands;
- occupational diseases, pathologies of the metabolic and endocrine systems.
If the patient is not diagnosed with any of these diseases, then the cause of the pain in the finger joints is Raynaud's disease with the characteristic set of symptoms. Women are more susceptible to it.
Hematologic, neurological, and endocrine disorders can lead to erythromelalgia, but it can also occur on its own. The disease is expressed in the form of hyperemia and swelling of the fingers, burning pain, paroxysmal and paroxysmal, sometimes in both hands at once or first in one and then in the second. The attack of pain is so strong that it is simply impossible to move your fingers. You can relieve the pain by elevating or cooling the affected arm (when the limb is warmed up and lowered, the pain worsens).
Nervous diseases
If you feel a burning or shooting pain in the joint of your finger, the cause is probably neurological. Especially if, in addition to pain, the sensitivity of the hand is impaired and vegetative-trophic disorders are observed.
This can be, for example, neuropathy of the median nerve. In this disease, the palmar side of the first to third fingers hurts and they cannot be bent. It is not possible to move the first finger forward, and there are also serious problems with closing the palm into a fist.
Attacks of pain in the joints of the fingers at night and the disappearance of pain when shaking or lowering the hands may indicate carpal tunnel syndrome. In this type of neuropathy of the median nerve, the pain is also localized on the side of the palm.
If the neuropathy has developed on the radial nerve, then, on the contrary, it hurts the back of the hand and the first finger (sometimes the second and third), provided that the wrist or forearm is affected. The back of the hand may go numb and the pain may radiate to the forearm, even if the forearm itself is healthy.
If the cause of pain in the joints of the fingers of the hands is neuropathy of the ulnar nerve, then these pains (in the hand and the fourth and fifth fingers) have a radiating character, and the main source of discomfort is located in the elbow joint. The elbow and hand hurt especially badly in the morning.
Tumors
In addition to malignant neoplasia of the hands (from which people suffer quite rarely), benign tumors can also cause pain in the joints of the fingers: chondroma or osteoid chondroma. The pain in the first case is mild and not localized, but osteoid osteomas, on the contrary, lead to sharp pain strictly in the affected area.
Other reasons
Writer's cramp, which accompanies a number of neurological and mental disorders (especially occupational neurosis), also causes pain in the finger joints in men and women and requires treatment. Typing, typing on a computer keyboard or typewriter becomes painful. A nagging, aching pain is accompanied by sudden weakness, trembling in the hand and local cramps. Pain in the finger joints can also be caused by other pathologies:
- leukemia (Waldenström's macroglobulinemia);
- neoplasms in the adrenal glands (aldosteroma);
- complications of diabetes (diabetic neuropathy);
- vascular lesions (distal digital embolism in case of subclavian artery occlusion);
- hereditary diseases (Fabry disease);
- typically childhood diseases, for example neuro-arthritic diathesis.
Diagnosis and treatment of pain in the joints of the fingers
The correct diagnosis will allow you to determine the true causes of pain in the finger joints, whether it is an inflammatory or other pathological process. If the pain is very strong and it is difficult to straighten and bend your fingers, you must seek medical help. Your doctor will probably send you for a test, which usually consists of:
- laboratory tests of blood, urine, rheumatic tests;
- radiography;
- MRI,
- computed tomography of the fingers.
Treatment tactics are aimed not only at relieving pain in the patient's finger joints, but also at eliminating the causes of it. For example, in case of inflammation, anti-inflammatory drugs (hormonal or non-steroidal) are prescribed, and in case of infection, antibiotics are prescribed.
The main goal of therapy in the case of dystrophic joint damage is the restoration of cartilage tissue, for which massage, physiotherapy and chondroprotectors are used. To restore the mobility of the joints, special exercises are prescribed.
Physiotherapy has proven to be the most effective way to treat small joints, including the fingers. These are electrosleep, MRI and electrophoresis with novocaine, as well as a number of other procedures. During remission, it is advisable to undergo treatment in a sanatorium or resort with sources of radon or hydrogen sulfide.
As for the diet, for pain in the joints of the fingers of the hands, whatever the causes, it is recommended:
- eat more seafood and fish to get phosphorus, calcium and iron;
- take apple cider vinegar to remove toxins from the body;
- consume fish oil and linseed oil (the fatty acids contained in them help normalize fat metabolism).
It is also very useful to add nuts, ginger, fruits (currants and pomegranates), radishes and lettuce to your diet. But it is advisable to limit mayonnaise, sweet and starchy, spicy and smoked foods, as well as fatty dairy products.
Prevention of pain in the joints of the fingers
Eliminate the causes of pain in the joints of the fingers in men and women so that no treatment is needed:
- do not overcool your hands;
- limit alcohol consumption, and if you smoke, give up the habit;
- maintain a balance of vegetables and fruits in your diet and less canned, spicy and fried foods;
- treat all runny noses and ARVI without hoping that the disease will disappear by itself;
- Make sure your body weight is normal;
- stop snapping your fingers.
Do a simple exercise to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome, so you don't have to think about how to treat finger joint pain and what causes it. If you work a lot on the computer, then this is a must. Squeeze all your fingers into a fist, raise your thumb as if in approval, and rotate it first clockwise, then counterclockwise. There are many other exercises for the finger joints.
Exercises against pain in the joints of the fingers
Make a fist
Open your palm, fingers outstretched, so that tension is felt in all joints and muscles. This simple action should not be accompanied by pain.
Do a simple stretch: clench your palm into a fist for half a minute to a minute so your thumb rests on the rest, then relax and stretch all your fingers apart. Do this at least four times for each hand.
Stretch your fingers
To make the joints of your fingers more mobile and relieve the pain when bending (whatever the cause of the pain), repeat a simple exercise.
The palm is placed on a flat surface with the reverse side up. The fingers should be straightened without putting any strain on the joints and held there for 30-60 seconds. Then release your arm and return to the starting position. Repeat four times with each arm.
Use this exercise to relieve pain and improve joint mobility.
Draw nails
Another exercise for the mobility of the finger joints.
Turn your palm inside out and bend your fingers so that their tips are at the base of the joints and the hand looks like a paw with claws. Hold for half a minute or a minute, repeat four or more times for each arm.
Practice your grip
Regardless of the reasons that cause pain in the joints of the fingers, a person has to somehow hold objects, operate door handles, etc. , so it is advisable to exercise the fingers.
Squeeze the soft ball as hard as you can for a few minutes. Let go. Repeat 10-15 times with each hand, two or three times a week (but with an interval of at least two days between sessions). The exercise is contraindicated for injuries to the joints of the thumb.
pinching
This exercise trains the muscles of the fingers to make it easier to open various packages and doors with keys and start the car. Squeeze the soft ball with your thumb and every other finger, holding it for half a minute or a minute. For each hand, you need to repeat the pinch 10-15 times. Like the previous exercise, pinching is performed two to three times a week with a mandatory interval of 48 hours between sessions and only if the joints of the thumb are not injured.
Raise your finger
This exercise helps make your joints more mobile and your fingers flexible.
The palm is placed on a smooth surface with the reverse side up. You have to lift each finger one at a time and put it back, but you can immediately use all the fingers at the same time. You should do this 10-12 times with each hand.
Put your thumb back
This exercise trains the thumb muscles to make it easier to grasp and lift objects (such as boxes and bottles).
Wrap your palm and thumb with an elastic band and place them on a table or other flat surface with their backs up. Using the resistance of the rubber band, move your thumb to the side, hold it there for half a minute or a minute, and then relax, and so on 10-15 times with each hand. The exercise is done two or three times a week, but not more often than once every 48 hours.
This exercise trains the thumb muscles to make it easier to grasp and lift objects (such as boxes and bottles).
Wrap your palm and thumb with an elastic band and place them on a table or other flat surface with their backs up. Using the resistance of the rubber band, move your thumb to the side, hold it there for half a minute or a minute, and then relax, and so on 10-15 times with each hand. The exercise is done two or three times a week, but not more often than once every 48 hours.
Curl your thumb
The mobility of the thumb should also be developed.
Raise your palm in front of you with your back facing down. Alternatively, move your thumb to the side and bend it toward your palm to touch the base of your little finger. After holding it for half a minute or a minute, relax. Repeat these steps four times for each arm.
Tap with your thumb
Stiffness and pain in the joints of the fingers are caused by various reasons, but in any case it is useful to exercise the thumbs, so that daily operations such as writing, holding a spoon, brushing teeth, etc. not to cause problems.
Place your palm in front of you, straighten your wrist and touch your thumb to all the others so that you form the letter O. After holding it for half a minute or a minute, relax your palm. A minimum of four repetitions for each arm.
Stick out your thumb
Thumbs need stretching.
Raise your hand in front of you with your palm facing you and bend your thumb towards your index finger for half a minute to a minute, then release it. Do this four times with each hand. Then, from the same position, extend the thumb over your palm so that the lower joint is tense, and hold for half a minute to a minute. There are also four repetitions.
The most common causes of pain in the joints of the fingers when bending are not only injuries and infections, but also overfatigue. If your finger joint is sick, you must urgently take measures: first consult a specialist - a surgeon, neurologist or traumatologist. To relieve pain, make your joints more mobile and your muscles stronger, exercise your fingers and palm regularly.