Why finger joints hurt: causes and treatment

It's hard to imagine a person's life without little helpers and workers - without fingers. They hold a cup of coffee carefully, write tirelessly, do all the little and hard work. Thanks to this high performance, the fingers are susceptible to many diseases. In order for pathological processes to have irreversible consequences, we need to know why the joints of the hands hurt and how they can be cured.

What is finger joint pain

The human musculoskeletal system contains more than 300 joints. The fingers of the hand contain the smallest and most agile. The joints at the ends of the hands have a thin joint membrane and a small joint surface, so they are often prone to various diseases. Each finger of the hand consists of three joints (proximal phalangeal, middle phalangeal, distal interphalangeal) and three bones (proximal, middle, distal phalanx).

Pain can be caused by inflammation of the joints. Pain may occur in the background of hand hypothermia, accompanied by cyanosis of the skin, which then turns red. Paroxysmal pain occurs due to injury or compression of the wrist joint. Sharp and cutting sensations, along with a sense of electrical current passing through the fingers, may indicate osteochondrosis of the neck.

The duration of symptoms depends on the cause of the disease. The longer they ignore hand pain syndromes, the more their motor activity is disrupted. If the first signs of finger disease are not treated, irreversible deformity of the joints in which a person is disabled is permissible.

The most dangerous complications are

• bone necrosis;
• osteomyelitis (a purulent-necrotic process that develops in the bone);
• osteolysis (complete absorption of bone tissue elements);
• generalized sepsis (purulent infection.

Why your fingers hurt

As a general rule, pain in the joints of the upper extremities is a sign of the development of hand diseases. Such symptoms often indicate the manifestation of diseases of other organs. Pain in the phalanges is a sign of pathologies of cervical osteochondrosis, coronary artery disease, and peripheral nerve. If finger joints ache, it is important to quickly determine the cause in order to identify potential risk factors for human health.

Bending

When bending walls, the following conditions can cause joint pain:

1. Pinching the spinal nerves. Occurs when nerve roots protruding from the spinal cord compress the hernias, cartilage, tumors, spasmodic muscles, tendons, or other vertebrae.
2. Osteoarthritis. Degeneration of articular cartilage and the development of osteophytes occur in the bones, leading to limited mobility.
3. Tunnel Syndrome. The middle nerve is pinched, which passes through the palm through the carpal tunnel, which protects the nerve fibers from compression. It can then lead to tendovaginitis - an inflammatory disease of the tendons and tendon sheaths;
4. Narrowing ligamentitis. It is characterized by blockage of the walls in an extended or bent position. More often the joint of the hand hurts. Pathology refers to a disease of the tendon ligament.
5. Rhizarthrosis. Deformation of the cartilage discs in the joint of the thumb occurs after injury or excessive stress.
6. Vibration Disorder. An occupational disease that occurs when working with a vibrating instrument.

Finger joints swollen and sore

Both elderly patients and young people face the problem of swelling. Sometimes the fingers swell due to fluid retention in the body, but even if they hurt, this can indicate abnormal changes in the bone joints.

This condition can be caused by:

• open wounds, abrasions, cuts;
• fractures, displacements, injuries;
• insect bites;
• radial nerve neuropathy;
• pathology of the heart and / or kidneys;
• fibromyalgia (muscle and joint pain);
• polycythemia (an 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, gouty, septic, neglected, purulent and others).

In the morning

Any disease of the finger joints is manifested by morning pain. To prevent progression of the pathology, an accurate diagnosis should be made and examined accordingly. More often, the fingers hurt in the morning with arthritis of various origins. The disease may not be contagious, but it manifests itself as a disorder of the immune system.

In rheumatoid arthritis, the articular cartilage of the index fingers, which shows tiny seals, is more likely to hurt. With this pathology, symmetrical joint damage in two hands can also develop. Infectious arthritis affects several fingers at the same time and is caused by viruses or bacteria. In addition to the pain, the body temperature rises in the morning, poisoning the whole body. Pharyngeal sore in the morning with psoriasis arthritis, gout and osteoarthritis.

The last disease is characterized by stiffness and stiffness in addition to morning pains. Osteoarthritis is most commonly observed in middle-aged women because its development is associated with fluctuations in estrogen levels. Gout can be identified with unbearable paroxysmal pains in the morning or at night, accompanied by redness and swelling of the joint.

Sharp pain

Ligament stenosis of the wrist is accompanied by burning pain in all fingers except the little finger. Burning and numbness can be felt not only at the end 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 sharp pain in the joints of the limbs, but numbness only appears in the little finger.

Panaritium (purulent inflammation of the tissues of the hand) can also cause this symptom. The disease occurs as a result of an infectious infection. The pain is sharp, twitching and gradually increasing, especially at night. The walls are swollen, reddened, very painful to the touch, and body temperature often rises. Panaritium requires immediate medical attention, otherwise a person cannot avoid serious complications.

In Raynaud's syndrome, there is first a runny nose and cramps in the blood vessels, and then due to a disturbance in blood flow, a person feels sharp pain in the fingers, which swells and turns blue. In the third stage of the disease, when blood flow improves, these symptoms disappear. The painful attack lasts from several minutes to half an hour. Raynaud’s disease is a consequence of atherosclerosis of the limbs and should be treated first.

During pregnancy

Why do finger joints hurt during pregnancy and after childbirth? Gynecologists know for sure.

If the limbs swell while carrying a child, this indicates the following conditions:

• Presence of joint diseases;
• increase in the level of the hormone responsible for the softening of the bands, relaxin;
• capture the middle nerve;
• calcium deficiency in the body;
• Fibromyalgia due to depression.

Painful feelings can go away quickly and sometimes get worse daily. This often occurs in the 35th week of pregnancy, which is accompanied by a rapid increase in body weight, causing compression of the nerve trunks connecting the hand to the arm.

The problem is that a woman is accompanied not only by joint pain but also by other symptoms

• burning, itchy palm;
• sudden sharp pain in the forearm;
• numbness of the upper extremities.

after training

The appearance of painful symptoms in the hands after any physical activity is a clear indication of vascular disease. Painful feelings are accompanied by joint numbness, cramps and rapid fatigue of the hand. The skin will be pale and cold, the hair will become thinner, and the nail plates will thicken. Over time, the pathology takes a chronic form, as a result of which it becomes impossible to feel the pulse on the radial artery, the lumen of the blood vessels narrows, and the blood flow to the limbs is disrupted. The pain becomes permanent and reappears with light effort.

As a person ages, the cartilage becomes thinner, more fragile, and a crackle is heard as it moves. If there is pain in the hands after physical exertion, this may indicate the development of polyosteoarthritis. The disease is characterized by destructive changes in the joints that hurt when the fingers are used or before the weather changes. It is difficult for a person to straighten and bend the brush. Pain syndrome subsides when manual labor is excluded.

Diagnostics

Early diagnosis will help remove the symptoms of joint disease and heal completely. Only an experienced professional (neuropathologist, surgeon, traumatologist) can pinpoint the cause of this symptom. The diagnosis is made based on the results of the tests and the patient's history. When gathering information, the nature of the complaints, the time of the onset of the first pains, and the presence of joint pathologies in the closest relatives are determined. Family predisposition plays an important role in the development of arthritis and arthrosis.

Research for complaints of limb pain:

• radiography;
• ultrasound examination;
• computed tomography;
• electrospondilography (computer diagnostics of the spine);
• magnetic resonance imaging;
• opposite discography;
• blood and joint fluid tests;
• puncture (drug injection into the nodal cavity);
• skin biopsy.

Management

Therapeutic tactics are determined by the type of pathology, the severity of the symptoms, the dynamics of the inflammatory process, and the specifics of the clinical course of the disease. Hypersensitivity to the active ingredients of the medicinal product is taken into account when prescribing medication. Complex treatment involves the appointment of chondroprotectors, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), glucocorticosteroids.

In addition to medication, local massages and specially designed gymnastics are prescribed. With the help of acupuncture and other types of physiotherapy procedures, an excellent therapeutic effect can be achieved.

Main rules should be assigned to diet table 10:

• reducing salt intake;
• fasting day once a week for vegetables and dairy products;
• diet without tomatoes, sorrel, spicy foods, fatty meats.

Doctors recommend spa treatment for joint pain. For each physician, physicians select a rehabilitation program that will be most effective in each case. The sanatorium teaches knowledge about a healthy lifestyle, performs therapeutic exercises, physiotherapy and massages. As a general rule, after such treatment, the patient forgets the relapses of the disease for a long time.

Medication

When prescribing medications, they serve two purposes: 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, they prescribe steroid medications. Antibiotics can be used in an acute infectious process.

Topical medications (creams, ointments, gels) are prescribed to relieve symptoms quickly. In the case of dystrophic lesions of the articular surfaces, the use of chondroprotectors is recommended.

Massage

Medication alone is not enough to cause arthritis or arthrosis of the fingers. During the period of remission of the disease, experts recommend conducting therapeutic massage courses, the number of sessions of which is determined individually by the doctor. The procedure begins with kneading parts of the hand. If the patient does not feel severe pain, the effect on the affected joints begins as early as the first session.

The preparatory stage of the massage is to warm the arm from the elbow to the fingers with spiral movements. The patient is in a sitting position, his hand is placed on the table, the bent elbow rests on the support, and the roller is placed under the hand. After warming up, the specialist will knead all your fingers individually with caressing movements without affecting the joints. For the best effect, 2-3 approaches are performed.

Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy helps speed up healing, relieve symptoms, and prevent complications.

Patients with severe finger pain are advised to pay attention to the following techniques:

• Electrophoresis. The treatment is based on a deep injection of anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs under the skin. The process is performed under a constant electric current. The treatment is 10 procedures, each lasting 25 minutes.
• Ultrasound therapy. During the session, the tissues are micromassaged with ultrasonic vibrations at 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 cure is 10-12 procedures.
• Microwave oven (microwave therapy). The treatment is based on the use of electromagnetic waves with a waveform of up to 1 m. The effect is aimed at restoring the biological systems of biological processes and cellular structures. The duration of exposure is 8-12 minutes. Number of sessions - 2 to 12.
• Thermal processes. Includes the effect of heat on 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 low or high pressure space promotes oxygen saturation of the body, which triggers faster healing of muscles, tissues and joints. The duration of the procedure is 60 minutes. The full course includes 22-25 sessions.

Folk remedies

Alternative treatment helps prevent the destruction of articular cartilage in the fingers.

Most popular recipes:

• Take a thick fermented milk product, mix it with the oatmeal, which must be chopped beforehand. Leave the mixture on sore fingers overnight, wrapped in a cloth;
• Take 500 g of Kalanchoe on a meat grinder, pour 1 liter of vodka, leave for 5 days. After the tincture, rub into sore joints daily;
• Mix 1 tbsp. l. olive oil with a few drops of freshly squeezed garlic. Drink on an empty stomach in the morning

Prevention

In order not to suffer from inflammatory processes in the finger joints and to treat arthrosis and arthritis for a long time, simple preventive measures should be followed:

• Keep your hands warm;
• excludes alcohol, cigarettes;
• include more fruits and vegetables in your daily menu;
• does not tolerate colds in the legs;
• remove the habit of "clicking" your fingers;
• replace tea and coffee with herbal decoctions;
• controls body weight.