Arthritis of the hands: clinical picture and treatment

Older people often notice crooked fingers. The cause of such deformation is not old age, but arthritis of the hands. A similar pathological process occurs due to inflammatory reactions in the joint tissues. Such a pathological process requires early diagnosis and treatment, since delay is fraught with complete immobility of the hands.

Among all arthritis, inflammation of the hand joints accounts for about 15% of clinical cases.

Causes of Arthritis

Various factors can trigger arthritis of the hands, the most common of which are:

Traumatic factor. This includes minor bruises, operations performed on the hands or independent injuries;
Hypothermia. When the hands become very cold, vascular constriction occurs, leading to a slowdown in blood circulation, which serves as an impetus for the development of an inflammatory reaction in the joint membranes;
Infectious factor. Anyone who has recently had a cold, sore throat, flu, diabetes, syphilis or chlamydia, gonorrhea or tuberculosis can develop joint inflammation. Pathogens such as staphylococci or streptococci almost instantly attack cartilage, causing an inflammatory reaction;
Genetic factor. It has been proven that arthritis can be hereditary. If relatives suffered from a similar illness, then descendants are recommended to take care of its prevention;
Hyperreactivity or weakness of the immune system also contributes to the development of inflammatory processes in joint tissues;
Professional factor. Overload or heavy physical labor provokes overstrain of the joints, leading to arthritis;
Metabolic disorders and immune disruptions due to excess weight contribute to the development of pathological changes in joint tissues, leading to arthritis;
Harmful addictions such as smoking or alcoholism, gluttony and others contribute to the slow destruction of all body systems, including joints.

Signs and symptoms of pathology

The pathological inflammatory process in the joints has a chronic and acute course. Acute arthritis of the hands is characterized by a sudden onset with bright and intense symptoms, while its chronic form is secretive and develops gradually, often detected in relatively advanced stages. Both forms are characterized by the following symptomatic manifestations:

Feeling that your wrist is numb or stiff. This symptom is most typical for inflammation of rheumatoid origin, when the disease is based on autoimmune processes and the body independently destroys its articular-cartilaginous tissue;
Joint stiffness in the morning. The patient’s fingers cannot be fully flexed or extended, and weather changes cause a feeling of eversion of the joints;
Pain syndrome is present in all forms of the inflammatory process. Chronic arthritis may be accompanied by a dull, dull pain that occurs mainly after a period of rest. Acute arthritis is characterized by a particular intensity of pain symptoms, when even a slight movement causes pain, accompanied by hyperthermia of a local and even general nature;
A state of fever with malaise and rising temperature;
Hyperemia of the hand and its noticeable swelling, indicating an active inflammatory process, and the fingers in the bend area noticeably thicken;
Cartilaginous tissues, under the influence of pathological processes, wear out greatly, causing the joint to begin to crunch and creak with any physical activity;
The patient may be bothered by sleep disturbance, lack of appetite, signs of chronic fatigue;
When the inflammatory reaction is neglected, rusting syndrome develops, which is characterized by deformation changes in the articular tissues of the hand.

Diagnostics

To diagnose the reasons why your finger cannot bend, you need to contact a surgeon or traumatologist. In cases where there is no surgical pathology, such patients are treated by a therapist or rheumatologist.

Read also: Why salt deposits occur in joints

Basic diagnostic methods:

x-ray examination,
MRI diagnostics,
Ultrasound diagnostics,
general clinical tests (blood, urine),
determination of antibodies to cartilage tissue,
endoscopic examinations,
biopsy of cartilage or tendons with aponeuroses.

Diagnosis should be aimed at identifying the cause and consequences. Based on diagnostic data, the doctor chooses a treatment method. Making a diagnosis is not difficult if you have the necessary equipment.

Complex of therapeutic measures

Early forms of arthritis are easily treated and eliminated with medication. To treat infectious inflammatory processes, a course of antibiotic therapy is indicated, as well as taking corticosteroid drugs such as Methylprednisolone, Dexamethasone or Prednisolone. The pain syndrome is relieved with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as Ketoprofen, Ibuprofen or Diclofenac, Movalis, Piroxicam or Indomethacin.

To relieve pain and inflammation, analgesic agents are also prescribed, and to inhibit the destructive deformation process, the use of chondroprotective agents based on chondroitin or glucosamine sulfates, etc. is indicated. Infectious causes of the pathological process are eliminated with the help of drugs of the sulfonamide, cytostatic or penicillamide group.

Surgical treatment is radical in nature, so it is resorted to only in cases where there are no other therapeutic options. Destroyed articular elements of the hand are replaced with prostheses, or the bones are simply fixed motionless (arthrodesis) to eliminate pain symptoms.

The treatment complex necessarily includes physiotherapeutic treatment, which helps relieve pain and inflammation, eliminate stiffness and maintain joint functionality. Among the most popular procedures, it is worth highlighting the most effective ones:

Infrared, laser or UV heating;
Electrophoresis;
Cryotherapy;
Phonophoresis;
Ultrasound treatment;
Magnetotherapy;
Mud therapy;
Treatment with mineral waters, etc.

After the exacerbation is relieved, massage sessions and physical therapy training are no less effective. Joints, under the influence of inflammatory processes, lose their endurance and motor activity. Gymnastic elements, performed correctly and regularly, return the ability to move the hands, and massage helps to warm up the tissues and improve blood flow, which speeds up the healing process.

Nutritional Features

One of the necessary requirements for the lifestyle of a patient with hand arthritis is diet correction. The basis of nutrition should consist mainly of foods rich in antioxidant compounds, vitamins such as cholecalciferol (D₃) or tocopherol (E). Therefore, the diet should be based on fish, liver, bran, nuts and vegetables, and dairy products. But rheumatologists recommend avoiding eating salt, fried and smoked foods.

Attention! Timely contact with a specialist and qualified therapy will help avoid serious joint deformation, immobility and disability. In the initial stages, arthritis of the hands can still be cured permanently.

Hand flexibility, finger flexibility, fingertip flexibility

July 11, 2013 Category: Hipskind (fingers).

Hand flexibility.

The degree of flexibility of different people's hands can differ greatly from each other. There are three areas to check on each hand. And in each case, flexibility indicators are likely to be different. So, you have to examine the place where the fingers connect to the palm, the tips of the fingers and the thumb. It often happens that one hand is more susceptible to pressure than the other. Each finger also has its own degree of flexibility. The best way to explore flexibility is to learn how to measure the degree of resistance in each of the three areas.

Flexibility is considered a positive quality. A flexible hand suggests the ability to adapt to change. If the degree of flexibility is high in most areas, especially in the first one above, this indicates a love of variety. A stiff hand indicates that a person is not inclined to change his point of view. Excessive flexibility, as well as excessive resistance, indicate the shortcomings inherent in either extreme: in the first case, there is not enough stability in a person’s life, and in the second, inevitable changes and growth are accompanied by trauma and stress.

Flexibility between fingers and palm

To begin, ask to raise your wrists without lifting your fingers from the table. The higher he can raise his wrists, the greater the flexibility where the fingers meet the palm. After this, take your hand in yours and, pressing your thumb across his hand at the junction of the fingers and palm, bend it back with the other hand. Both tests demonstrate the degree of resistance at the junction of the fingers and palm. This is the main indicator of hand flexibility.

If the fingers bend back easily, this indicates an open mind, as well as a love of travel and change. Contrary to what you might expect, in most cases, stiffness in this area is not related to arthritis. It even happens that a hand affected by arthritis turns out to be more flexible at the junction of the fingers and palm than a healthy one. This confirms the fact that flexibility in this place is determined by the mindset.

Resistance and flexibility change depending on a person's current needs. Therefore, comparing the flexibility of the two arms is a good indicator of how the need to move forward compares with the desire to maintain the status quo. If only the dominant hand does not bend, then there is a growing need for stability that is not currently achieved. In the opposite case, we can say that the former need for security has been satisfied, and now the person is ready to expand his life horizons.

Stiff fingers indicate the need for reliable “rear” support. If the owner of such fingers goes on a journey, then along the way he will always remember the home he left behind. “Safety comes first!” - this is his motto. It cannot be said that such a person is immune to new sensations and ideas, but he always evaluates everything new in the light of old, proven approaches and ideas. His personality is characterized by caution and stubbornness. This stubbornness should not be confused with the “I’m always right” attitude—it can manifest itself in other ways—but is usually caused by a fear of change. You, as a palmist, can point out to the client the importance of change.

Flexible fingers. Fingers that bend easily are likely to belong to a person who is naturally enthusiastic. He is as easily subject to emotions as his fingers are to your hands, and in their manifestation he is fickle and changeable. Perhaps he needs to achieve inner peace and confidence in order to overcome his tendency to be frivolous. Such people benefit from a change in environment. If a traveling salesman, sailor or explorer has flexible fingers, then most likely he is minding his own business.

Flexibility is a good guide for career advice. It limits or allows you to define the area of activity that may be of interest to the client. It hardly makes sense to suggest that a client with immobile fingers become a seafarer or choose a job with a lot of business travel. Likewise, a client with very flexible fingers would not benefit from a 14-hour-a-day research job in which he would have to work constantly in the same environment.

Fingertip flexibility

You and the owner of the hand can have a lot of fun figuring out how flexible their fingertips are. This indicator is also subject to careful study, because each finger has its own meaning. But before you focus on that, you need to figure out how flexible most fingers are. General flexibility indicates a very agile and open mind, as well as the ability to imitate - this is the result of quick and holistic perception. All people with flexible fingertips either consciously imitate others or unconsciously adopt their mannerisms. Stiff fingertips mean that a person does not have the talent to imitate. As for signs of a sharp or quick mind, they can be found in other parts of the palm. We'll talk about this later.

Since the tip of each finger has its own special meaning, interpretations are given here that are good for the entertainment of the public.

⇒ Flexible index finger : a courteous and tactful person. This sign can be read as follows: “You know how to deal with your boss, even if he is in a bad mood, at eight in the morning on Monday!”

⇒ Flexible middle finger: a person seeks values in life that will make him feel satisfied. He is constantly hungry for new ideas. You can start by saying, “Your best friend is your library,” and explain that the thirst for knowledge makes any discovery and any new experience extremely important to him.

⇒ Flexible ring finger: a person with a passion for order. He pays attention to the situation in the room and immediately notices any changes in his surroundings. He should ask the question: “When was the last time you felt an irresistible desire to straighten a picture on the wall?” The flexibility of the tip of this finger indicates aptitude for design and planning and indicates an almost unconscious talent for construction and decoration. We can say that this is an artistic passion for order.

⇒ Flexible little finger: Testing the flexibility of the little finger is very funny because usually, if it is flexible, it means that the person is auditory. Most often this is expressed in the fact that he can easily distinguish and recognize voices, even in a room full of people or on the phone. The sound of the voice, its changes and nuances will not escape the attention of a person with a flexible little finger tip.

Comparison of fingertip flexibility on both hands. There is one more clarification that needs to be made to your analysis. Are your fingertips equally flexible on both hands, or do they bend well on only one? If flexibility is inherent only to the dominant hand, then these traits are most likely acquired and formed as a result of learning. If only the tips of the fingers of the second hand bend, the qualities characteristic of the corresponding fingers are present in the person, but may have never been used by him.

Arthritis may affect the distribution of these symptoms because it affects the flexibility of the fingers. Therefore, before you start reading, you should rule out this diagnosis.

Flexibility of the thumb

The thumb is of particular interest for analysis based on the degree of flexibility. While testing your hand for flexibility, you can suddenly switch to his thumb and move it back and forth. By creating the effect of surprise in this way, you can get the most accurate, undistorted picture.

Flexible thumb. If the thumb moves easily back and forth and has little resistance to pressure - for some, the thumb itself literally "jumps" in the direction of the chirologist's movement - this indicates a person who does not mind when decisions are made for him, is willing to follow the group or submit to wishes partner. This does not mean that he is not able to think independently. Not at all. It simply shows a reluctance to make decisions that will affect others.

The thumb does not bend at first, but then relaxes . More noticeable resistance in the thumb indicates a person who solves most problems on his own. He is characterized by decisiveness and does not allow too much outside interference. However, there are slight variations in this meaning. If the thumb tenses when touched and pressed, but then relaxes slightly, this indicates that the person has a strong defensive reaction to his environment or to unusual situations. When such a person begins to feel safe, or the situation becomes more certain, he (like his thumb) relaxes.

Stiff thumb. A thumb that remains motionless both at the first touch and subsequently is a reliable sign of stubbornness. People of this type may miss out on some of the joys in life because they are unwilling to try new things. Sometimes a stiff thumb can indicate a limited worldview, usually the result of limitations in the past. Positive characteristics associated with people with immobile thumbs are the ability to concentrate and immunity to “scattering” in long-term plans.

Flexibility always indicates adaptability and, as a result, the need for security. By this sign you will find out how ready a person is to experience new sensations, and how diverse his talents and interests can be.

The disease of crooked fingers, or how to deal with inflammation of the joints of the hand