Worried about finger pain and don't know what's wrong? Perhaps this is a consequence of trauma, rheumatoid arthritis, polyosteoarthritis or rhizarthrosis. There are other causes of arthralgia that can only be identified with the help of instrumental diagnostics.
Contact the clinic and specialists will establish the clinical picture, conduct complex therapy. With the help of drugs, physiotherapy, rehabilitation methods, inflammation will be removed, destructive processes will be stopped, and the limbs will be restored to working capacity.
Why finger joints hurt: causes and treatment
Arthralgia often appears as a harbinger or symptom of a primary disease. Acute sensations arise as a result of inflammatory arthropathies, degenerative-dystrophic pathologies, mainly of traumatic origin. Pain syndrome causes irritation of nerve endings, caused by:
- toxins;
- sodium or potassium urates;
- bone growths;
- allergens;
- autoimmune processes.
The cause of finger joint pain can be a neurological disease or a problem not directly related to the limbs. Pain radiating to the left limb is a common occurrence in a heart attack. This also happens with problems in the upper part of the cervical region. With an intervertebral hernia, he gives to the shoulder and forearm, hands.
However, there are a number of direct reasons why the phalanges become numb, the small joints of the limbs suffer. Fingers hurt due to infections, hypothermia, inflammation of soft tissues and bone structures.
Rheumatoid arthritis
The disease in 7% of cases affects people over 30 years old. It all begins with the swelling of the metacarpophalangeal bones of the main fingers. Then the catarrhal process spreads to the wrist joint, covers all structures. It hits one hand, then spreads to the second. A symmetrical lesion of the proximal joints with a change in shape is typical of this pathology. For the company, the bones of the pelvis, ankle and ankle suffer. Arthritis is characterized by undulatory pains. During the day and in the first half of the night they are tolerable, in the second they intensify and do not allow sleep.
Psoriatic arthritis
It represents 5% of cases. The disease affects men and women equally after 20 years. For the most part, it develops in people with skin manifestations: psoriatic plaques and characteristic spots on the body. The pathology is characterized by "vertical" inflammation with simultaneous thickening of all joints. At the same time, the phalanx of the finger on the arm hurts, the skin turns red, becomes like a sausage. Unlike rheumatoid inflammation, the process affects both hands but affects different bones.
Gout
With this problem, less than 5% of patients turn to doctors. It concerns men 25-55 years older. Inflammation begins with the big toes, gradually rises through the joints, affects the phalanges of the hands. Pain develops suddenly. It permeates the entire limb, does not go away for a long time. The affected area turns purple and warm to the touch. In women, the process is milder and lasts 3-10 days. However, after a while it all repeats itself. An undulatory course is a sign of the development of gouty inflammation.
Arthritis
Under the collective definition we mean joint anomalies of a different nature. They appear as a result of past infections, with systemic diseases. Signs of acute inflammation: swelling, redness, temperature, pain in the joints of the fingers. More often metacarpophalangeal and interphalangeal sufferers. In chronic arthritis, acute episodic sensations are disturbing. Over time, muscles lose strength and function. Arthritis of the fingers leads to loss of physiological abilities and disability.
Polyosteoarthritis
The finger joint is very painful with degenerative changes in the bones. It all begins with the thinning of the cartilage tissue, damage to the interphalangeal spherical joints. The reasons are hidden in the compaction and sclerosis of the synovial membrane, endocrine abnormalities. Doctors consider primary polyosteoarthritis as an independent disease caused by physical overload, hypothermia. Secondary: as a complication after infections and mechanical injuries. In both cases, the acute pains are exasperated, flexion contracture appears.
Rizarthrosis or arthrosis
This is another cause of finger pain, which causes arthralgia and problems with the joint of the thumb and wrist. The process affects the entire joint. This results in:
- reduce depreciation;
- friction and layer-by-layer destruction of bone tissue;
- thickening in the interphalangeal area;
- the appearance of nodules and stiffness.
- crunch.
An orthopedic surgeon comments:
Symptoms vary depending on the stage. In people who load the thumb for a long time and monotonously, in 30% of cases, rhizarthrosis develops as an independent disease. Since symptoms are 90% consistent with de Quervain's tenosynovitis, the problem is differentiated using an x-ray. The image clearly shows the bone deformities and not the soft tissues, as in inflammation of the tendons.
trigger finger disease
In the medical reference book, trigger finger syndrome is known as stenosing ligamentitis. Symptoms: Sharp pain in the finger: swelling, lump formation, numbness. The peculiarity is the inflammation of the tendon and the formation of knots that prevent flexion of the phalanges. In the absence of therapy at stage 3, the finger assumes a fixed position, at stage 4, secondary deformation occurs, the process becomes irreversible. Among the many provoking causes, anatomical anomalies of the ligamentous tendon apparatus are most often cited.
Quervain's tenosynovitis
Due to de Quervain's disease, the bones of the fingers ache in 4% due to muscle inflammation. Acute sensations occur suddenly at the junction with the wrist joint and are aggravated by flexion. The pathology leads to damage to the synovial membranes of the extensors of the fingers. The problem is alleviated by monotonous movements, due to constant pressure on the hand and palm, which cause scarring of the ligament. It:
- playing keyboard instruments;
- press;
- work on the conveyor.
Raynaud's syndrome
Fingers hurt due to strong vasoconstriction due to systemic diseases: vasculitis, scleroderma, lupus erythematosus, blood diseases, compression of blood vessels and nerve fibers. Vasospastic pathology is accompanied by paroxysmal circulatory disorders under the influence of low temperatures. The clinical syndrome has not appeared for years. Over time, attacks appear that cause whitening or redness of the skin, cyanosis. As a result, the symptoms lead to trophic changes in the soft tissues.
carpal tunnel syndrome
The joints in the fingers also hurt due to injury and the development of carpal tunnel syndrome. An unsuccessful fall, the impact causes damage to the integrity of tissues, blood vessels, leads to the formation of a hematoma or a fracture of the hand. The development of the syndrome is facilitated by compression of the median nerve under the ligament that holds the tendons. Clinical manifestations: numbness of the palm, decreased motor skills, decreased muscle volume on the large tubercle. Diseases associated with inflammation of the tendon fibers are more common in women.
Finger bones hurt:
- Due to bursitis of various forms.
- Childhood anomalies - Still's disease, Kawasaki syndrome.
- Systemic diseases - diffuse fasciitis, Lyme, Sjögren, Crohn, Bechterev diseases.
- Tumors - myelon disease, lymphoblastic leukemia.
Diagnostics
It is impossible to establish why the fingers of the hands hurt without a differential examination. First, a visual inspection is performed. A rheumatologist or arthrologist pays attention to the symmetry of the lesion, symptoms and other clinical signs. The patient is consulted by a traumatologist and an allergist, then sent for laboratory tests.
The biochemistry of the blood determines the rheumatoid factors, the levels of uric and sialic acid, the rate of erythrocyte sedimentation in the blood. In infectious and immune pathologies, a reactive protein is detected, which indicates the destruction of tissues.
Why the fingers of the hands hurt, the cause and treatment help to establish X-rays, ultrasound. The doctor examines the problem structures, conducts a symmetrical diagnosis of a healthy hand. It is necessary:
- assess the degree of damage to the structures;
- condition of cartilage and ligaments;
- detection of the primary signs of anomalies, cysts and nodes.
MRI is prescribed for suspected degenerative and neoplastic disease. Tomography helps to obtain 3D images of soft tissues in different projections, to identify recent and chronic injuries. Informative methods show displacement, joint space width in arthritis, cartilage thinning in osteoarthritis, bone displacement, growths. Densitometry is sometimes prescribed to determine bone density.
Due to what the phalanges of the fingers hurt, other research methods will suggest: electrospondylography and electroneuromyography. The first technology reveals the part of the spine responsible for limb movements. The second determines the state of the muscles and peripheral nerves. With throbbing pain in the finger, a specialist may recommend a puncture. The percutaneous aspiration method allows you to take a secret, at the same time administer an antibiotic or analgesic to relieve acute symptoms.
Diagnostics
- Ultrasound diagnostics.A non-invasive study is indicated for inflammation and damage to soft tissues, muscles, ligaments, tendons, joint capsules using ultrasonic waves.
- X-ray.Assign for injuries: bone dislocations and fractures, joint diseases: osteoarthritis and arthritis of the joints.
- Analyses.General blood and urine tests, blood biochemistry show signs of inflammation, the presence of infections, disorders in bone and cartilage tissues.
- Magnetic resonance.A high-precision method for joint diagnosis with up to 99% information content.
Fingers hurt: causes and treatment
Regardless of the etiology, NSAIDs are prescribed to relieve acute sensations, fever, inflammation. Effective: nimesyl, phenylbutazone, indomethacin, teraflex, sodium diflofenac. If the finger joints are very sore, ketarolac and tenoxicam are suitable for treatment. With a drip or intramuscular infusion, they remove symptoms for 3 days.
Corticosteroid drugs - dexamethasone, prednisolone also relieve the catarrhal process. At the same time, swelling is reduced, metabolic processes in the cartilage are improved, which contributes to the rapid restoration of mobility. Chondroprotectors thicken the structure of the bone tissue, prevent the aggravation of degenerative processes.
Physiotherapy: Ultrasound and electrical pulse therapy, acupuncture improve blood circulation. Therapeutic gymnastics helps to develop muscles, restore mobility in the joints. Patients are advised to review their diet, follow a diet with a predominance of protein and plant foods, and undergo spa treatments.
Methods of treatment
- Reception of a traumatologist-orthopedist
- Shockwave therapy of the hand
- Plasmolifting of the joints
- PRP therapy for the wrist
- Wrist joint block
- Injections in the brush
- Phonophoresis
- electrophoresis
- Ultrasound of the hand
- Physiotherapy
- Pharmacological therapy
- Orthosis
- Magnetotherapy