What happens if the hand niches stop moving and can no longer do any work? This is hard to imagine. According to statistics, more and more people suffer from pain in the joints of the fingers. If earlier these were exclusively age-related problems, now the number of hand diseases has increased and the age of patients has expanded.
There are more than a dozen common finger diseases. Consider why the joints of the fingers hurt and the main methods of treatment.
The main factors for the occurrence of the disease:
- pathology of the immune system;
- chronic infection;
- hormonal imbalance;
- heredity;
- all types of injuries and microtraumas of the hands;
- exposure to harmful factors.
Common types of diseases of the joints of the hands
Rheumatoid arthritisis a joint disease that affects even children. According to statistics, there are three wives per sick man. Characteristics of the symptoms:
- symmetry of the lesions - worried about the same pain in the right and left hand;
- as the disease progresses the pain is selected from the fingers to the wrist, elbow and other joints;
- sharp attacks of pain disturb all night, and during the day the pain subsides;
- accompanying symptoms - fever, numbness of the fingers, cold.
Gout Arthritis- a disease of rich people. This was thought to stem from the frequent use of fatty foods and alcohol. As it turned out, the exact cause of the disease is a violation of purine metabolism, which leads to the deposition of salts. Obesity, alcohol and leukemia are the main contributing factors to the disease. Most often, men over the age of 40 are ill. In the case of this disease, pain in the thumbs occurs.
Sometimes gouty arthritis can be confused with rhizarthrosis. Thumbs are also affected in this disease, but the cause is excessive stress. This includes working on a computer with a keyboard, knitting, sewing, 
as well as frequent written work. An X-ray will help to understand what disease has affected the joints.
Psoriatic arthritis.This condition is a component of a condition called psoriasis, in which the skin is affected. Only about 15% of patients have pain in the joints of the fingers, the reasons for this are different:
- the work of the nervous system is disturbed, a person is in constant tension, a difficult stressful situation; joint injury, with pre-existing psoriasis, can lead to inflammation;
- drugs can provoke the disease. Consult your doctor before using any pain reliever;
- Heredity plays a big role. If it is known that someone in the family has suffered from psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis, it is very likely that the younger generation is susceptible to these diseases.
The distal phalanges of the arm are most commonly affected. Unlike rheumatoid arthritis, the disease is asymmetric. For example: if the thumb and forefinger hurt from the right hand, then the little and ring fingers hurt from the left. Or if one hand is affected, then the other is in perfect order, with no signs of disease.
Osteoarthritis- dystrophic disorders of cartilage in the joints of the fingers. The reasons can be different: heredity, trauma, metabolic disorders, occupational stress on the hands, hormonal changes in women. Diseases are prone to the elderly. It often goes away without visible signs and sensation of pain, although sometimes you can feel that the joints hurt in the morning. As the disease progresses, pain in the joints of the hands appears. In order not to miss this disease, you should pay attention to the nail plates. In the initial stage of the nails, Heberden nodules are noticed.
Finger injury follows. Most often the pain is symmetrical. Not everyone has the same pain. Some patients experience burning pain during nodule formation, but there is usually virtually no pain. Not everyone has swelling and redness on their fingers. When the thumb is affected, osteoarthritis is replaced by another form of the disease, rhizarthrosis.
Rizarthrosis.The main symptom is pain in the thumb. The main causes of the disease can be: strain on the joints, trauma, previous infection.
Busharov's nodes- a rare form of arthrosis of the proximal interphalangeal joints of the fingers. Joint deformity occurs due to bone changes.
Stenotic ligamentitis- inflammation of the surrounding tissues of the hands. The disease can be confused with osteoarthritis or arthritis; an X-ray is needed to clarify. The disease is also called snap finger disease. The inflamed finger bends and unfolds with a click. And also the main symptoms include pain when bending, swelling of the joints, bumps of various sizes.
Infectious arthritis- The infection occurs in two ways: by damage to the skin or by the blood.
Diagnose the problem
The following doctors treat pain in the joints of the arms and legs: neurologist, rheumatologist, surgeon, hematologist, traumatologist. Contact a therapist in advance, he will conduct an examination and refer you to the doctor you need.
A visit to the doctor is inevitable in such cases:
- finger joints hurt as a result of injury, swelling and deformity of the joint;
- pain in the hands does not disappear after taking a painkiller;
- pain in the fingers of the right hand, as well as fever above normal, rash.
- joint pain lasts more than ten days;
Complete diagnostics include:
- general blood and urine tests, sometimes, additional biochemical blood test;
- X-ray of both hands;
- an additional examination is scheduled if other symptoms are present.
Based on the examination, test results and examination, the doctor makes a diagnosis.
Treatment of pain in the joints of the hands
Once you understand why your joints hurt, move on to treatment. Complex anti-inflammatory therapy is often prescribed. It includes such a complex of treatment: elimination of pain, elimination of inflammation, normalization of blood flow, improvement of motor function. In case of infectious arthritis, the doctor will prescribe antibiotics. Proper treatment will also be merged to restore the cartilage of the joints. The drugs stabilize the level of glucosamine and chondroitin - components of articular cartilage, play an important role in the synthesis of connective tissue.
Physiotherapy occupies one of the main places in the treatment. The procedures are divided into two types of general and local actions. Generally related to Vermel electrophoresis with novocaine, microwave resonance therapy. Healing electrophoresis, didynamic therapy, laser treatment, magnetic therapy - all these are current procedures.
Dystrophic lesion of the joints of the hands requires prior restoration of damaged cartilage with the help of chondroprotector and additional measures: therapeutic massage, manual therapy, physiotherapy.
In the period when the disease returns, doctors prescribe mud, therapeutic massages, manual therapy and therapeutic exercises. If the pain is excruciating, home-made ointments are prescribed, but only according to the prescription and the prescription of the best doctor. Medications for the period of remission are contraindicated.
Folk remedies
Please note that the treatment of the joints of the hands with folk remedies should be prescribed exclusively by a doctor:
- Maz-savior.To prepare the ointment, combine 20 grams of dry herb of Caucasian hellebore and the same amount of honey, 5 grams of mustard powder and 10 grams of each vegetable oil.
In a small bowl, on a water bath, melt and stir until smooth. Allow the ointment to cool and pour into a dark jar. It is recommended to apply the ointment every day before bedtime. - Equally effective propolis ointment. It is necessary to mix a small piece of propolis with vegetable oil until it becomes a thick sour cream. Use as an ointment, apply each fan on your hands.
- Fruit vinegar compresses can help relieve pain.
- Rubbing with a tincture of chestnut or lilac flowers is effective. The tincture, like any other, is prepared with alcohol, placed in a dark place and shaken from time to time.
- Cranberry tincture will help relieve pain. I recommend drinking one cup of tea twice a day.
- For the drug take the same amount of vodka and infusion of valerian. Add a few pods of paprika. Place in a dark place and simmer for at least a day.
- Almost no folk remedy can do without garlic. It is difficult to list how many diseases garlic can deal with, joint pain is no exception. Garlic is recommended to be taken with warm milk in small portions after meals; it is also fashionable to make a compress out of it. Equally effective tincture of garlic.
- The ointment of bay leaves and conifers will cope with the pain in the joints of the fingers in just a month. To prepare it, grind the bay leaf and needles and add soft oil to them. Massage your hands with this ointment every day for a month and forget about the pain.
- Another ointment recipe: mix St. John's wort leaves with Vaseline.
- Well-proven medicine for olive oil, turpentine, alcohol and camphor. To prepare, mix all ingredients in equal amounts and shake the jar well with ointment before applying.
If you have pain in the joints of the fingers, consult your doctor and choose for yourself one or more recipes from folk remedies, which are offered above. It will only take a month and after regular use you will forget about the pain.
Diet
Nutrition plays an important role in health. It can both improve and worsen your condition.
Limit or eliminate the following foods:
- sweet and starchy foods;
- high fat dairy products;
- sol;
- spicy dishes;
- smoked meats;
- mayonnaise.
Eat foods as often as possible:
- cauliflower
- all types of lettuce;
- grenades;
- blackcurrant;
- foods containing linseed oil and fish oil;
- water is an indispensable source of life. Follow your drinking regimen by drinking at least 2 liters a day.
Therapeutic Hand Exercises
Repeat the exercises 10 times every day:
- Gently clench your hands into fists and loosen, gradually increasing the pace of the exercise;
- Spread your fingers in all directions and then squeeze;
- Use your thumb to touch all the fingers of your hand;
- Starting position - palms on a hard surface, successively lift and lower each finger without raising the whole hand.
Prevention is better than cure
It is impossible to find a person who said it was good to be sick. Why think about why your finger joints hurt, look for causes and treatment if you can just avoid the disease. In order not to get sick, it is necessary to engage in disease prevention, to eat well, to give up bad habits, in short, to lead a healthy lifestyle.
To avoid thinking about why your joints hurt and how to treat them, follow these basic tips:
- keep your hands warm:
- elimination or minimization of alcohol and tobacco throughout life;
- replace foods high in fat and spices with vegetables and fruits;
- Give up coffee and black tea. Drink green and herbal teas;
- under no circumstances tolerates colds in the legs, but goes through the full course of treatment, otherwise complications may occur;
- for prevention of diseases in the joints, exercise and swimming - this has a beneficial effect on the work of the joints.
Follow the tips in this article and you will solve the problem of why your finger joints hurt.