Worried about pain in your fingers, and you don't know what's wrong? Perhaps it is the consequence of trauma, rheumatoid arthritis, polyosteoarthrosis or rhizarthrosis. There are other causes of arthralgia that can only be identified with the help of instrumental diagnostics.
Contact the clinic and the specialists will establish the clinical picture and conduct complex therapy. With the help of drugs, physiotherapy, rehabilitation methods, inflammation will be eliminated, destructive processes will be stopped, and the limbs will regain working capacity.
Why finger joints hurt: causes and treatment
Arthralgia often appears as a warning sign or symptom of a primary disease. Acute sensations occur as a result of inflammatory arthropathies, degenerative-dystrophic pathologies, mainly of traumatic origin. The pain syndrome causes irritation of the nerve endings, caused by:
- toxins;
- sodium or potassium urates;
- bony growths;
- allergens;
- autoimmune processes.
The cause of pain in the finger joints can be a neurological disease or a problem that is not directly related to the limbs. Radiation of pain referred to the left limb is a common phenomenon during a heart attack. It 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. Injured fingers after 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 starts with a swelling of the metacarpophalangeal bones of the main fingers. Then the catarrhal process spreads to the wrist joint, covers all structures. It affects one hand, then spreads to the second. A symmetrical lesion of the proximal joints with a change in shape is typical for this pathology. For the company, the pelvic, ankle and ankle bones suffer. Arthritis is characterized by rolling 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 both men and women after the age of 20. 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, it becomes like a sausage. Unlike rheumatoid inflammation, the process affects both hands, but affects different bones.
Drop
With this problem, less than 5% of patients turn to doctors. It concerns men aged 25-55 years older. Inflammation begins with the big toes, gradually rises through the joints, affects the phalanges of the hands. The pain develops suddenly. It permeates the entire member, does not disappear for a long time. The affected area turns purple and warm to the touch. In women, the process is more gentle and lasts from 3 to 10 days. However, after a while, everything repeats itself. A wave-like course is a sign of the development of gouty inflammation.
Arthritis
Under the collective definition include 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 finger joints. More often suffer from metacarpophalangeal and interphalangeal joints. In chronic arthritis, episodic sharp sensations are disturbing. Over time, muscles lose strength and function. Arthritis of the fingers leads to loss of physiological abilities and disability.
Polyosteoarthrosis
The joint of the finger on the hand is very painful with degenerative changes in the bones. It all starts with a 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 polyarthrosis an independent disease caused by physical overload, hypothermia. Secondary - as a complication after infections and mechanical injuries. In both cases, sharp pains exasperate, a flexion contracture appears.
Rhizarthrosis or osteoarthritis
This is another cause of finger pain, causing arthralgia and causing problems at the thumb and wrist junction. The process affects the entire joint. This is explained by :
- reduce depreciation;
- friction and layer-by-layer destruction of bone tissue;
- thickening in the interphalangeal zone;
- the appearance of nodules and stiffness.
- bite.
An orthopedic surgeon comments:
Symptoms vary by stage. In people who prolong and monotonously load the thumb, in 30% of cases, rhizarthrosis develops as an independent disease. Since the symptoms are 90% consistent with de Quervain's tenosynovitis, the problem is differentiated using an x-ray. The image clearly shows bone deformities, not soft tissues, as in the case of tendon inflammation.
trigger finger disease
In the medical reference book, trigger finger syndrome is known as stenosing ligamentitis. Symptoms: Acute finger pain: swelling, lump formation, numbness. The peculiarity is the inflammation of the tendon and the formation of knots that prevent the flexion of the phalanges. In the absence of therapy at stage 3, the finger takes a fixed position, at stage 4 a secondary deformation occurs, the process becomes irreversible. Among the many provocative causes, the anatomical abnormalities of the ligamentous tendon apparatus are most often mentioned.
de Quervain's tenosynovitis
Due to de Quervain's disease, the bones of the fingers hurt 4% due to muscle inflammation. Sharp sensations arise 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, causing scarring changes in the ligament. This:
- play keyboard instruments;
- impression;
- work on the conveyor.
Raynaud's syndrome
Fingers injured due to acute 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 cold temperatures. The clinical syndrome does not appear 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 soft tissues.
carpal tunnel syndrome
Finger joints also hurt due to injuries and the development of carpal tunnel syndrome. An unsuccessful fall, 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, reduced motor skills, reduced muscle volume on the large tubercle. Diseases associated with inflammation of tendon fibers are more common in women.
Finger bones hurt:
- Due to bursitis of various forms.
- Childhood abnormalities - Still's disease, Kawasaki syndrome.
- Systemic diseases - diffuse fasciitis, Lyme, Sjögren, Crohn, Bechterev's diseases.
- Tumors - myelon disease, lymphoblastic leukemia.
Diagnostic
It is impossible to establish why the fingers of the hands hurt without a differential examination. First, a visual inspection is carried out. 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.
Blood biochemistry determines rheumatoid factors, levels of uric and sialic acids, the rate of sedimentation of erythrocytes in the blood. In infectious and immune pathologies, a reactive protein is detected, indicating tissue destruction.
Why the fingers of the hands hurt, the cause and treatment helps to establish x-ray, ultrasound. The doctor examines the problematic structures, performs a symmetrical diagnosis of a healthy hand. It is necessary:
- assess the degree of damage to structures;
- condition of cartilage and ligaments;
- detection of primary signs of abnormalities, cysts and lymph nodes.
MRI is prescribed in case of suspected degenerative and neoplastic disease. Tomography makes it possible to obtain 3D images of the soft tissues in different projections, to identify recent and chronic injuries. Informative methods show displacement, width of joint space in arthritis, thinning of cartilage in osteoarthritis, bone displacement, growths. Sometimes densitometry is 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 movement. The second determines the state of peripheral muscles and nerves. With nagging pain in the finger, a specialist may recommend a puncture. The percutaneous aspiration method allows taking a secret, at the same time administering an antibiotic or painkiller to relieve acute symptoms.
Diagnostic
- Ultrasound diagnosis.A non-invasive study is indicated for inflammation and damage to soft tissues, muscles, ligaments, tendons, joint capsules using ultrasound waves.
- X-ray.Attribute to injuries: dislocations and fractures of the bones, diseases of the joints: arthrosis and arthritis of the joints.
- Analyzes.General blood and urine tests, blood biochemistry show signs of inflammation, the presence of infections, disorders of bone and cartilage tissue.
- Magnetic resonance imaging.A high-precision method for diagnosing joints with an information content of up to 99%.
Injured fingers: causes and treatment
Regardless of the etiology, NSAIDs are prescribed to relieve acute sensations, fever, inflammation. Effective: nimesil, phenylbutazone, indomethacin, teraflex, diflofenac sodium. If the joints of the fingers are very painful, ketarolac and tenoxicam are suitable for treatment. With a drip or intramuscular infusion, they eliminate symptoms for 3 days.
Corticosteroids - 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 bone tissue, prevent the aggravation of degenerative processes.
Physiotherapy - therapy with ultrasound and electrical impulses, acupuncture improves blood circulation. Therapeutic gymnastics helps to develop muscles, restore mobility to joints. Patients are advised to review their diet, eat a predominantly protein and plant-based diet, and undergo spa treatment.
Treatment methods
- Reception of a traumatologist-orthopedist
- hand shock wave therapy
- Plasmolifting of the joints
- PRP therapy for the wrist
- Locking of the wrist joint
- Brush injections
- Phonophoresis
- electrophoresis
- hand ultrasound
- Physiotherapy
- Drug therapy
- Orthotics
- Magnetotherapy