Hands are very important to a person.With their help we do almost all our work, besides, only the graceful movements of our fingers allow us to write, draw, play instruments and create works of art.But what often happens is that finger joint pain prevents us from performing familiar, everyday movements.Only then can a person begin to appreciate this part of his body.Why such symptoms occur, what it can warn us about and how to deal with them - we will discuss below.
A brief introduction to anatomy
The hand is the distal part of the upper limb of the human body and is composed of a large number of bones, joints, muscles and ligaments.The hand is made up of 3 anatomical parts: the wrist, metacarpal bones, and finger bones.When they refer to finger joint pain, they are referring to the metacarpophalangeal joints, proximal interphalangeal joints, and distal interphalangeal joints.Because these joints are shallow and frequently mobile, they are the most susceptible to negative effects of all the joints in the hand.
The metacarpophalangeal joint consists of the metacarpal bones and the base of the proximal phalanx of the fingers.The joint is spherical in shape and provides a range of motion including flexion and extension, adduction and abduction, and circular rotation.
The interphalangeal joints are divided into proximal (between the proximal and middle phalanxes of the fingers) and distal (between the middle and distal phalanxes of the fingers).Due to its characteristics and function, only the bones of the first finger have an interphalangeal joint (because the finger is made of two phalanges instead of three like the other fingers).These joints are shaped like blocks, which provides them with a range of motion in flexion and extension only.
Main causes of pain
If your finger joints hurt at rest or become painful when moving, you most likely have a condition that affects these structures of the musculoskeletal system.Fingers rarely experience pain due to normal fatigue.This is possible, for example, for schoolchildren after the summer holidays, when the fingers have not been exposed to pressure for a long time in similar situations.But this pain is characterized by a feeling of fatigue, does not require treatment, and disappears quickly after a short rest.
Persistent pain in your finger joints may indicate the following conditions:
- Rheumatoid arthritis;
- Polyarthrosis;
- Gouty arthritis;
- psoriatic arthritis;
- stenosing ligamentitis;
- Acute infectious arthritis (bacterial, viral, fungal).
Let's consider each option individually.Understanding the characteristics of a specific disease will help you suspect the real cause of finger joint pain in each case and develop the right treatment.
Factors leading to finger joint injuries:
- Presence of autoimmune diseases and disorders;
- The presence of chronic infection foci in the body (dental caries, chronic tonsillitis, sinusitis);
- Hormonal imbalance in the body, endocrine pathology;
- Diseases associated with metabolic disorders;
- genetic predisposition;
- History of hand trauma;
- persistent negative effects of environmental factors (cold, hot water or air, vibrations);
- Occupational Hazards.
rheumatoid arthritis
This chronic autoimmune disease of the musculoskeletal system is the most common cause of damage to small joints, especially finger joints.The disease has a wavelike course, with alternating periods of exacerbation and remission.It affects patients of all ages and is more common in women than men.
The early stages of rheumatoid arthritis are characterized by pain in the small joints of the hands, sometimes even when clenching the hands into fists.Deterioration is accompanied by inflammatory changes in the diseased joint - swelling, redness, increased local skin temperature of the diseased joint, first due to pain and later due to deformity of the hand, inability to achieve full range of motion.
A typical symptom of rheumatoid arthritis is pain and stiffness in the hands in the morning.Sometimes it hurts to do any movement for a long time - and the stiffness disappears by lunchtime or even in the evening.
In the later stages of the disease, the joints and muscles and ligaments of the hand undergo irreversible changes and develop typical deformities, which are known as hallmarks of rheumatoid arthritis:
- Hand holds lorgnette;
- Like a corsage;
- swan neck;
- Fingers have buckle positions.
As the disease progresses, general symptoms may also appear - fever, loss of appetite, muscle pain and poor health.Rheumatoid arthritis can affect any joint in the body, but a favorite site is the finger joints.
Polyarthrosis
This is a chronic degenerative dystrophic disease of the joints.Usually, osteoarthritis affects the large joints of the body (knees, hips, ankles), but sometimes small joints of the hands are also involved in the pathological process.Furthermore, symptoms appear most frequently in women during menopause, confirming the relationship of the disease to the estrogen background in the body.
Finger pain in people with polyostosis more often occurs in the evening, after a day's work and physical stress on the joints, rather than in the morning, as with rheumatoid arthritis.There is a crunching sound in the affected joint and there are rarely signs of inflammation.Over time, as the pathological process progresses, the joints become deformed and lose their mobility, often resulting in the inability to perform small movements and sometimes even to maintain themselves independently.
Typical symptoms of polyarthrosis of the fingers are specific structures - Bouchard's and Hebden's nodules.Bouchard's nodes are structures that gradually develop near the affected proximal interphalangeal joint.Their favorite location is on the sides of these joints, which results in distinctive fusiform thickening of the fingers and limited hand movement.
Hebden's nodes are structures that grow on the sides of the distal interphalangeal joint.Unlike Bouchard's nodules, their growth is accompanied by symptoms of inflammation and pain.As polyostosis progresses, the fingers become gnarled, which can be called a characteristic symptom of the disease.
One type of polyarthrosis of the fingers is rhizomearthrosis.This is a lesion of the metacarpophalangeal joint of the index finger of the hand.Occurs due to constant load on this joint.Diagnosis is often difficult because this localized pathology is also characteristic of psoriasis and gouty arthritis.
psoriatic arthritis
Contrary to popular belief, psoriasis is not just a skin disease;In 10-15% of cases, pathology occurs with joint damage.The disease has periods of exacerbation and remission.The favorite location is the distal interphalangeal joint.In some cases, psoriatic arthritis manifests itself as dactylitis, in which the entire finger is affected - it becomes swollen, red, painful not only in the morning, but also constantly, barely bent, and shaped like a sausage.Recognizing psoriatic arthritis is usually not difficult - in addition to finger lesions, the typical psoriatic rash can be observed.
gouty arthritis
Gout is a metabolic disease characterized by disrupted purine metabolism and excessive formation of uric acid, which is stored in the form of salts in peripheral tissues and joint capsules.Although gout primarily affects the big toe, localization to the fingers is also common.The metacarpophalangeal joints, especially the thumb, are involved in its pathological process.
Gouty arthritis has a paroxysmal course.During an exacerbation, the pain is so severe that the patient cannot even touch the affected area.Soreness is accompanied by symptoms of inflammation—swelling, redness, and localized temperature increase.
You may also observe painless subcutaneous urate deposits that are characteristic of gout, called tophi, which can range in size from barely noticeable to huge.
stenosing tendonitis
This pathology is often confused with arthropathy and arthritis.It is based on inflammation of the annular ligaments of the fingers.This causes them to experience pain with specific clicks during active and passive movements.X-rays are helpful in diagnosis; pathological changes are not visible in photos of denditis.Often, topical treatments for this disease, such as numbing ointments, are more effective than for other lesions.
acute infectious arthritis
In most cases, infectious lesions present as monoarthritis - damage to one joint, rarely two or more joints are involved in the pathological process.This pathology can be caused by any pathological microorganism capable of penetrating the joint directly from the external environment, being carried through the bloodstream, or penetrating from adjacent tissues.Infectious arthritis is accompanied by severe pain, inflammation, and devastation of the patient's general condition.
Determining the real cause of pain in your finger joints plays a very important role, because once you identify the enemy visually, fighting him will become much easier.Therefore, treatment of arthropathy should first target the cause and then the symptoms.