Hands are very important for a person.With their help we do almost all the work, moreover, only the graceful movements of our fingers allow us to write, draw, play musical instruments and create works of art.But it often happens that pain in the finger joints prevents us from performing familiar, everyday movements.Only then does a person begin to value this part of their body.Why this symptom develops, what it can warn us about and how to deal with it – we will talk below.
Briefly about anatomy
The hand is the distal part of the human upper limb, which consists of a large number of bones, joints, muscles and ligaments.The hand consists of 3 anatomical parts - the wrist, the metacarpus and the skeleton of the phalanges of the fingers.When they mention pain in the finger joints, they are referring to the metacarpophalangeal, proximal interphalangeal and distal joints.These joints are the most susceptible to negative effects of all the joints of the hand due to their superficial location and high motor activity.
The metacarpophalangeal joints consist of the heads of the metacarpal bones and the bases of the proximal phalanges of the fingers.The shape of the joint is spherical, which provides a range of movements in flexion and extension, adduction and abduction, as well as circular rotation.
The interphalangeal joints are divided into proximal (between the proximal and middle phalanges of the fingers) and distal (between the middle and distal phalanges of the fingers).Only the skeleton of the first finger, due to its characteristics and functions, has an interphalangeal joint (since the finger is made up of two, and not three phalanges, like the others).These joints are shaped like a block, which provides them with a range of motion only for flexion and extension.
Main causes of pain
If your finger joints hurt at rest or are painful when moving, you likely have a disease that affects these structures of the musculoskeletal system.Due to normal fatigue, finger pain rarely occurs.This is possible, for example, in schoolchildren after summer holidays, when the fingers have not been stressed for a long time and in similar situations.But this pain is characterized as a feeling of tiredness, does not require treatment and disappears quickly after minimal rest.
Persistent pain in the finger joints may indicate the following diseases:
- rheumatoid arthritis;
- polyosteoarthrosis;
- gouty arthritis;
- psoriatic arthritis;
- stenosing ligamentitis;
- acute infectious arthritis (bacterial, viral, fungal).
Let's consider each option separately.Knowing the characteristics of a particular disease will help you in each case to suspect the true causes of pain in the finger joints and prescribe the correct treatment.
Factors contributing to finger joint damage:
- presence of autoimmune diseases and disorders;
- the presence of chronic foci of infection in the body (decayed teeth, chronic tonsillitis, sinusitis);
- hormonal imbalance in the body, endocrine pathology;
- diseases accompanied by metabolic disorders;
- genetic predisposition;
- history of traumatic hand injuries;
- constant negative impact of environmental factors (cold, hot water or air, vibration);
- occupational risks.
Rheumatoid arthritis
This chronic autoimmune disease of the musculoskeletal system is the most common cause of damage to small joints, in particular the finger joints.The disease has an undulating course with alternating periods of exacerbation and remission.It affects all age groups of patients and is more frequently seen in women than men.
The initial stages of rheumatoid arthritis are characterized by pain in the small joints of the hand, sometimes it even hurts to bend the hand into a fist.An exacerbation is accompanied by inflammatory changes in the diseased joints - swelling, redness, increased local temperature of the skin over the diseased joints, inability to fully perform the range of motion, first due to pain, and later due to deformities of the hand.
A characteristic symptom of rheumatoid arthritis is pain in the hands in the morning and a feeling of stiffness.Sometimes it hurts to move for a long time - the stiffness goes away at lunchtime or even at night.
In the later stages of the disease, irreversible changes occur in the articular and musculo-ligamentous apparatus of the hands with the development of typical deformities, which are called the hallmark of rheumatoid arthritis:
- hand with lorgnette;
- like a boutonniere;
- swan neck;
- fingers are in buttoning position.
With an exacerbation of the disease, general symptoms can also be observed - fever, loss of appetite, muscle pain and poor health.Rheumatoid arthritis can affect any joint in the body, but a favorite spot is the finger joints.
Polyosteoarthrosis
This is a chronic degenerative dystrophic disease of the joints.Typically, osteoarthritis affects large joints of the body (knees, hips, ankles), but sometimes small joints of the hands are also involved in the pathological process.Furthermore, symptoms occur more frequently in women during menopause, which confirms the relationship of the disease with the body's estrogen base.
Pain in the fingers in polyosteoarthritis appears more often in the evening, after a day of work and physical stress on the joints, and not in the morning, as in rheumatoid arthritis.Accompanied by a crunching sound in the affected joints, it rarely occurs with signs of inflammation.Over time, as the pathological process progresses, the joints become deformed and their mobility is lost, which often leads to the inability to perform small movements and, sometimes, even to remain independent.
The characteristic signs of polyosteoarthrosis of the fingers are specific formations - Bouchard's and Heberden's nodules.Bouchard's nodules are formations that gradually develop near the affected proximal interphalangeal joints.Its preferred location is the lateral surfaces of these joints, which leads to a peculiar fusiform thickening of the fingers and limitation of mobility in the hands.
Heberden's nodules are formations that grow on the lateral surface of the distal interphalangeal joints.Their growth is accompanied, unlike Bouchard's nodules, by symptoms of inflammation and pain.As polyosteoarthrosis progresses, the fingers become knotted, which can be called a pathognomonic sign of this disease.
One type of polyosteoarthrosis of the fingers is rhizarthrosis.This is an injury to the metacarpophalangeal joint of the first finger.It develops due to constant loads on this joint.Difficulties often arise in diagnosis, since the pathology of this localization is also characteristic of psoriatic 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 occurs with periods of exacerbations and remissions.The preferred location is the distal interphalangeal joints.In some cases, psoriatic arthritis occurs as pandactylitis, when the entire finger suffers - it becomes swollen, red, hurts not only in the morning, but constantly, practically does not bend and has a sausage shape.Recognizing psoriatic arthritis is usually not difficult - along with damage to the fingers, rashes typical of psoriasis can be observed.
Gouty arthritis
Gout is a metabolic disease that is characterized by a violation of purine metabolism with excessive formation of uric acid, which is stored in the form of salts in peripheral tissues and the joint capsule.Although gout primarily affects the big toe, location in the fingers is also common.The metacarpophalangeal joints, especially the thumb, are involved in the pathological process.
Gouty arthritis has a paroxysmal course.During an exacerbation, the pain is so intense that the patient cannot even touch the affected area.The pain is accompanied by symptoms of inflammation - swelling, redness and an increase in local temperature.
You may also notice painless subcutaneous deposits of uric acid salts, characteristic of gout, called tophi, which can range in size from barely noticeable to gigantic.
Stenosing ligamentitis
This pathology is often confused with arthrosis and arthritis.It is based on inflammation of the annular ligaments of the fingers.This causes pain during active and passive movements with specific clicks.X-rays help with diagnosis;Pathological changes will not be visible in photos with ligamentitis.As a rule, local therapy for this disease, for example, anesthetic ointment, is more effective than for other injuries.
Acute infectious arthritis
In most cases, infectious lesions occur 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 microorganisms that can penetrate the joint directly from the external environment, be transported through the bloodstream or penetrate neighboring tissues.Infectious arthritis occurs with severe pain, inflammation and disruption of the patient's general condition.
Establishing the true cause of pain in the finger joints plays a very important role, because once you recognize the enemy by sight, it becomes much easier to fight him.Therefore, treatment of joint pathology must be primarily etiological and then symptomatic.