Hand and Finger Arthritis: Pain, Stiffness and Grip Problems

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Hand and finger arthritis is a type of arthritis that affects the joints of the hands and fingers or thumbs. It damages the cartilage, a soft cushion that protects the inner layer of the joints in the hands and fingers. When this cartilage wears down, it makes the bones rub against each other, which causes pain, stiffness, and numbness. If it gets worse, you might not be able to use your hands the way you used to before. 

How Arthritis Affects Your Hands and Fingers

When you have arthritis in your hands and fingers, it can make your daily activities feel completely exhausting. Here is how it attacks your hands, how it feels, and how to tell what kind of arthritis you are going through:

Which hand joints are actually affected?

Arthritis usually targets very specific spots depending on the root cause, not just making your whole hand hurt randomly

• Wear and Tear (Osteoarthritis): This type attacks the base of your thumbs, the middle part of the knuckles, and the small joints close to your fingertips. With time, you may also notice hard bony bumps growing directly on these finger joints
• Inflammatory (Rheumatoid Arthritis): This type usually targets the larger knuckles at the base of your fingers where they meet the hand, as well as your wrists.
• The Ayurvedic View: In Ayurveda, the tiny, delicate joints in your fingers are the hiding spots for dry, cold Vata energy. When Vata increases, it easily travels to these small spaces and dries up the natural oil fluids present there.

Pain, swelling, and stiffness Patterns

The way your hands hurt tells you that something serious is going on inside your body, which needs your attention:

Morning stiffness: You wake up, and your fingers feel completely stiff or frozen in a slightly bent position. It becomes hard to open your hands flat and properly.

The deep pain: When you do daily activities such as typing, cooking, writing, or even when you use your phone, your hands throb with a very dull, heavy ache that takes a very long time to calm down.

Hard vs soft swelling: If the swelling on your knuckles feels hard like a rock, it is usually a bone growth from wear and tear of the joints, but if your knuckles look puffy, red, and feel like soft, warm sponges, it is active inflammation inside your body or joints.

The Ayurvedic view: Hard, dry, and cracking joints mean you have aggravated vata inside your body. But if the fingers are hot, red, and puffy, Ayurveda says you have a severe buildup of ama, sticky, toxic waste that has clogged up the tiny joint channels.

Losing Grip and Fine-Motor Difficulties

Arthritis usually physically drains the power from your hands, making daily tasks hard to do and frustrating. It happens for the following reasons:

• Sudden weakness: You might find yourself unexpectedly dropping coffee cups or plates because your fingers lose their gripping power because of the weakness.
• Kitchen struggles: Any movement that requires a tight, twisting grip, like opening a new jar or any box or turning a heavy doorknob, gives a sharp, pinching pain straight through the base of your thumb.
• Looking at the fine details: Simple morning tasks like buttoning a shirt, tying your shoelaces, or even holding a pen to write a quick note suddenly become very slow, clumsy, and painful to do.

How to tell the difference? (OA versus inflammatory patterns)

To know what exactly is causing you the pain, weather osteaoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis, we must understand the following differences between the two because it is very easy to get confused between these two:

• OA (The physical wear and tear of joints): This is a mechanical breakdown of the cushion of the joint, your cartilage, the protective layer of the joints. Your fingers might become stiff when you wake up, but they usually loosen up and start feeling better in some time. It might also just affect one or two random fingers in one hand, and in Ayurveda this only requires deep, warm oil nourishment to calm the dry vata because the cause behind it is an aggravated vata energy.
• RA (the inflammatory attack): This is an aggressive immune attack, where it gets confused and attacks the joint-lining synovium. The morning stiffness is very thick, heavy, and can easily last for hours before you can use your hands. It also acts as a mirror-if the knuckle on the right hand hurts, then the same knuckles on the same hand will also hurt. Ayurveda treats this as hot, toxic ama blockage that requires internal detoxing, not just massage. 

Diagnosis Of Hand & Finger Arthritis

To find the root cause of the disease, a more hands-on and careful approach is necessary. Here is how Ayurveda doctors do your diagnosis:

• Nadi Pariksha (Pulse Diagnosis): Ayurveda will do your Nadi Pariksha to check which dosha (Vata, Pitta & Kapha) is imbalanced in your body.
• Tracking Toxins: The doctors will ask detailed questions about your digestion and food habits to check if Ama is behind your pain or not.
• Physical Examination & Symptom Analysis: The doctor will do a physical examination by gently pressing the affected area and will ask you about the symptoms to understand the cause of pain.
• Imaging Tests: The doctor may also check or ask you to do an X-ray, MRI, or ultrasound to know if the cartilage is damaged or not.

Joint Protection and Exercise Overview

Joint pain, swelling, and stiffness are common signs of arthritis in hands and fingers. To improve your muscle and joint strength for more flexibility and range of motion.

Fingertip Touch

Keep your hand and fingers straight and close to each other. Then start touching each fingertip to the thumb by forming a circle. Do this for at least 5-6 seconds for each finger and do it 5-6 times daily.

Fingerwalk

Start by resting your hand straight on a flat surface such as a tabletop and keep your hand facing down. Keep your thumb away from your fingers. Then take your index finger and move it towards your thumb. Then do the same with your other hand's fingers. Repeat this 5-6 times for each hand.

Fist Stretch

Rest your hand and forearm on the table or on a flat surface. Start by holding your hand and fingers straight and then close them together, as you do for a handshake. Then make a fist in the same hand position and don't squeeze your fist. Do it slowly and gently, and repeat it for 10-15 times.

Knuckle Bend

Hold your hand and fingers straight and close to each other, then bend the middle joints of your fingers and keep your knuckles straight. Slowly return your hand to the normal position. Repeat this five times with each hand.

Things To Avoid When You Have Hand & Finger Arthritis

There are certain things that one must avoid because they can trigger hand joint pain and can worsen the condition even more:

• Gripping things with fingertips: Avoid holding heavy objects with your fingertips because it can put pressure on the finger joints; use palms or larger joints instead. 
• Putting pressure on small joints: Use your shoulders instead of fingers to carry heavy shopping bags. When you wrap your fingers around the handle, the joints of your fingers get affected, making them weak.
• Avoid inflammatory foods: Avoid added sugars, processed and red meat, and excess salt; they can increase body inflammation, which can cause swelling, puffiness, or redness. 
• Stop consuming tobacco products: Avoid smoking and drinking alcohol; they can damage cognitive tissues and worsen joint pain.
• Avoid processed and refined food: Do not eat junk or refined food; it contains harmful chemicals or substances that are not good for our body; instead, eat only home-cooked food.

When To Seek Medical Attention?

While arthritis develops over time, it is necessary to watch out for these warning signs mentioned below:

• If you feel a dull, burning, or sharp pain in your hands and fingers while grabbing an object.
• If you see visible swelling and warmth on the joints.
• If your fingers make crunching, grinding, or popping sounds while moving or bending.
• If you have bone spurs near your finger joints.
• If you feel troubled when moving your fingers.
• If your fingers feel stiff for hours in the morning.

If you experience any of the signs, then consult your doctor immediately.

References

Joint protection and home hand exercises improve hand function in patients with hand osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled trial - PubMed