| Relieve arthritis pain in the wrist, thumb and fingers. | | | | stress. Range-of-motion and stretching exercises can |
| You may be experiencing joint pain, swelling, stiffness | | | | improve your wrist motion. Wrist braces and supports |
| and/or loss of motion in your wrist, fingers and thumb | | | | will help reduce pain during activity and help you |
| making many normal activities painful if not impossible | | | | perform simple activities. |
| to do. And, since there are 27 bones in each hand, | | | | Avoid lifting and carrying heavy loads. |
| there are many joints that can cause you pain. The | | | | Find an occupational or a physical therapist who will |
| most commonly affected joints are the knuckles of | | | | help you maintain motion and prevent joint stiffening. |
| the mid-finger and the joint at the base of the thumb. (If | | | | Ultrasound treatments are performed by physical |
| you have noticed that one or another type of | | | | therapists or occupational therapists and may be |
| computer mouse causes you pain in your thumb or | | | | useful for relieving your pain and inflammation. Or |
| fingers, stop using it immediately and switch to another | | | | consult your doctor about cortisone injections to treat |
| type mouse.) You may have also developed lumps or | | | | inflammation, a common problem in patients with wrist |
| nodules around your knuckles that are actually bone | | | | arthritis. |
| spurs. | | | | Several surgical procedures may be done to the |
| To relieve pain in your wrist or hand, wrap it up in a | | | | fingers including removing the bone spurs, fusing the |
| low-level continuous heat wrap, a microwaveable heat | | | | joint, and replacing the joint. The most common |
| pad or a heating pad with automatic off-switch in case | | | | surgery to treat the thumb is to remove a portion of |
| you fall asleep. Soak in hot water and then cold. Simply | | | | the joint and bone and replace it with a tendon graft. |
| fill one sink (or pan) with cold water (about 65 | | | | This helps maintain motion at the base of the thumb |
| degrees) and another with warm water (110 degrees). | | | | and is effective at relieving pain. |
| Soak in the warm water for five to 10 minutes then in | | | | One surgical procedure for the wrist is wrist fusion, a |
| the cold for one minute. Back to the warm for three to | | | | procedure that secures the bones of the forearm to |
| four minutes and then the cold for another minute. | | | | the bones in the wrist and hand. As it eliminates all |
| Repeat several times. | | | | movement at the wrist joint, it eliminates pain but the |
| Coat in melted paraffin wax to trap the heat where | | | | loss of motion prevents some normal activities. |
| you need it. Leave wax on while it cools and hardens, | | | | Another surgery for the wrist is proximal row |
| then peel it away to use again. | | | | carpectomy, a procedure to remove three of the small |
| Most over the counter pain medications will give you | | | | bones from the wrist joint. By removing the arthritic |
| temporary relief. Experiment to find out which ones | | | | bone, pain is diminished and motion is preserved. It is |
| work the best for you. | | | | only an option for some types of wrist arthritis. |
| Strengthening exercises for the arm and hand help | | | | Revolution in pain management. |
| steady the wrist and protect the joint from shock and | | | | |