Thumb and hand pain can be caused by osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or carpal tunnel syndrome. Osteoarthritis affects the carpometacarpal joint, while rheumatoid arthritis affects the synovial joints of the hand. Carpal tunnel syndrome is a repetitive strain injury that causes numbness, tingling, and pain in the hand and fingers.
Thumb and hand pain can result from a variety of diseases, injuries, and other conditions, but some are particularly common. In the thumb, osteoarthritis can cause pain in the carpometacarpal (CMC) joint, which is located right at the base of the thumb next to the wrist. Less commonly, rheumatoid arthritis, which differs from osteoarthritis in that it involves inflammation of the synovial membrane within the joint rather than wear and tear of the articular cartilage, can affect the hands and thumb, often at the interphalangeal or interphalangeal joints. at the knuckles. If your hand pain is generalized and accompanied by tingling and numbness, it may be caused by carpal tunnel syndrome, another common cause of thumb and hand pain.
Affecting the joints of millions of people worldwide, osteoarthritis is characterized by inflammatory pain in a joint and is a common cause of thumb and hand pain. The result of gradual wear and tear on joint structures—the cartilaginous discs that provide cushioning between adjacent bones in the joint—osteoarthritis can be caused by age, injury, obesity, or certain diseases. Symptoms include joint pain, tenderness, and swelling, as well as joint stiffness and difficulty moving. The hand joint most typically affected by osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative joint disease, is the carpometacarpal joint. Pain in this joint is felt during a wide range of movements, from grabbing a pen to opening a jar or turning a doorknob.
Another type of arthritis that can cause thumb and hand pain is rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis affects the synovial joints of the hand, those that can produce movement, and is caused by an overproduction of cells in the synovial membrane that lines the joint. This overproduction, also known as hyperplasia, generates an inflammatory response in the joint characterized by inflammation of the membrane and accumulation of synovial fluid within the joint membrane.
Rheumatoid arthritis symptoms are commonly felt in the smallest knuckles of the fingers and the largest knuckles of the hand. They are more disabling than those of osteoarthritis and include pain, swelling, tenderness and warmth in the joint. Other symptoms include stiffness and limited range of motion, particularly in the early morning. Rheumatoid arthritis can eventually lead to deformities.
A more general feeling of pain in the thumb and hand can result from carpal tunnel syndrome. This injury is classified as a repetitive strain injury (RSI). Carpal tunnel occurs when the median nerve that passes between the carpal bones in the wrist as it enters the hand is pinched by swollen, inflamed tendons that enter the hand next to it.
These tendons belong to the wrist extensor muscles in the forearm. Inflammation occurs when these muscles are often overused, such as when you bend your wrists back to type on a computer. Carpal tunnel syndrome is felt as numbness, tingling, and pain that spreads from the hand to the four fingers. This pain can also radiate to the arm and can get worse when performing the activity that caused it.
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