Hand Arthritis

What is hand arthritis?

Arthritis is defined as the inflammation of one or more of your joints. It occurs when the cartilage between your joints breaks down, resulting in there no longer being a smooth gliding surface for the bones to move. Arthritis of the hands is a common condition that can be functionally quite limiting because of the pain it causes.

The two most common forms of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Osteoarthritis is the degenerative ‘wear and tear’ form of the disease that generally affects older people and typically appears in a predictable pattern in certain joints, most notably in the hands.

Rheumatoid arthritis, by contrast, is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes swelling of the joint lining, which in turn, damages the cartilage over time. It can affect people in a wider age range and can be diagnosed through a blood test..

Symptoms of a hand arthritis

Arthritis can affect any joint in the hand and causes the following symptoms:

  • Pain: In the early stages of hand arthritis, you may notice a dull or burning sensation in the affected joint, which can often intensify after periods of increased joint use. As the cartilage wears away, you will notice the pain occur more frequently, and it is worse in the morning and/or with changes in weather.

  • Swelling: The affected joints often swell after prolonged of heavy use.

  • Stiffness: There is often reduced range of motion in the affected joints that is more noticeable when you first wake up in the morning.

  • Warmth: The joint may feel warm to touch due to the body’s inflammatory response working in overdrive. This is more common with rheumatoid arthritis.

  • Nodes or bony lumps: The joints may appear larger than normal due to a combination of bone changes and/or loss of cartilage. The joints may also have developed small mucosal cysts that cause ridging in the nail plate of the affected finger.

How Ben can help?

Diagnosing hand arthritis

Ben will typically be able to diagnose hand arthritis by examining the hand and by taking X-rays.

Treating a ganglion

Non-surgical treatment

  1. Immobilisation

    Activity can make trigger finger worse and therefore Ben may recommend a splint to minimise movement and keep the finger or thumb in a straight position. Following this, gentle stretching exercises may be recommended to decrease stiffness and improve the range of motion in the affected digit.

  2. Steroid injections

    Powerful anti-inflammatory agents, such as cortisone (corticosteroid) can be injected into the sheath of the affected digit, to improve the condition. Sometimes a second injection is recommended if the first one didn’t help, however after this, surgery will usually be recommended.

Surgical treatment

Ben will usually recommend surgery if non-surgical treatments have been unsuccessful or if you have complete loss of function in your digit. The surgery is called a trigger finger release and involves releasing the tendon sheath so the tendon can glide freely. Surgery is usually performed through a small incision in the palm of the hand and the sheath is divided to alleviate the clicking/catching sensation. While this sheath will be damaged by the surgery, there is usually no impact to your overall hand functionality because the other sheaths compensate.

Patients can usually go home on the same day as their surgery. You can expect to feel some tenderness, discomfort and swelling after surgery, but usual activities can typically resume within 4 to 6 weeks, however stiffness may remain for up to 6 months.

The vast majority of patients experience significant improvement after a trigger finger release, however full range of motion may not fully be restored if there was complete dysfunction of the finger or thumb prior to intervention.

  • Ben operates at multiple hospitals across Melbourne’s bayside and peninsula region, including:

    • Linacre Private Hospital, Hampton

    • Peninsula Private Hospital, Langwarrin

    • The Bays Private Hospital, Mornington

    He can discuss your preferences in person during your consultation.

  • Ben will see you for a post-operative appointment usually 2 weeks after your surgery. During this appointment he will asses your wound and check that healing and mobility is progressing as expected. There will be no cost for this appointment.

    As well as this, Ben will usually refer you to a hand therapist, who focuses on rehabilitation after an injury, and will work with you to improve function of the affected area.

  • You can usually start driving again 4-6 weeks after the operation. However, every surgery is different, so Ben will provide individualised advice as part of the initial consultation.