Pain in the joints of the arms and legs: causes and treatment of pathology

Pain in the hand can be caused by various reasons. The whole arm or some part of it may hurt. The pain can be of a different nature: dull, burning or numbing, shooting or piercing, etc., it can occur suddenly or develop gradually.

Typically, people experiencing pain in their hand complain of:

• Pain in the wrist, palms and hands;
• Elbow pain;
• Shoulder pain;
• Pain in the shoulder blade.

Pain in the hand is often a consequence of various injuries, overexertion, and can occur as a result of excessive physical activity or prolonged work in an uncomfortable position. For example, a common occupational disease in our time among those who work at a computer for a long time has acquired the name “tunnel syndrome.” Pain in the arm can be one of the symptoms of diseases of the cardiovascular system, musculoskeletal system, nerve trunks and endings.

If there are no visible external injuries, it is necessary to check the condition of the cervical spine, since the cause of pain may be a protrusion or herniation of the intervertebral disc. Pain in the hand is not always felt directly at the site of injury; if the wrist is affected, it often spreads to the forearm area. Sometimes pain in the upper arm occurs as a result of heavy lifting. It can also be caused by an inflammatory process in the tendons of the shoulder muscles.

If pain has already appeared, discomfort does not go away for more than 3 days or periodically recurs for no apparent reason, you should go to an orthopedist.

Important information: Dear patients! If you have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, you need to see a rheumatologist. With a rheumatological profile, in addition to the joints, internal organs (heart, kidneys, etc.) may also suffer, so rheumatoid arthritis should be treated by a rheumatologist. The treatment of allergic, gouty and infectious arthritis is carried out by specialists of the relevant profile (allergists, rheumatologists and cardio-rheumatologists).

Orthopedic doctors successfully treat all other types of arthritis in children and adults (caused by sports and household injuries, excess body weight, age-related changes in joints).

Kinds

Discomfort in the hands may vary, since there are different types of pain:

• Burning. There is discomfort and burning, often a feeling of “goose bumps”.
• Aching. Periodically intensify and weaken, maybe 20-30 minutes.
• Spicy. With them, mobility decreases, muscle weakness and discomfort appear.
• Shots. They appear suddenly and last 2-3 minutes. This kind of pain is also called “cutting”.

Whatever the type of pain, it causes a lot of inconvenience. Therefore, it is important to consult a specialist in a timely manner in order not only to eliminate unpleasant symptoms, but also to prevent negative consequences.

Frequently asked questions about the disease

I have arthritis in my hand since childhood. Will they take me into the army?

If the function of the joint is impaired, then no.

I had arthritis in my wrist after gonorrhea. Can it be completely cured?

Infectious arthritis can be completely cured if the correct treatment is prescribed in time.

What is the best way to smear your brushes so that they don’t hurt?

You need to consult your doctor. The best painkillers are Voltaren emulgel and Menovazin rubbing solution.

Arthritis of the hand joints is best treated in the early stages. But if you were unable to seek medical help in time, then do not be discouraged: everything can be treated.

At the Moscow Paramita clinic, arthritis of the hands is treated at any stage. Our patients forget about pain after the first acupuncture sessions. Further rehabilitation therapy takes place in comfortable conditions and is completely painless. We will restore your health!

Literature:

1. Shelepina T.A. Rehabilitation therapy in the complex treatment of JRA. Pediatric rheumatology. !995, 13 – 16.
2. Blokhin V.N. Trauma and reconstructive surgery of the hand. Orthopedist, traumatologist and Prosthetics, 1973, 6, 63-38.
3. Woog PHNFular Publishers, Basle, 1978.

Themes

Arthritis, Joints, Pain, Treatment without surgery Date of publication: 11/17/2020 Date of update: 04/03/2021

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Causes

Pain in the hands appears due to:

• bone fracture;
• ligament damage;
• injuries;
• strong physical activity;
• prolonged stay in an uncomfortable position;
• diseases of the musculoskeletal system;
• damage to nerve trunks;
• diseases of the heart, blood vessels;
• tendon inflammation;
• hand joint diseases.

With arthritis, pain appears in the early morning. Even during rest, the discomfort does not go away. There may also be swelling, hyperemia, and fever. With osteoarthritis, the cartilage of the joints becomes thin over time and leads to pain during physical activity, crunching, and difficulty moving.

If the cause is bursitis, then the pain manifests itself in the elbows, where swelling appears. The temperature also rises and the skin becomes red. Rheumatoid arthritis causes pain in small joints and morning stiffness.

General information about the disease

Arthritis of the hands often develops against the background of high functional load on the joints of the hand and their injury. The hand consists of many small bones connected into joints: the wrist, carpometacarpal and metacarpophalangeal. There are many blood vessels and nerves in the hand area, so all pathological processes are painful. ICD-10 disease code (other unspecified arthritis) is M13.

Arthritis of the hands often develops during adolescence as growth occurs and is accompanied by severe deformities. No less often they develop in the second half of life due to hormonal disorders, against the background of sports, domestic and professional injuries. The disease can equally develop in people of any gender.

Which doctor treats you?

If you have unexplained pain in your arm, you should consult a neurologist. Who will do the treatment depends on the cause of the illness. You can immediately contact a traumatologist.

Pain in the arm, regardless of the nature of the pain syndrome (burning, sharp, aching or cutting), requires careful examination and close supervision of a specialist.

IMPORTANT! A person should not ignore this symptom or self-medicate, because the cause of pain in the arm can be associated with both muscle pathology and an inflammatory process that urgently needs to be stopped.

Make an appointment with a neurologist or traumatologist at the Kuntsevo Medical and Rehabilitation Center to determine the causes of the unpleasant symptom and eliminate it.

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Treatment of hand arthritis

How and with what to treat arthritis of the hands, the doctor decides after examination and establishing a final diagnosis. Any treatment carried out without examination will not be effective, since different types of arthritis are treated differently. In any case, the patient is prescribed an individually selected comprehensive treatment. It includes:

• drug therapy;
• physiotherapeutic procedures;
• Exercise therapy, massage;
• reflexology (RT);
• traditional methods of treatment.

If conservative therapy is ineffective, surgical treatment methods are prescribed.

Read our article “Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in women.”

Drug therapy

For hand arthritis, the following medications are prescribed:

1. NSAID groups – relieve pain, inflammation and fever. The most effective NSAID drug is Diclofenac, but it causes irritation of the gastric mucosa, so today more modern drugs of this group are prescribed - Meloxicam, Celebrex, Nimesulide in the form of injections (injections), tablets or capsules for oral administration and external agents (ointments, creams, gels). ).
2. For severe swelling and pain that cannot be relieved with NSAIDs, glucocorticoid hormones are prescribed in the form of short courses of oral tablets, intravenous infusions or intra-articular injections. They perfectly eliminate all unpleasant symptoms.
3. In subacute and chronic cases, drugs that suppress immune processes (basic therapy) are prescribed: Methotrexate, Sulfasalazine, Azathioprine, etc.
4. Medicines from the group of biological agents that include antibodies and cytokines (MabThera) also suppress immune reactions.
5. If the cause of the disease is an infection, drugs are prescribed that suppress it.
6. Antihistamines to reduce allergies - Claritin, Erius, Cetrin, etc.
7. Chondroprotectors - agents that restore cartilage tissue of joints - Teraflex, Dona, etc.
8. Vitamins and minerals that restore metabolism.

Drug treatment for arthritis of the hands is carried out using drugs from the NSAID group, drugs that suppress immune processes, and other drugs.

Physiotherapeutic procedures

Depending on the stage of the disease, physiotherapeutic procedures are added to the drug treatment of arthritis of the hands, which significantly enhance the therapeutic effect and accelerate the process of tissue restoration:

• at the stage of inflammation
  - electrophoresis and phonophoresis with painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs;
• at the recovery stage
  - magnetic therapy, laser therapy, thermal procedures (paraffin, ozokerite).

In a state of stable remission of arthritis of the hands, sanatorium-resort treatment is recommended - mud, baths in combination with hardware physiotherapeutic techniques. Kavminvod sanatoriums are perfect.

Crunching in joints - when to worry

Intra-articular injections of hyaluronic acid

Massage

These procedures are done in a state of remission. Both therapeutic massage performed by a massage therapist and self-massage are very effective. You can independently perform the following most effective, but at the same time gentle massage movements every day after applying massage oil to your hands:

• rubbing the back surface: with sliding movements of one hand, rub the back surface of the other in the direction from the wrist to the fingertips; then change hands;
• rubbing the side surfaces of the fingers: interlock your fingers and move your hands so that the side surfaces of the fingers are rubbed;
• rubbing the palms: with the fingers of one hand, forcefully rub the palms of the other in the direction from the wrist to the fingers;
• soft massage movement “hand washes hand”;
• stroking hands with light sliding movements.

Daily massage improves blood circulation, helps revitalize metabolic processes and restore tissue.

Physiotherapy

Physical therapy (physical therapy) complexes are prescribed by a doctor. It is better to undergo the first training sessions under the supervision of a physical therapy instructor, and then continue at home. The following exercises will help improve your well-being:

• rolling an apple or a tennis ball
  - roll a medium-sized apple (to fit in the palm) or a tennis ball between the palms, actively pressing on the soft tissues; also actively roll the apple on the table;
• rolling chestnuts between palms and fingers
  - take 2-3 chestnuts at once and roll between palms and fingers, as well as on a smooth table surface;
• clenching and unclenching a fist
  - clench your palms into a fist and hold it tense, then sharply unclench it with all fingers straightened like a fan; repeat 10 times;
• beating out the rhythm with your palm
  - with open palms, beat out any clear rhythm on the table (march, rap, whatever you like);
• flexion-extension
  - place your elbows on the table, raise your forearms parallel to each other; make a simultaneous tilt of the hands forward, then back, right and left; repeat everything 5 times.

Therapeutic gymnastics helps improve blood circulation, restores the strength of muscles and ligaments, improves joint mobility, and prevents the destruction of cartilage. It is carried out in a state of remission.

Reflexology

Therapeutic exercises with a ball and reflexology will help cure arthritis of the hands

An ancient Chinese method, successfully integrated into modern medicine. It is based on a reflex effect on the entire body, as well as on individual organs and tissues through certain points on the human body. Most often, the effect is carried out using acupuncture (acupuncture), but you can also cauterize (warm up) the points with wormwood cigarettes, do acupressure and use other techniques. This method has proven itself in the treatment of hand arthritis.

Traditional methods

Folk remedies (herbal decoctions and tinctures) are also actively included in complex treatment as additional methods. But the doctor prescribes them ,

self-medication should be excluded. Traditional recipes:

• compresses from dry elm bark; grind the raw materials, grind them into powder, dilute with water to a pasty state, transfer to a napkin and apply to the affected joints; Apply polyethylene and insulation on top and leave overnight; perfectly relieves pain and swelling;
• ointment from dried poplar buds; crush the raw materials in a mortar, add the same amount of melted butter and rub into your hands several times a day; analgesic effect.

Surgery

In the acute period, surgical treatment is carried out for a purulent inflammatory process: the pus is removed, the joint cavity is washed with an antiseptic solution.

Surgery is sometimes required for long-term, wave-like arthritis with severe pain and swelling: part of the synovial membrane is removed (synovectomy). This gives a positive result and brings relief to the patient.

When a complete loss of joint function occurs, endoprosthetics is performed - replacing the destroyed joint with an artificial one.

Read about new treatments for rheumatoid arthritis in this article.

Treatment methods

In our center you can undergo diagnostics - MRI, ultrasound. Research is performed after determining the location and nature of the pain. If necessary, additional blood tests are required to determine whether there are infectious and inflammatory diseases in the body.

The treatment method depends on the disease or injury that caused the pain. At the clinic, specialists prescribe the following treatment methods:

• Physiotherapy;
• Manual therapy;
• Reflexology;
• Physiotherapy;

It is up to the doctor to decide which procedures will be performed. Sometimes, when you have pain in your arms, you need to carry out several measures in combination. Experienced neurologists use effective therapy methods. Patients can perform diagnostics, undergo diagnostics and treatment without leaving the clinic.

How to treat hand joints?

All existing treatment methods, both the most modern and traditional, which the Alan Clinic Center for Neurology and Orthopedics uses in its work, are safe and exclude surgical intervention.

The treatment process is always a comprehensive program with an individual approach to each of our patients.
Most of our methods, which are essentially drug-free, are acceptable even for the treatment of infants, pregnant and nursing mothers. We have at our disposal the following methods:

• Manual therapy
• Osteopathy is treatment done by a doctor, with a gentle effect on the musculoskeletal system, nervous and vascular systems, and internal organs.
• Medical massage
• Acupuncture - exposure to biologically active points with microneedles.
• Laser reflexology is a painless effect on reflexogenic zones and points.
• Tsubotherapy is a gentle effect on the reflex points of the body.
• Pharmacopuncture is the introduction of medicinal drugs of natural origin to the source of the problem.
• Plasma therapy is the introduction of the patient’s own purified blood into the site of the disease.
• Isometric kinesiotherapy - individual gymnastic techniques/exercises, according to indications, with elements of joint massage.
• Kinesiotherapy using the Exart installation
• Kinesio taping
• Ozone therapy is treatment with active oxygen.
• Physiotherapy
• Physiotherapy with enzyme preparations
• Medical droppers
• Hirudotherapy - treatment with leeches.
• Botulinum therapy is treatment with botulinum toxin.
• Intra-articular injection of synovial fluid endoprostheses
• Intra-articular blockades

All methods are recognized by official medicine, and doctors using them have appropriate certificates. The decision on the need to use certain medications during the course of treatment is made by the doctor, based on the complexity and severity of the disease, concomitant diseases, as well as the diagnosis.

Rehabilitation and lifestyle restoration

After treatment, patients need to recover. This is achieved using:

• maintaining moderate physical activity;
• balanced nutrition;
• compliance with the work and rest regime;
• taking vitamin and mineral complexes;
• maintaining correct posture;
• protection against hypothermia of joints and stress;
• correction of deformed joints;
• disinfection of wounds, scratches and abrasions;
• refusal of monotonous and monotonous work;
• timely treatment of infectious diseases;
• limiting alcohol consumption.

Causes of pain: from tumors to injuries

As in most other cases of painful sensations in various organs of the musculoskeletal system, only a specialist can answer the question of why the arm hurts from the shoulder to the elbow. Causes include various diseases and injuries. Discomfort may occur due to the following reasons:

1. Organ damage due to trauma.
2. Diseases of the shoulder joint of various origins.
3. Abnormalities of the spinal column.
4. Accumulation of anaerobic metabolism products in muscle tissue.
5. Osteoporosis and its consequences.
6. Neuralgia of the brachial and other nerves.
7. Connective tissue diseases.
8. Tumor diseases.
9. Consequences of infections.

Injuries are often a consequence of athletes' passion for sports or professional activities. Also, many traumatic situations arise due to extreme entertainment.

Lifestyle with pain in the hands

A healthy lifestyle is necessary, which consists of the absence of bad habits. To do this, it is important to give up alcohol and cigarettes. It is necessary to monitor your diet. The menu should not include fried, salty, spicy foods. You should drink more clean water and avoid coffee.

Moderate exercise is necessary. Moreover, you can choose running, exercise or swimming. Yoga is also suitable. Only with the right lifestyle can you maintain your health at a normal level. By contacting us, patients will be able to successfully undergo treatment and rehabilitation in one place.

General clinical recommendations

To prevent exacerbation of the pathological process and its progression, the following recommendations must be followed:

• follow all doctor's orders;
• conduct courses of anti-relapse treatment;
• promptly treat all acute and chronic diseases;
• avoid colds and hypothermia, especially of the hands;
• do not lift heavy objects, do not engage in long-term painstaking activities involving the hands;
• avoid prolonged stress;
• get rid of bad habits.

Prevention

Prevention of arthritis of the hand is especially important for people with a family history (close relatives suffering from this pathology). To prevent the development of the disease, you need:

• lead a healthy active lifestyle, eat right;
• do not overload your hands with heavy physical work and long, tedious painstaking work;
• do not smoke, do not abuse alcohol;
• avoid hypothermia of hands;
• promptly treat all diseases and hormonal disorders.

How to eat healthy

Only gout requires a special diet; it is imperative to adhere to its requirements. For other types of arthritis, a healthy diet is sufficient. Fatty meat and dairy products, fried, spicy, smoked, and canned foods should be excluded from the diet. It is necessary to limit sweets, baked goods, and sweet carbonated drinks. The diet should contain a lot of fresh vegetables, fruits, cereals, and low-fat animal products.

How to avoid pain in the humeroulnar area?

Prevention is the best alternative to treatment. This simple truth also applies to cases where the arm hurts above the elbow. Strong, but regular exercise will help strengthen joints and muscles. Atherosclerosis loves people with excess body weight, so you should eat right and move more. Of course, you need to avoid traumatic situations, not get involved in fights and not look for extreme sports where it is unnecessary. Regular medical examinations and timely diagnosis will help to avoid a situation where the arm hurts between the shoulder and elbow.