CMC (Carpo Metacarpal) arthritis

catlover09

Has anyone got experience of this condition? Following X-ray I was recently diagnosed with moderate to severe OA in the base of my thumb, after several months of mild pain and weakness. Have been prescribed Naproxen for use as and when and GP suggested exercising joint with stress ball. Have also been offered referral for steroid injections. Pain seems to be getting worse. Would like to hear from anyone else who is dealing with this. Have you found anything useful eg. splint/support bandage/exercise? Would you advise going down the injection route sooner rather than later? At present I am coping but don't want to do anything that might make it worse.

tanith

I have suffered with O/A in my thumb and wrist along with many other joints for a long time.. but the thumb pain is I agree a difficult one to deal with . I too take Naproxen and I have a wrist/thumb splint that I wear when its really bad. For 6 mths I have been taking Rose-Hip tablets and have found it relieves the pain a lot.. never been down the injection route as I feel its just a short term rememdy and the pain is going to come back again sooner rather than later from what I have read...
I guess its just another joint pain I have learnt to put up with .. you may find the injection gives you relief... hope so anyway

elnafinn

Hi Cat

Not sure if mine is the same as yours but have oa in the thumb base near the wrist. It is badly deformed now and does not look at all pretty. I no longer wear bracelets as I do not wish to cause attention to my wrists anymore or thumb base. I do get nasty pain from time to time and then it goes. The thumb has limited movement but does not really hinder me. I have been told it is as bad as it will get??????? I have had injections a few times and it works for around 3 months but for years now, I can go three months or much longer without any pain anyway.

Basically, for me, the thumb looks unsightly but works and on the whole is not too painful.

I was never offered splints but perhaps I did not seek medical advice until too late.

Hope you are ok today,

Luv
Elna x

catlover09

Hi Tanith, thanks for your reply, what type of splint do you use and where do you get them from? Also is there anything you avoid doing that you feel makes your thumb worse? I agree re injections, not keen to go down that road as I feel it is a short-term solution.

tanith wrote:

I have suffered with O/A in my thumb and wrist along with many other joints for a long time.. but the thumb pain is I agree a difficult one to deal with . I too take Naproxen and I have a wrist/thumb splint that I wear when its really bad. For 6 mths I have been taking Rose-Hip tablets and have found it relieves the pain a lot.. never been down the injection route as I feel its just a short term rememdy and the pain is going to come back again sooner rather than later from what I have read...
I guess its just another joint pain I have learnt to put up with .. you may find the injection gives you relief... hope so anyway

catlover09

Hi Elna, thanks for your good wishes and encouragement, it sounds as though you are managing with it which is good news.

elnafinn wrote:

Hi Cat

Not sure if mine is the same as yours but have oa in the thumb base near the wrist. It is badly deformed now and does not look at all pretty. I no longer wear bracelets as I do not wish to cause attention to my wrists anymore or thumb base. I do get nasty pain from time to time and then it goes. The thumb has limited movement but does not really hinder me. I have been told it is as bad as it will get??????? I have had injections a few times and it works for around 3 months but for years now, I can go three months or much longer without any pain anyway.

Basically, for me, the thumb looks unsightly but works and on the whole is not too painful.

I was never offered splints but perhaps I did not seek medical advice until too late.

Hope you are ok today,

Luv
Elna x

tanith

The wrist splint was bought in an ordinary chemists.. my husband talked to the pharmacist and it was one he recommended... it has a steel rod that runs the length of the thumb and stops the thumb/wrist from moving much and that seems to assist the pain.. Nothing I do really makes it worse apart from overuse of the secataurs when gardening... the pain just comes on for no particular reason and as I say since starting with the Rose-Hip tablets its been much improved... they are not cheap but they work for me...

woodbon

Hi, Hello nice to hear from you! I've got a wrist splint as I've had carpel tunnel as well as oa in my thumb and it is painful. If you have steriod injections some people are lucky and find that they relieve the inflamation compleatly. I had steriod injectons in my wrists before surgery on my left. The right had settled better than the left with the injection. Personally I think injections can help, sometimes and are worth trying. Love Sue

wendygrocott

catlover09 wrote:

Has anyone got experience of this condition? Following X-ray I was recently diagnosed with moderate to severe OA in the base of my thumb, after several months of mild pain and weakness. Have been prescribed Naproxen for use as and when and GP suggested exercising joint with stress ball. Have also been offered referral for steroid injections. Pain seems to be getting worse. Would like to hear from anyone else who is dealing with this. Have you found anything useful eg. splint/support bandage/exercise? Would you advise going down the injection route sooner rather than later? At present I am coping but don't want to do anything that might make it worse.

Hi I too suffer from this condition last year I thought I had carpal tunnel syndrome spoke to my GP who sent me for an xray decided to have the xray on the same day I went for a check up on my new knee the xrays now are sent to the consultant via the computer and my thumb was sent to him he then informed me I had a bad case of arthur in my hand but he referred me to the "hand man" I saw him a few weeks later he said an injection was no use as there was nothing left to inject into and booked me in for new joints in the wrist and thumb. I havn't had it done yet because I am having more trouble than I would like with the knee and I would be in a splint for 6 weeks then weeks of therapy. It just means my hand is losing it's shape and movement is impaired and it is painfull Just be guided by your GP or physio I think mine was a bit too far gone for treatment Good luck anyway keep us informed how you get on

catlover09

Thanks Wendy, sorry to hear you are having problems with your knee and that you are too late for an injection in your hand. Would be interested to hear how you get on with your hand op. Best of luck with everything. Hi I too suffer from this condition last year I thought I had carpal tunnel syndrome spoke to my GP who sent me for an xray decided to have the xray on the same day I went for a check up on my new knee the xrays now are sent to the consultant via the computer and my thumb was sent to him he then informed me I had a bad case of arthur in my hand but he referred me to the "hand man" I saw him a few weeks later he said an injection was no use as there was nothing left to inject into and booked me in for new joints in the wrist and thumb. I havn't had it done yet because I am having more trouble than I would like with the knee and I would be in a splint for 6 weeks then weeks of therapy. It just means my hand is losing it's shape and movement is impaired and it is painfull Just be guided by your GP or physio I think mine was a bit too far gone for treatment Good luck anyway keep us informed how you get on[/quote]