Heberden's Nodes

Pinkorchid

I have hard lumps growing on the upper finger joints and while they are not too painful are rather annoying. Does anyone else have them and how do you manage them?

crinkly

Hello Pinkorchid - what a great choice of user name!

You'll find that a lot of us with OA have Heberden's nodes and that many went on to develop Bouchard's nodes on the next joints down too. I agree that the annoyance factor is considerable, especially at the start but you will gradually adapt to them and become less aware of them. Mine were painful originally but 30 years on are only occasionally ouchy although they have restricted the movement of the affected joints. I used to hide my hands in my pockets at first but abandoned that habit for more productive actions!

I'm sure that management methods will have moved on from the exercises and wax treatments of my early days so referral to a physiotherapist could be useful in helping minimise the effects. If the nodes already affect your grip and/or other hand functions assessment by an Occupational Therapist might lead to suggestions of alternative ways of doing things and useful tools/gadgets.

Both referrals should be accessible via your GP or as self-referral options depending on where you live.

I'm also sure that someone more IT-savvy than I will provide a link to the very informative content available from VA and you may well spot other threads on the subject on this forum. I found early on that knowledge is power that helps one live positively with whatever arthritis throws at one and I do hope you quickly find solutions to the issues that most concern you.

frogmorton

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis-of-the-hand-and-wrist/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/managing-symptoms/joint-care/

Hi @Pinkorchid

Nice to meet you.

These are probably the articles/leaflets @crinkly is referring to 😊

Hope they help.

Take care