Osteoarthritis Question

maxmatthew

Hi, I have osteoarthritis. Noticeable in hands where a few nobbles have started to form on finger joints. Mainly little finger and one thumb.
On my left hand I have muscle loss around the thumb both on the palm side of my thumb and also between thumb and index finger on top side of hand. I also have noticed twitching of the index finger on this hand. I broke my thumb about six years ago and the joint is now sore if squeezed and I find I am unable to do some things where it feels weaker.
id like to know if muscle loss and twitching are or can be normal with osteoarthritis? Before I worry about anything thing else. Thankyou and really appreciated!

helpline_team

Hi @maxmatthew,

Thanks for posting your question in the Helpline Online Community about symptoms of hand osteoarthritis and whether this can include muscle loss and twitching. Sorry to hear you're experiencing some pain in your thumb joint.

The base of the thumb can be affected by osteoarthritis, and having a joint injury can make osteoarthritis more likely to develop. The symptoms of hand osteoarthritis can vary between different people, and over time. For some people, pain can come and go, and as you've described, they can develop knobbly swellings or nodes at the finger joints.

Muscle weakness/wastage is commonly found around the joints effected by osteoarthritis. Whilst twitching isn't mentioned as a common symptom of osteoarthritis, there can be many reasons why nerves may spontaneously fire causing muscle contraction. You shouldn't unduly worry that there is something else going on, but it is always the best advice to check any new symptoms with a doctor.

To manage the pain, you could try using NSAID cream/gel such as Ibuprofen, but check with the pharmacist or doctor if this is suitable for you. Also, it's important to keep your joints moving. We have some gentle hand and wrist exercises on our website you may wish to try to strengthen areas of weakness. You may also benefit from hand therapy. You could ask your GP to refer you to a hand therapist who may suggest you have hand wax bath therapy and guide you through some gentle exercises and stretches, and perhaps advise on the occasional use of a splint for certain circumstances.

I hope you find the following information from our website helpful to you.

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

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/hand-and-wrist-pain/

The NHS also has some information about muscle twitching you could look at here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/twitching-eyes-and-muscles/

I hope this helps.

Best wishes,
Helen, Helpline Advisor