My fingers are broken 😫

Ginapickering
Ginapickering Member Posts: 2
in Chat to our Helpline Team

Please can somebody give me some advice I’ve been diagnosed 6 months ago with arthritis of the hands I have it in other places as well I have heberden and Bouchard nodes on my fingers I feel like it’s progressing up my hands does this happen? but what I need to ask is that one of my fingers being my index finger is that painful I can’t bend it or anything it’s shockingly painful and I just don’t know what to do I spoke to the doctor and she just emailed me finger exercises to do but I literally cannot move this one finger it’s so so painful it feels like I’ve trapped the knuckle in a door or something it’s even painful to touch can anybody please give me some advice 🙏

Comments

  • PeterJ
    PeterJ Administrator Posts: 883

    Hello @Ginapickering and welcome to the forum.

    I can see that you you have arthritis in your hands and also that you have heberden and Bouchard nodes on your fingers. Our website contains some useful information that you will hopefully find helpful and I am sure other members on the forum will post and share their experiences. We are a helpful, friendly and supportive group. In the meantime I would suggest going back to your doctor and explain that exercise hasn't helped. I've also enclosed a link below which may be of some use, but please do use the search function on our website to explore.

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

    Please do keep posting and let us know how you are getting on

    With very best wishes

    Peter (mod)

    Need more help? - call our Helpline on 0800 5200 520 Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm

  • helpline_team
    helpline_team Posts: 3,482

    Hello @ginapickering, thank you for sharing and welcome to our online community.

    To help manage the pain in your hands, especially your index finger, you may want to speak to your GP about using a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) cream as these can offer direct pain relief for that area. You could also ask them about using Capsaicin cream, which is a cream made from chilli peppers and helps reduce pain by reducing a pain receptor in that area and has been shown to be particularly effective for hand pain.

    By helping to reduce the pain in your hands and fingers it should allow you to try the exercises the GP sent you, which can further help to reduce pain and increase flexibility in your hands, but it’s understandable if you can’t do them due to the pain you’re in right now.

    If you’re still finding the pain to be severe, you might also want to ask your GP about seeing a hand therapist, who specialise in treating issues and conditions which affect the hands.

    Lastly, you might want to try using a resting splint for your hands, which you can find in most pharmacies. These work by keeping your hand and wrist in the best position while you rest and combined with gentle exercises can help alleviate pain longer term.

    I hope some of these suggestions are helpful and do remember you can always call our helpline on 0800 5200 520 (Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm) if you’d like to chat things through.

    I can see PeterJ has sent a link to our page on managing arthritis of the hand and wrist, which has more information and suggestions, so I’d encourage you to take a look if you haven’t already.

    My best wishes,

    Jack – Helpline Advisor

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