Finger Joint Pain

Finger joint pain can affect one or more fingers. All of us have suffered from injuries to our fingers at some time or the other in our lifetime. After the finger recovers from the injury, it may not always come back to its original shape. There are chances, that the finger will remain a bit crooked or stiff. However, more often than not, the person is able to carry out with his/her daily chores with the minor deformity. Apart from injury, there are other causes of finger joint pain. Let’s see what are they.

Finger Joint Pain Causes

The most common cause of finger joint pain and swelling is arthritis. There is a misconception that arthritis affects people above a certain age only. These days there are a number of people who do suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. People who are on the other side of the scale may suffer from osteoarthritis, which could also give rise to finger joint pain.

After arthritis, gout is known to cause joint pain. It is an inflammatory joint disease, which causes acute joint swelling and pain. It is actually a form of arthritis, which develops when uric acid crystals are formed in and around the joints. This condition can affect any of the joints, however, it more often affects the finger joints, toe joints and ankle joints.

Finger joint pain and stiffness can also be caused due to Raynaud’s Syndrome. The other characteristics of this problem is numbness and tingling sensation in the fingers and also a pins and needles sensation. Often these sensations are caused in response to cold weather and/or stress. This problem is clearly visible to the naked eye, where the skin changes colors from flesh toned to white. The skin initially turns white and begins to cool, then there is a change and the skin turns blue and begins to become numb. The person will then feel some bizarre sensations and may find it difficult to use the fingers. This condition is very common in women who reside in cold climates.

Acute and repetitive injury is another cause of finger joint pain swelling. Doing repetitive activities with the fingers can also lead to finger joint pain. The most common repetitive activities a person does these days are text messaging, playing video games, typing or intricate work using fingers such as sewing, knitting, embroidery, etc.

Some of the other causes include environmental factors, such as viral or bacterial infection, hormones, genetic factors, etc. Blood circulation can also give rise to this problem. Click to read on swollen finger joints.

Finger Joint Pain Relief

When you notice finger joint pain and swelling, the first and foremost step is to remove all rings from the fingers. In case the swelling increases, it becomes very difficult to remove the rings. The next step is to rest the aggravated finger joint. It is recommended, you do not do any activities which can aggravate the condition. Resting the joint will give it sufficient amount of time to heal from the injury. Use ice on the affected area and then keep the finger on an elevation to reduce the swelling. If you have the habit of sleeping on the hands, you may want to change this habit, as sleeping on the hand decreases blood supply to the hand, causing pain.

If the pain is unbearable you can make use of pain killers to treat the condition temporarily. There are also anti-inflammatory ointments which can be applied on the affected joint. You can stretch the joint gently twice a day, so as to normalize blood supply to the affected joint.

If the finger joint pain continues for more than two weeks, it is better to have it examined from your health care professional. In case the pain increases, or there is numbness or tingling sensation, even when the fingers are resting, you may not want to waste any time. A physiotherapist can also be consulted. The finger exercises prescribed by the physiotherapist may be of immense help, as they will help to increase blood circulation to the joints and ease the movements in these joints.