Early signs of hand arthritis: Symptoms you should never ignore

From indianexpress.com

From struggling to open jars to finding it difficult to hold a cup or button a shirt, hand arthritis can interfere with everyday activities

Hand pain or stiffness is easy to dismiss, especially when it appears after a long day of typing, writing, or doing household chores. However, persistent discomfort in the fingers or at the base of the thumb could indicate arthritis.

The condition can affect the small joints of the hands, making everyday activities that require gripping, bending or moving the fingers increasingly difficult. Dr Ashish Phadnis, Director of Orthopaedics and Consultant Orthopaedic & Joint Replacement Surgeon at Jupiter Hospital, Thane, explains the early warning signs and when to seek medical attention.

(Photo: Magnific)

What are the early signs of arthritis in the hands?

Pain, stiffness, swelling and tenderness around the finger joints or at the base of the thumb are among the early signs of hand arthritis.

“The discomfort may start off as a slight ache but can become more apparent when gripping things, opening jars or making a fist,” says Dr Phadnis.

Some people may also experience morning stiffness, which tends to improve as they start moving their hands. However, stiffness lasting more than an hour could indicate an inflammatory condition such as rheumatoid arthritis and warrants specialist evaluation. Other symptoms include reduced flexibility and a grinding sensation when moving the fingers.

How does hand arthritis affect everyday activities?

“Hand arthritis can slowly make it difficult to carry out activities which involve a strong grip, moving the fingers or having fine motor control,” explains Dr Phadnis.

People may find it uncomfortable to button a shirt, write, hold a cup, turn a key or use a mobile phone. Opening bottles, chopping vegetables and carrying shopping bags can also become challenging.

As the condition progresses, pain and stiffness may restrict the range of motion, making these activities increasingly difficult.

How is hand arthritis different from arthritis in other joints?

Unlike arthritis affecting weight-bearing joints such as the knees and hips, which primarily interferes with walking, standing and mobility, hand arthritis affects grip strength, coordination and finger movements.

According to Dr Phadnis, osteoarthritis commonly affects the joints at the fingertips, the middle finger joints and the base of the thumb.

Rheumatoid arthritis, on the other hand, usually affects corresponding joints in both hands, resulting in symmetrical involvement. It can cause pain, swelling and prolonged morning stiffness lasting more than an hour.

When should you see a doctor for hand pain?

Don’t ignore persistent hand pain, swelling, or stiffness. Dr Phadnis recommends consulting an orthopaedic specialist if these symptoms continue for more than a few weeks.

Other warning signs include prolonged morning stiffness, difficulty gripping objects, visible joint swelling and changes in finger alignment.

“Early diagnosis enables the specific type of arthritis to be identified and treatment to be started before there is considerable joint damage or a loss of function,” he says.

https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/health/early-signs-of-hand-arthritis-symptoms-you-should-never-ignore-10943710/lite/

Joint pain can get worse in cold weather — here’s how to help it

From health.yahoo.com

By Julia Musto

As the days grow colder, gnawing pain in your knees, shoulders, neck and ankles can worsen. But, don't fret, experts say there are some simple steps to take that can help with the discomfort.

People with arthritis, a disease that causes damage in the joints, are especially impacted, including 58.5 million American adults. The body's response to cold is to have blood vessels narrow, reducing blood flow the joints need to function well and affecting our ability to produce joint-lubricating synovial fluid.

Joint pain can get worse in cold weather — here’s how to help it

That's why the joints "operate best in temperate weather," Dr. Mariko L. Ishimori, Interim Director at the Cedars-Sinai Division of Rheumatology, explained in a statement.

"When the weather gets cooler, the synovial fluid that acts like motor oil in our joints becomes more like sludge," she said.

Another contributing factor is behaviour in cold weather. Nearly 60 percent of people are less active during the winter months, according to the National Recreation and Park Association.

Not moving joints - which are designed to bend and flex - can make them feel stiff as synovial fluid builds up, Samuel Ashby, an orthopaedic surgeon with Banner Health, explained. At the same time, muscles and tissues can tighten and blood flow slows.

"These changes are temporary but can make your joints feel stiff, tight or sore when you start moving again," he said.

One theory suggests a drop in pressure in the atmosphere, frequently felt during winter storms, causes tendons and muscles to expand, leading to pain.

"Everyone's body reacts to fluctuating barometric pressure, but people with arthritis and those with chronic pain are more vulnerable to feeling discomfort," UChicago Medicine says.

Still, every body is different, so it's hard to know what's causing the increased pain in each case. But experts say simple strategies can soothe most joints that tighten in the coldest months.

Being active is key to keeping joints lubricated, but you don't have to be sprinting. Even just 30 minutes of yoga or strength training a day is enough. Federal recommendations say adults should get at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise a week and two days of strength training for optimal health.

Staying hydrated is also crucial because it helps the body produce synovial fluid and maintain fluid levels. People tend to drink less water in the winter due to diminished thirst and low humidity levels.

Bundling up in warm clothing and layers can further prevent stiffness in joints as the warmth increases circulation and loosens up tight muscles.

"Layer up with hats, gloves and scarves, and use an electric heating pad or an electric blanket to keep yourself warm while you're napping," Ishimori advises.

If none of this is working, doctors can help with a more tailored treatment, such as medication or therapy.

"You should seek help for joint pain when you're doing the simple things, and they're just not working," Andrew Bang, a chiropractor with the Cleveland Clinic, said Thursday. "For example, you're putting on the heat, you're stretching, you're moving, you're layering up before you head outside, but the joint pain is really disrupting your activities of daily living."

https://health.yahoo.com/conditions/musculoskeletal/arthritis/articles/joint-pain-could-worsen-cooler-153704411.html 

A Doctor Cracked One Hand's Knuckles at Least 36,500 Times, and Neither Hand Got Arthritis

From medicaldaily.com

As a boy, Donald Unger was warned by his mother, several aunts, and later his mother-in-law that cracking his knuckles would give him arthritis. So he ran a test that lasted half a century. He cracked the knuckles of his left hand at least twice a day and left his right hand alone as a control.

By his own count, the left-hand knuckles were cracked at least 36,500 times. At the end, he found no arthritis in either hand and no apparent difference between them. The California physician reported the result in a 1998 letter to the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism.

It remains one of the most famous single-person experiments in medicine, and the larger studies that followed have largely backed him up.

A Control Hand and a Lifetime of Pops

Unger, an allergist in Thousand Oaks, California, wrote that the knuckles on his right hand cracked only rarely and on their own. He described his one-man study as a preliminary investigation and wrote that it suggested no link between knuckle cracking and arthritis in the fingers.

The work earned him the 2009 Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine, the satirical award for research that makes people laugh and then think. By then, the prize citation noted, he had kept up the habit for more than 60 years. "I'm looking at my fingers, and there is not the slightest sign of arthritis in either hand," Unger said, according to China Daily's coverage of the ceremony.

Unger stressed that he had used no public funds. He had published scores of research papers as an allergist, yet none brought him the attention his knuckles did. He received the prize on Oct. 1, 2009, at Harvard's Sanders Theatre, where real Nobel laureates hand out the awards.

Larger Studies Reached the Same Answer

A study of one man, who was also the experimenter and the person judging the results, cannot settle a medical question. It was not randomized or blinded, and one person's genes and history may not apply to anyone else.

Bigger studies have since tested the idea. A 1990 study in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases evaluated 300 consecutive patients age 45 and older, 74 of whom were habitual knuckle crackers. The crackers were no more likely to have hand arthritis. They were, however, more likely to have hand swelling and lower grip strength.

In 2011, Kevin deWeber and colleagues published a case-control study in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. They surveyed 215 people ages 50 to 89 who had right-hand X-rays taken between 2003 and 2008. About 20% cracked their knuckles. Hand osteoarthritis was found in 18.1% of crackers and 21.5% of non-crackers, a difference that was not statistically significant.

Neither how many years people had cracked their knuckles nor how much they had done it in total was linked to arthritis in the joints they cracked. The researchers concluded that habitual knuckle cracking does not appear to be a risk factor for hand osteoarthritis. They listed recognized risk factors as prior joint injury, a family history of hand osteoarthritis, and heavy manual labour involving the hands.

The Pop Itself Took Decades to Explain

Scientists argued for decades about where the sound comes from. A 1947 X-ray study suggested the noise occurred when a gas-filled cavity suddenly formed as the joint surfaces separated. A 1971 study instead blamed a bubble collapsing.

In 2015, a team led by Gregory Kawchuk of the University of Alberta used real-time MRI to watch a volunteer's finger joints as each was pulled until it cracked. Their study in PLOS ONE found that each crack happened faster than a single 310-millisecond imaging frame. Every crack coincided with a cavity forming in the synovial fluid that lubricates the joint, supporting the original 1947 explanation.

The cavity did not collapse while the finger was still being pulled. The researchers said their findings offer a new framework for studying whether joint cracking has any health effects.

Not Arthritis, but Not Entirely Without Effects

The research so far points one way on arthritis, but the evidence has limits. Most studies are observational and rely on people remembering their own habits. No one has randomly assigned people to crack or not crack their knuckles for decades, the kind of trial that would be needed to settle the question.

The 1990 grip-strength finding has also not been consistently reproduced. A later ultrasound study from UC Davis found no immediate difference in grip strength after cracking, though it looked only at short-term effects. Separately, doctors have reported rare acute injuries, including a thumb ligament sprain, from forceful attempts to crack a joint.

For most people, the takeaway is reassuring. The habit may irritate the people nearby, but it has not been shown to cause arthritis. Anyone whose knuckle cracking causes pain, swelling, or reduced hand function should have it checked by a clinician, since those symptoms can signal other joint problems.

Key Questions Answered

What did Donald Unger do?

He cracked the knuckles of his left hand at least twice daily for about 50 years while leaving his right hand alone, then compared them.

What did he find?

Neither hand had arthritis, and he saw no apparent difference between them.

Does knuckle cracking cause arthritis?

Larger studies, including a 215-person case-control study, have not found a link between habitual knuckle cracking and hand osteoarthritis.

What makes the cracking sound?

A 2015 MRI study showed the sound coincides with a cavity suddenly forming in the joint fluid.

Is the habit completely harmless?

Not necessarily. A 1990 study linked it to hand swelling and weaker grip, and rare acute injuries have been reported.

https://www.medicaldaily.com/doctor-cracked-one-hand-knuckles-50-years-arthritis-480656 

This Is Why Cold Weather Makes Your Joints Ache, According to Doctors

From prevention.com

You’re not imagining it 

Joint pain can happen any time of year, but it’s not uncommon to notice your joints aching more when temperatures drop. It may seem unrelated, but it isn’t a coincidence—doctors say there are scientific reasons why cold weather makes joints ache.

Some of this achiness is a direct effect of the cold; other times, it could be due to indirect effects that come along with chilly temperatures. Whatever the exact cause, you aren’t imagining it—experts say this is a real phenomenon.

“It’s not a myth that joints become more uncomfortable in the cold,” says Brandon Erickson, M.D., director of orthopaedics for Northwell in Westchester and chief of orthopaedics at Phelps Hospital.

Ahead, these are the biggest reasons why cold weather makes joints ache, plus tips on how to stay more comfortable in cooler temperatures going forward.

How common is it for joints to ache more in cold weather?

Very. “Though the research is mixed, several studies link drops in temperature and drops in barometric pressure to increased joint pain and stiffness,” says Will Harvey, M.D., rheumatologist at Tufts Medical Center and the current President of the American College of Rheumatology.

While Dr. Harvey stresses that “there is no evidence that the cold causes arthritis,” it’s especially common for people who have arthritis or other conditions that can impact their joint cartilage to experience worsened joint pain in the cold, says Jeffrey Zarin, M.D., orthopaedic surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine in Los Angeles.

SimpleImages//Getty Images

Why do joints ache more in the cold?

Cold weather comes with different elements that can impact how joints feel. “It’s part of the reason why some people move to warmer climates when they get older,” Erickson says.

These are the most common cold-weather factors that can impact the way your joints feel.

Thickening synovial fluid.

Synovial fluid is a thick fluid found between the joints that acts like a natural lubricant to keep the joints moving. “It also contains many factors that help to keep the tissues around the joint healthy,” says Dr. Zarin. But when the weather gets cold, synovial fluid can get thicker than usual.

“This ‘thickened’ fluid does not allow the joints to move as smoothly and can create the sensation of stiffness and tightness,” Dr. Zarin says. “This can also cause the inflammation of the joint to increase.”

Drops in barometric pressure.

Barometric pressure is the force of air molecules on the Earth’s atmosphere. “Drops in barometric pressure, as occurs in low-pressure storms, have been associated with increases in joint pain, independent of temperature,” says Dr. Harvey. That may explain why your joints ache more when snow is in the forecast.

The decreasing pressure outside of the body can cause all of the tissues to swell slightly, Dr. Zarin explains. “While this is generally something a person would not detect, when there is inflammation due to arthritis, the sensitized nerve endings can have increased stimulation, which would be perceived as pain,” he explains.

Changes in blood flow.

Blood vessels tend to constrict—or tighten—in cold weather, and your body automatically adjusts where your blood circulation goes to protect your internal organs. “This will lead to a decreased circulation to the extremities and joints, which can cause the muscles to become more stiff or inflexible,” Dr. Zarin says.

This is different from putting ice on an inflamed joint, Dr. Zarin says. “While putting ice on an inflamed joint will help decrease circulation and help you feel better, a generalized decrease in the blood circulation to the extremities can lead to a sensation of stiffness or aching,” he says.

Moving less.

Most people end up walking and exercising less when it’s cold out. Unfortunately, that can be rough on your joints. “Movement is very good for maintaining healthy joints, and being too sedentary can contribute to pain and stiffness,” says Dr. Harvey.

Dr. Erickson agrees. Movement helps to increase the production and circulation of synovial fluid. “Motion is lotion,” he says. “The more you can move around, the better the joints will feel.”

How to get relief if your joints ache in cold weather

Staying active is key, according to Dr. Harvey. And, “while it seems obvious, trying to keep warm will help keep joints feeling better,” Dr. Zarin says. “This means making sure to wear adequate clothing, especially at the extremities such as your hands, feet, and head, where most of your body heat tends to be lost.”

When you’re indoors, Dr. Zarin recommends moving around, stretching, and massaging your joints. This can help to stimulate circulation and improve the lubricating effects of the synovial fluid, he says. “Applying warming packs can also help to loosen up the joints,” he adds.

It may seem unrelated, but staying well hydrated is crucial to joint health, too. “A bit of dehydration can affect the ability of the synovial fluid to lubricate the joints, which can make them feel stiff and achy,” Dr. Zarin says.

When to contact a doctor

It’s common to have joint aches and pains here and there. “But persistent joint pain or arthritis are not normal parts of aging,” Dr. Harvey says.

If you have pain or stiffness, especially in the morning, that lasts more than 30 minutes, it’s time to check in with a doctor, Dr. Harvey says. If your pain interferes with your daily life, it’s also worth getting checked out, he says.

But Dr. Erickson says it’s also important to check in with a physician if basic interventions like anti-inflammatories and heating pads aren’t working. “If you’re still stiff and uncomfortable, it’s a good idea to come in,” he says. “Sometimes physical therapy and a cortisone injection can help to get you to a better place.”

https://www.prevention.com/health/a74264254/cold-weather-aching-joints/

These Everyday Eating Habits May Reduce Your Risk Of Rheumatoid Arthritis

From health.yahoo.com

By Zhané Slambee

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune condition that causes painful, swollen, and stiff joints. Genetics, smoking, and other environmental factors have all been linked to the condition's development.

Diet isn't usually on that list, but a new mini review suggests there may be an unexpected link between the food we eat and the processes involved in RA.

The dietary pattern linked to lower RA risk

RA can begin developing years before joint pain or stiffness appears. During this time, a person's genes and environmental influences, such as smoking and potentially diet, may affect whether the condition eventually develops.

To investigate, researchers from King's College London and the University of Nicosia reviewed existing research on diet and RA risk. They found that people who followed a Mediterranean-style diet more closely tended to have a lower risk of developing RA.

The Mediterranean diet prioritizes vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains, nuts, olive oil, and fish, and limits processed foods. One study in the review that followed over 117,000 participants found that greater adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet was tied to lower RA risk. The association appeared stronger for RA in people who test positive for rheumatoid factor, an antibody found in some people with the condition.

How food may influence autoimmune risk

The researchers point to two possible explanation: body fat and gut bacteria can both affect inflammation, which plays a role in RA.

Fibre-rich foods found in a Mediterranean diet feed beneficial gut bacteria, which produce compounds such as butyrate that help control inflammation and protect the gut lining.

Diets low in fibre may leave these bacteria with less to feed on, potentially disrupting these protective processes.

The Mediterranean diet has also been shown to support weight management. Excess body fat can release inflammatory chemicals, so a healthy weight by adhering adherence to a Mediterranean diet may help keep those inflammatory signals in check.

What this means for your everyday meals

A Mediterranean-style eating pattern is a practical starting point for supporting overall health. Here are a few simple ways to follow this eating pattern.

• Eat more fibre-rich plants: Vegetables, fruit, beans, lentils, and whole grains nourish beneficial gut bacteria.

• Choose healthy fats: Olive oil, nuts, seeds, and omega-3-rich fish support overall health.

• Be mindful of ultra-processed foods: Limit how often foods high in added sugar and refined carbohydrates replace more nutrient-rich options.

• Look beyond diet: Avoid smoking and prioritize other healthy habits, since RA risk involves multiple factors.

The takeaway

This doesn't prove a Mediterranean-style diet prevents RA. Many of the studies identified associations rather than cause and effect. Diet is just one part of the picture, alongside genetics, smoking, hormones, and other environmental influences.

Your joints may be just one more reason to give your diet a second look. Consider a Mediterranean-style eating pattern to support a healthier gut, a more balanced inflammatory response, and potentially a lower RA risk.

https://health.yahoo.com/conditions/musculoskeletal/arthritis/rheumatoid-arthritis/articles/everyday-eating-habits-may-affect-091800893.html