May is Arthritis Awareness Month

May is Arthritis Awareness Month. Did you know that arthritis, which literally means “inflamed joint”, can affect any joint of the body. There are also multiple types of arthritis, but the most common is osteoarthritis. Other forms of arthritis are rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis, both of these conditions are more of an autoimmune issues rather than the truest and most common form of arthritis, which is osteoarthritis.

The most common joints for of arthritis are the joints in the hand, with the most common in the hand being the base of the thumb, medically known as the 1st CMC joint. This is a common joint for arthritis because of the versatility of our thumbs and the fact that the joint can move in a multi-planar direction (meaning it moves in multiple directions).  A normal joint is made of two smooth, cartilage-covered bone surfaces that fit together well so they glide when the bone moves. If the bones no longer fit together, arthritis can develop. Causes of osteoarthritis are; injury, aging, overweight, overuse from repetitive movements of a joint, ill formed joints, family history of OA.  X rays of joints with OA can show loss of normal joint space, bone spurs and other changes.

Osteoarthritis of the hand causes swelling, pain, and sometimes the formation of cysts on the finger joints. These cysts can affect the middle joints of the fingers (Bouchard nodes) and the end joints (Heberden nodes).

There are four stages of osteoarthritis are:

1.      Minor - wear and tear in the joints with little to no pain.

2.      Mild - More noticeable more spurs

3.      Moderate - Cartilage in the affected area begins to erode

4.      Severe - There is a lot of pain.

The goals in treating OA in any joint in the body are to relieve pain and restore function. Both physical therapy and occupational therapy can assist with these goals depending on where the arthritis is. For OA in the hands specifically, this can be done wearing splints to support and protect the joints, strengthening exercise, stretching exercises, and the usage of heat. For wrist and hand OA An Occupational therapist can provide treatment, instruct in joint protection, set up an exercise program, educate on activity modification and the use of adaptive equipment. For treatment of OA in other joints in the body the sessions will use similar techniques to reach the goals, minus the use of braces or splints, unless completely necessary, (i.e. in ankle OA). If you are dealing with arthritis and would like some help to maintain function and relieve pain, give us a call today and see how we can help.