How You Can Get Arthritis In The Fingers

Did you know that arthritis can also attack your fingers? Arthritis in fingers is also a common symptom of arthritis. Our hands are one of the most important parts of our body. We almost can't do anything without using our hands.

Each of our fingers has a different function. What if one of our fingers is disabled? Can we still do what we want? Possibly, yes, but it will be more difficult the more advanced the arthritis is. And by difficult, I mean painful; even worse, as arthritis advances, you may cause even more damage to your finger joints, making even more difficult to move your fingers.

The types of arthritis that typically attacks our fingers are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis commonly affects those of more advanced years, but rheumatoid arthritis can affect anyone of any age.

Osteoarthritis is a form of arthritis that is a result of years of wear and tear on the joints. Eventually the body is unable to keep up with the damage, and the connective tissue is unable to regenerate to its former elasticity. When this happens, it can harden and crack, allowing the bones of the joints to come in contact, resulting in pain. Do you crack your knuckles? This is one way to induce wear and tear of the finger joints, which can result in arthritis in fingers down the line.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder; basically, your immune system, for some reason, starts to attack the tissues around your joints, resulting in damage similar to that in osteoarthritis. This damage happens on a quicker timetable when compared with osteoarthritis, however, and those with rheumatoid arthritis will often eventually experience arthritis in fingers.

In both cases the symptoms are the same: joint pain, swelling, cracking sounds, stiffness and immobility. While the arthritis is not yet advanced, you may only experience some swelling and joint pain, which may go away in time. But you may also hear some cracking sounds when you move your finger joints, which is a sign of damaged connective tissues. Eventually, if the arthritis in fingers gets worse, your fingers may become immobile and deformed, as the flexibility and mobility of your fingers is lost.

The pain of arthritis in fingers can be relieved through a variety of treatments. Just as with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, there are medications that can relieve the pain and reduce the inflammation. Some less advanced cases may also be treated with physical therapy, while more advanced cases may require special surgery to restore mobility. There are also a variety of natural remedies that can be used to treat arthritis when it attacks your fingers, though the most important of them involve a healthy diet and lifestyle, in order to help your body fight the effects of arthritis.