Pain in all fingers and wrists of both hands. Is this Arthritis or what?
For the last 2.5 months, I have had general fatigue and weakness in both arms and hands. Also, both wrists and all of my 10 fingers hurt – 24×7. Some days the pain is worse than other days. There is a lot of stiffness after I type for sometime. Also, I feel like popping my fingers all the time…to feel some relief.
All blood tests (ESR, Mono, Lyme, Rheumatoid Factor) came negative. X-rays show nothing abnormal. MRI shows a tear in TFCC in the right wrist, a small cyst in the right wrist, and some fluid build up in the left wrist.
The Ortho surgeon said that the tear is most likely due to overuse (I have an 18-month old who I lift etc). Otherwise, he did not know what to conclude regarding the pain in ALL fingers. He said I should see if the pain level changes in the next couple of months, and then come back.
I am a 30 year old female, and Arthritis runs in my mother’s side of the family. A cousin got diagnosed of Psoriatic Arthritis at the age of 30 (she had a long history of Psoriasis, I don’t have any).
Can these issues that MRI showed cause all this pain? Do you think I could have Arthritis? What else (other than blood tests, X-rays and MRI) is required to diagnose Arthritis? Please share similar stories if any….
Tagged with: Arthritis • both • fingers • hands. • Pain • this • wrists
Filed under: Psoriatic Arthritis Causes
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I have found that when I over use my fingers I can get them hurting real bad and not be able to close them all the way because it’s too painful. When that happens I release the tendons in my fingers and get relief, the pain goes away and I can close my fingers tightly again. Here’s what I do to release them:
Do this for all three bones of the finger, starting at the one closest to the hand. Hold your hand in front of you, palm up, fingers half closed. Take your other thumb and press in on the bottom of the bone next to the knuckle attaching it to the lower part, be that the hand or lower bone. Press in and hold a pretty heavy amount of pressure. Now release your body, take a deep breath and exhale. After 30 seconds slowly open your fingers up all the way, then release the pressure but hold your fingers open for another 30 seconds. Once you have done all three bones move on to the next finger and repeat.
For your wrist here’s how to release that:
Wrist:
With hand resting in front of you and your wrist bent half way closed, press down hard slightly behind the wrist and hold that pressure. After 30 seconds slowly open your wrist up as far as you can, release the pressure but hold your wrist open for another 30 seconds.
And add a release to that one as well.
Pain in all the fingers might involve the Median, Ulnar and Radial Nerves. This might be due to the cyst, the TFCC Tear and fluid build up. The nerves might’ve been compressed due to the accumulation of fluid. The Tear on the other hand will also contribute to pain most especially if you dorsiflex and ulnarly deviate your wrist (esp seen when you type).
The tests indicate (-) results. Actually, there is no laboratory test, histologic or radiographic finding that conclusively indicates a “definitive” diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis and you must pass the criteria for RA or any arthritis-related disease which appear you to not have any since your surgeon will most likely tell you if there’s any. Also, there are certain diseases that MRIs/Radiographic Findings cannot detect.
For the meantime, follow your surgeon’s advice and observe if the pain goes away or not. If you want relief of pain, try taking medications appropriate for you. Rest your hands and don’t overuse it.