Why does the thumb joint hurt?

Pain in the thumb joint may be caused by different reasons. Generally, gout, rheumatism, and tenosynovitis can cause pain in the thumb joint. Middle-aged women who often engage in labor are prone to symptoms of thumb joint pain, which is mostly caused by tenosynovitis. When treating tenosynovitis, you should pay attention to adjusting your rest time. You can use conservative treatments such as massage, or apply some ointment.

Causes of thumb joint pain

1. Gout: The common attack sites are the thumb joint, ankle joint, knee joint, etc. In patients with long-term gout, attacks may occur in the finger joints and even the soft tissue part of the ear. The site of acute gout attack becomes red, swollen, hot and painful. It usually occurs at midnight and can wake people from sleep.

2. Rheumatoid arthritis. It is common in small joints such as hands, wrists, and feet, with recurrent attacks and a symmetrical distribution. In the early stages, there are symptoms of redness, swelling, heat, pain and dysfunction in the joints. In the late stages, the joints may become stiff and deformed to varying degrees, accompanied by atrophy of bones and skeletal muscles, which can easily lead to disability.

3. Thumb flexor and extensor tenosynovitis, characteristics: no pain when the thumb is not flexed or extended, no pain when not moving but pain when moving, redness and swelling on the surface (sometimes not red or swollen), it is a sterile inflammation.

Causes of tenosynovitis

Tenosynovitis can be caused by injury, overuse (especially in the hands and fingers), osteoarthritis, some immune diseases, or even infection. Some occupations that require long-term repetitive strain on joints, such as typists, instrumentalists, cargo handlers, or industries that require long-term computer operation, can cause or aggravate this disease. Common affected areas include the wrists, fingers, shoulders, etc. Women and diabetics are more likely to develop this disease. Patients will feel joint pain and morning stiffness. Usually the feeling of morning joint stiffness is most obvious after getting up, and the symptoms will not be significantly relieved with frequent activities. The affected joints are swollen and even snap, and joint movement is impaired.

Treatment of tenosynovitis

1. Mild symptoms can be treated with conservative therapy, which is often called self-therapy. The most commonly used folk medicine Qianruoxuan Gucuining can achieve the desired effect. In addition, you can also choose to use massage, acupuncture, massage and other treatments; severe cases require surgery, generally cutting the narrow part of the tendon sheath and partially removing it so that the tendon sheath no longer squeezes the tendon.

2. You can use some ointment like Voltaren. Topical applications such as active oil are better for tenosynovitis. Tenosynovitis is an autologous aseptic inflammatory reaction that occurs after repeated friction of the tendon sheath. It is mainly manifested by pain and inflexibility of the fingers where the tendon sheath is located. Applying Voltaren ointment can relieve pain, while applying Huoluo oil can relax the muscles and promote recovery.