Knuckle Pain and Stiffness

The knuckle joint consists of bones, ligaments and tendons. The ligaments are responsible for keeping the finger joints in fixed position, while the tendons facilitate the finger movements. When the bones, cartilages or ligaments are weakened or dislocated, it results in painful and stiff knuckles.

Generally, there are two forms of pain and stiffness. One is a short-term pain which results from an injury, and the other one is chronic, usually caused by a disease.

Causes of frequent stiffness and pain in knuckles can range from minor reasons like cold weather, overuse of fingers, to major ones like osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

A traumatic injury to the knuckles often leads to fractured finger bones or sprain in ligaments. A bad sprain can affect the underlying cartilage while a bone fracture can alter the alignment of finger joint. However, these conditions usually don't have any major complications. The related pain and stiffness are relieved once the fracture or sprain heals up.

A more serious cause is the degeneration of the joint, where the damage is permanent. The diseases, having a damaging effect on the finger joints, are different forms of arthritis like osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Cartilage is the soft tissue present in between bones. It often wears out due to osteoarthritis and the bones in the affected finger rub against each other. It results in either thickening of bone ends or chipping of the bones. In both the cases, the pain is accompanied by swelling and stiffening up of joints. Bone spurs may grow on this deteriorated joint.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease where the immune system of the body attacks the joints by mistake. It leads to erosion of the bones and cartilage. Its symptoms are constant dull pain along with a burning sensation, numbness, and swelling in the knuckles.

In worst cases, the fingers may get deformed because of rheumatoid arthritis. Swelling, stiffness and pain in the knuckles are also key symptoms of other diseases like hypothyroidism, gout and psoriasis (psoriatic arthritis).

There are both surgical and nonsurgical methods of treating knuckle pain. The choice of treatment varies according to the intensity of the symptoms and overall health condition of the patient. Mild symptoms can be controlled with some rest and medicines. In case of severe pain, you should consult the doctor. The treatment options that can be availed are:

Pain Relieving Medicines: Initially, doctors prescribe painkillers to bring down the pain and swelling. In case the pain aggravates further, cortisone injections are administered directly into the damaged finger joint. It has anti-inflammatory properties that can reduce the swelling fast and restore normal movements of the hands.

Non-Surgical Treatment Methods: If the pain is caused by sprain or fracture, then a splint is needed to provide support to the joint and restrict the movements of the fingers. At home, you can alleviate the painful symptoms by applying heat to the affected knuckles. This can be done by soaking fingers into a bowl of warm water in which salt has been added.

A good massage of the hands by a chiropractor improves the mobility of stiff knuckles. Magnetic therapy is another form of alternative treatment that has proved beneficial for many people.

Surgical Treatment: There are two different types of surgeries. One is fusion where a surgical incision is made near the joint and its damaged portion is removed. The adjoining bone ends are fused to form a single bone. Then the fused bones are allowed to grow together during the healing process.

The other procedure is known as joint replacement surgery and is used to treat arthritis in finger joints. As the name suggests, the joint is surgically removed and is replaced with an artificial joint which can be a metal or a silicone replacement.

When this condition is treated with surgery, it has to be followed by a rehabilitation program. It involves physical therapy, exercises and training on ways to move fingers without straining the joints. If it is cured with conservative treatments, then once the pain is eased off, strengthening exercises should start to make the knuckles strong and flexible.

Disclaimer: This is meant only to provide information. It should not be substituted for a doctor's advice and treatment.