RA and tendinitis in palm of hand
Hello, been diagnosed with RA about 10 years ago and had my wrist completely fused a few years ago ( no wrist movement anymore).
I am on biological injection but my hands are usually bad still and now been suffering for a week with tendinitis ( I think) and can't open my right hand especially middle finger , worse at night and can't sleep with the pain, feel like the tendon can't stretch enough. Pain in palm mainly.
Is that common , any advice ?
Thanks
Hello,
! First of all, I am so sorry that your hands are bothering you and you have been suffering for the past week unable to open your hand! I can hear how much pain you've been in and how difficult it has been. If you haven't already, I would encourage you to reach out to your doctor to let them know that you've been feeling more pain lately.
It certainly isn't uncommon for pain to come and go, but if you're finding it's been more consistent, it might be worth a conversation with your doctor about treatment and whether or not you want to try something else.
Hopefully some of our community members can share their their experiences and any tips or tricks they have for wrist/hand pain. But in the meantime, I wanted to share this article with you from one of our advocates about her experience with her RA tool box and what she uses to get some relief for her hands, https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/my-ra-toolbox.
Please know that our community is here for you. -- Warmly, Christine (Team Member)
Hi
. Has anyone mentioned trigger finger to you? I ask because what you described sounds like a hand condition those with RA can get that is called this. Our patient leader Tamara wrote about it in this article: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/age-differences. She describes "“trigger finger,” an-RA related condition in which inflammation narrows the tendon sheath, causing fingers to become locked in a bent position" (you can see more in the article). Of course, only a doctor can provide the proper diagnostics to see if this is the issue you are having. Hope you can get some answers and relief soon. Best, Richard (RheumatoidArthritis.net Team) Hi
. My wife, Kelly Mack, does have wrist splints and also a finger splint. She wrote about them in this article on hand therapy: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/hand-therapy-benefits. They were specially fitted for her. She doesn't specifically mention it here, but the wrist splints do come around the thumb and over the palm and, thus, prevent the hand balling you refer to. What type of braces do you have? Best, Richard (RheumatoidArthritis.net Team) thanks , I'll have a look online for better ones
Thanks for the reply and the interesting article . My splints are the free ones given by hospital , they are medium size and not specially fitted at all. They just have a metal bar inside the palm of hand not to allow the wrist to bend . Might consider some better ones soon
