Tomaino Orthopaedic Care for Shoulder, Hand, and Elbow
Suite 201 1445 Portland Avenue
Rochester, NY 14621
Is there anything that I can do to help the arthritis at the base of my thumb feel better, short of surgery?
Yes!! Understand that the thumb basal joint experiences loads about 13-fold the loads at the thumb tip during pinch and grip. This helps to explain why the base hurts with activities like turning a key or opening a jar. As the cartilage starts to wear away, and the ligaments which normally stabilize the joint become incompetent, symtoms are not uncommon.
A strengthening program for your "thenar" muscles may help. These are the muscles on the palmar side of your thumb. Of course taking tylenol, advil, aleve----or any number of over the counter nonsteriodal antiinflammatory medicines may help. Wearing a splint to calm things down may help too. Lastly, a cortisone shot into the joint can bring relief. Though a shot does nor cure the problem, the literature shows that in many cases, a good 6 months of relief may result.
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1 comment
mtomaino 5/9/10 at 2:31 pm
I recently returned from a meeting during which this subject came up, and several of my colleagues from around the Southeast shared their experience with injections other than "cortisone." Though "viscosupplementation" is approved for use in the arthritic knee but has not yet been "approved" for the shoulder or the thumb basal joint, it appears to be helpful. Euflexxa is a highly purified hyaluronan, and can be injected safely into the basal joint. So, if cortisone has not helped, and you are not yet ready for surgery, it may be worth a try. The only caveat is that it won't be covered by insurance, so I would give you a prescription; you would pick it up at a pharmacy and then bring it to the office, and I'd perform the injection.