Thumb Arthritis

Thumb Pain | Osteoarthritis of the Thumb

You use your thumbs for many activities throughout the course of a day – You use your thumb for things such as gripping utensils, holding onto a hairbrush or razor, using your phone or your computer mouse or carrying items like shopping bags simply holding your coffee mug. There isn’t much that your thumb and hand don’t get involved with when it comes to everyday activities. The thumb joint where your thumb attaches to your hand can suffer from wear and tear. This thumb joint is designed to provide your thumb with a large range of movement, however as it can move a lot this joint also suffers a lot of stress over time. Excess wear and tear can lead to painful osteoarthritis of this thumb joint or thumb arthritis.

The anatomical term for this particular thumb joint is called the carpometacarpal joint or the CMC joint. Several ligaments hold your CMC joint together. Occasionally you can injure these ligaments from a fall or direct hit which sprains your thumb. Your joint surfaces are encased with articular cartilage which is there to assist gliding for your thumb joint surfaces over each other.

What causes thumb arthritis?

Osteoarthritis is a type of degenerative arthritis that arises from your joint wearing out over many years of overuse. Often the joint will become painful, red, inflamed and hot.

If you have previously had an injury to your thumb joint, such as a bad sprain or even a fracture, this can damage your joints articular cartilage. An injury of your CMC joint of your thumb, can lead to joint stiffness and change how your joint functions.  Sometimes you don’t need a particular injury to occur, but the CMC joint of your thumb can wear out with repetitive overuse and this changes the way your joint moves and it, therefore, creates more friction on your joint cartilage or joint surfaces and it wears it faster creating thumb arthritis.

By the time you start to feel pain or other symptoms in your thumb, the damage from wear and tear has already occurred in the years leading up to the point before your pain starts to surface and thumb arthritis has set in.

What does osteoarthritis of the thumb feel like?

Pain is the primary symptom with osteoarthritis or thumb arthritis. Initially, your pain will occur with specific activities. Usually, once the activity is in full swing, there is not too much pain, but after resting from that aggravating activity for several minutes, your pain and stiffness increase. In the later stages of more advanced thumb arthritis, when the condition worsens, pain can be felt even at rest. The worst problem with CMC joint osteoarthritis is that it becomes increasingly difficult to grip anything. There can also be a sharp pain at the base of your thumb and in the thick part of the heel of your hand.

Over time your joint will lose range of movement and become stiff, often moving your thumb away from the pain becomes too difficult to do by yourself – this is called a contracture. Sometimes osteoarthritis of your thumb can cause your CMC joint to bend back too far (hyperextension) causing a deformity that looks like a swan’s neck.

Can Physiotherapy help thumb arthritis and thumb pain?

Yes, Physiotherapy can help thumb joint arthritis and pain.

When you attend City Physiotherapy, our diagnosis of your thumb joint arthritis starts with your physiotherapist asking about the history of your problem which includes any injuries that may have occurred to your hand or thumb in the past.  Your physiotherapist will examine your hand and possibly other joints in your body such as your arm or neck.  You may already have a diagnosis of osteoarthritis or not.  We will assess your range of movement in your thumb, hand, and wrist and any look for any muscle imbalances that are present.

Treatment is aimed and decreasing your pain and reducing any inflammation present. Reducing or modifying activity may be suggested to help to control further aggravation of your thumb joint arthritis. We may suggest wearing splints or braces to protect your hand and thumb at specific times.  Your physiotherapist will perform range of movement mobilisations and teach you exercises to lengthen or strengthen any specific hand, thumb, upper limb or postural muscles. Dry needling for pain control of your thumb arthritis may also be useful. Your physiotherapists will discuss this treatment option with you during your appointment if we feel it will be beneficial for you.

The main goal of physiotherapy is to help you learn how to control your symptoms and keep your thumb in the best possible shape that it can be in. Your physiotherapist will teach you ways to calm pain and symptoms, which might include rest, ice, heat, or topical ointments. Your physiotherapist will also go over tips on how you can get your daily jobs done with less strain on your thumb joint.

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