Thumb arthritis

A 65-year-old lady presented with chronic pain at the base of her right thumb which she described as a constant dull ache and loss of power in her hand. She loves gardening and cooking, however, the pain in her thumb was increasingly interfering with her ability to use her hands. She has tried a variety of pain medication which has not had much effect.

She saw her GP and after investigations (x-ray), she was diagnosed with basal joint osteoarthritis.

Examination:
Following an assessment of her pain, joints and ligaments, range of movement, strength, and hand function, it was established that she had joint instability in her thumb. This had a knock-on effect on the rest of her thumb joints which caused general weakness. On resistive pinching, her thumb collapse leading to ligament and muscle imbalance.

Treatment:
Initially, we focused on reducing the pain and inflammation in her thumb joint. A custom made splint was provided for pain relief and to support the joint in function. She also followed a Motor Imagery program to reduce pain.

Kinesiology taping was then applied as a step down from the splint to provide stability to her joint.

The key is exercise to work on proprioception and strength of the specific muscles responsible for thumb stability. Along with this, we discussed joint protection principles in retraining her grips. An analysis of how she was using her hands in her specific activities was done so she was more aware of using her joints in stable positions.

Her pain reduced over time as she gained improved stability in her thumb. With having an understanding of the correct and incorrect ways of gripping and pinching, she felt she gained control over reducing her pain improving her hand function.

Don’t think arthritis of a thumb is the end of it – there is so much we can help you with.