Today, many diseases are known that affect the hands. They are all caused by completely different reasons. Today we will talk about the most popular diseases of the hands, the names of which are presented below.
Injuries
Often hand and hand injuries are associated with blows or falls. If you experience pain, you should consult a specialist to determine the exact cause of the pain and prescribe the appropriate treatment.
Before you know what diseases of the hands are called, you should familiarize yourself with the types of injury:
Sprains and torn ligaments. There are several degrees of damage, all of which are manifested by severe pain. The first degree is characterized by partial damage, pain occurs when stirring and moving. In the second degree, the pain manifests itself much stronger than in the first; the ligaments are torn partially or completely. In addition, swelling and hematomas appear. The third degree is a complete rupture of the ligaments. The movement becomes very painful, the injury site swells up, hematomas appear. The symptoms mayjoin fever, headache and even fainting
- Bruised. It occurs very often, people are used to not giving it much attention. A hematoma forms at the site of injury, and the hand becomes swollen. Painful sensations appear.
- Dislocation. With a dislocation, the joint is deformed, swelling is formed and pain appears, sensitivity is lost in part of the hand.
- Fracture of the bones of the hand. The first symptoms appear as if sprained or bruised. When the shape of the fracture is open, other tissue of the hand is also damaged, an open wound is formed due to bone fragments that appear after the fracture.
Tendinitis
Tendinitis is an inflammatory disease of the ligamentous apparatus. This violation occurs due to excessive physical activity, which leads to constant overloads of the musculoskeletal system; due to frequent microdamages of the ligaments; as a result of power loads.
Tendinitis symptoms:
- Pain during active sports, with increased physical activity, with a long stay in a static position - standing.
- Swelling of the affected area that occurs towards the end of the day.
- Increase in temperature of the affected joint.
- Characteristic crunch when moving.
- Shooting after intense workouts.
- Convulsions.
Diagnosis of the disease is carried out by an orthopedic surgeon who conducts an initial examination andreveals the affected area by palpation. Normally, the muscle fibers around the joints and tendons should be elastic and smooth. With tendonitis, they become unnecessarily tense, large to the touch due to inflammation, and warm. In addition, when pressed, a pain syndrome appears, which does not fade for quite a long time - from 2–5 seconds.
Tunnel Syndrome
One of the most common hand diseases is carpal tunnel syndrome, or carpal tunnel syndrome. First of all, people who often use a computer mouse are subject to it. This disease appears due to compression of the median nerve, and manifests itself first in weakness of the hand, numbness and tingling in the fingers. Then there are painful sensations while working at the computer and with any other brush movements. The wrist contains a narrow area through which tendons and the median nerve pass. This place is called the carpal tunnel, or tunnel.
The median nerve is responsible for the sensitivity of the fingers and for the contraction of the muscles responsible for the movement of the three fingers: thumb, index and middle. Pinching of the median nerve can cause swelling, inflammation of closely spaced tendons, and sprains. The nerve begins to lose its conductive properties, blood circulation and metabolism in the tissues of the hand are also disturbed, which further aggravates the situation. These are the main symptoms of hand disease (photo below).
In a word, the computer mouse is one of the main culprits of carpal tunnel. When working on a computermany repetitive actions are performed by the same muscles, while excessive bending of the hand occurs.
Deforming osteoarthritis of the hand joints
When pain occurs in the joints of the hands or degenerative deformation of the cartilage tissue, experts diagnose: deforming osteoarthritis of the joints. The main factor in the manifestation of this disease is the discrepancy between the load on the joints and their strength. The main causes of the disease are:
- overweight;
- old age;
- injuries;
- psoriasis;
- hormonal imbalance;
- disturbed metabolism;
- doing professional sports.
All types of this disease are characterized by pain of varying degrees, as well as the following symptoms:
- pronounced crunch, manifested during body movements;
- severe decrease in mobility;
- spasms of the muscles that are near the affected area;
- gradual deformity of the joint.
When this diagnosis is confirmed, complex therapy is prescribed to eliminate it, following which it is necessary to reduce motor activity, avoid strong physical exertion, and avoid fixing body positions. In a severe form of the disease, doctors prescribe surgery with further arthroplasty of the affected joints.
Aseptic necrosis
AsepticJoint necrosis is a disease that progresses with constant work associated with injuries of certain bones and overstrain of certain groups of muscle tissue. The disease of the hands is most often manifested in the hands and pre-elbow zones. There are a certain number of reasons for the occurrence of this process, the main ones are:
- bruises, dislocations, fractures;
- drug intoxication;
- minor injuries sustained while working;
- various diseases (diabetes, pancreatitis, etc.);
- rough medical manipulations;
- strong radioactive impact;
- human immunodeficiency virus (HIV);
- congenital structural features of the joints.
In some cases, it is impossible to find out the cause of the disease. This type of disease is called idiopathic and requires further diagnosis.
The main symptoms of the manifestation of the disease are: atrophy of muscle tissue, stiff mobility of the affected hands, severe pain, rapid development of the disease. Aseptic necrosis is first treated with conservative methods - these are therapeutic exercises, medication, massages, paraffin therapy, hydrogen sulfide baths. If this treatment does not help, surgery is prescribed, which also does not always bring a positive effect. After surgery, unfortunately, it is often only possible to partially restore joint function.
De Quervain's disease
Among all diseases of the hands, the most common disease is deKerven, which develops gradually due to the monotonous repeated movements that occur for a long time. In addition, such a disease is often observed in those who have been injured in the hand. People of some professions constantly perform the same movements mainly with the thumb. This leads to a gradual and strong increase in pressure on the walls of the channel where the tendon passes. After a certain period of time, the channel narrows, and with the monotonous movements of the thumb, there is constant friction against the walls of the channel. This leads to the appearance of an inflammatory process in the tendon passing through the canal. As soon as the friction stops, or the pressure normalizes, the tissues will gradually begin to recover, on which stenosis will develop after a certain period of time. This pathology is most common in those people who, during work, have to perform the same brush movements. These include pianists, masons, milkmaids, laundresses, cashiers.
Quite often, with de Quervain's disease of the hand, young mothers also come to the doctors, who raise their child by the armpits, as their thumb is laid aside and is in great tension for some time. You can learn about the beginning of the development of this disease of the hand by some characteristic symptoms. For example, it can be a pulling pain at the very base of the thumb towards the end of the working day, and with light pressure on the affected area, the pain may be stronger.
There are both conservative and surgical treatmentsde Quervain's disease of the hand, but in any case, the physician recommends that the patient completely eliminate the factor that caused the appearance of such a pathology. If the ligament is damaged, it is necessary to completely exclude all loads on it, in addition, doctors often put a plaster splint on the damaged area, and the plaster is applied up to the forearm.
Trigger finger syndrome
Trigger finger syndrome is scientifically called Knott's disease. This disease is manifested by inflammatory changes in the ligaments and tendons, because of this, in fact, a nasty clicking sound appears. Causes of Knott's disease include:
- Professional activity - it has long been known that musicians and other professionals who constantly use fine motor skills of their hands are more likely to suffer from arthritis, arthrosis and, accordingly, Knott's disease.
- Injuries and microtraumas gradually destroy the natural barrier of the ligamentous apparatus, which leads to local inflammation of the joints and tendons.
- Infections - pathological agents affect the vascular walls, the musculoskeletal system and internal organs. Therefore, the inflammatory process of the flexor muscles in various parts of the body can provoke a bacterial or viral infection. A striking example is a history of tuberculosis of the skin and bones.
- Hereditary predisposition - genetic factors, tendencies are one of the most common causes of musculoskeletal disorders.
Gouty arthritis
Gouty arthritis, or simply gout, usually occurs in people over the age of 50, and is less likely to occur in younger people. The disease of the joints of the hands appears due to the accumulation of uric acid s alts. If this disease has appeared, then this almost always indicates an unhe althy lifestyle of the patient. The disease can be immediately on two or, conversely, just on one hand. May also appear on the legs.
The symptoms of gout are very hard to miss: the fingers swell and become larger, a sharp pain is felt, the temperature near the sore spot increases. Very often the patient feels constant fatigue and weakness. In rare and more severe cases, the temperature rises. The pain intensifies at night, preventing sleep. To start fighting the disease of the hands of a person, it is worth going on a diet. It is necessary to remove from the diet foods that contain a lot of purines.
Chocolate products, alcohol, red meat, fast food, sorrel and offal should be removed. You can complete the list yourself. Basically, it is worth eating fruits, various vegetables, lean white meat, lean foods, dairy products. It is also advisable to eat low-calorie foods. Also remember to drink plenty of water.
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis affects bone and cartilage tissues. When it progresses, the immune system rejects he althy tissues, perceiving them as foreign. If a disease of the joints of the hands and fingers is detected, it is urgent to start treatment, since a cure is possible in the early stages, and if the disease is initially allowed togravity, the consequences are fatal, the joints begin to deform.
In general, the recovery process is delayed for a long time, and sometimes for life. During treatment, you need to regularly take medications, undergo physiotherapy exercises and physiotherapy. If complications occur, surgery may be recommended.
In the treatment using immunosuppressive drugs, glucocorticosteroids, corticosteroids, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory, antimalarial drugs. They have enzymatic activity, and also improve the properties of the blood. If there is an urgent need for surgery, then a synovectomy or total joint replacement is performed.
Physiotherapy and exercise therapy include specially designed exercises, as well as ultraphonophoresis, magnet and electrophoresis.
Timely treatment is the key to effective joint recovery, as well as elimination of the main cause of the disease.
Systemic lupus erythematosus
Systemic lupus erythematosus is a complex autoimmune disease. The nature of the disease has not yet been studied. Most doctors believe that the disease develops due to a virus, in which the immune system begins to produce antibodies that adversely affect he althy cells. Hands begin to hurt and go numb. Small joints are inflamed. There are several causes of the disease:
heredity, since there are genes predisposed to this pathology;
excessive UV exposure;
violationhormonal balance;
colds and infectious diseases;
bad habits;
taking certain types of strong medications;
adverse environmental factors
The small joints of the hands and wrists are affected in patients. The phalanges of the fingers swell and symmetrically deform. The disease can occur in different ways: from minimal to severe pain.
The main symptoms of diseases of the hands: chronic fatigue, fever, swelling of the joints, aching pain, atrophy of the muscles of the hands, skin rashes, loss of appetite.
Treatment is carried out in a complex, depending on the activity of the process:
- If the disease is mild, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are used.
- For weakness, skin lesions, antimalarial drugs are used.
- Programmed hemodialysis is used for patients with severe complications.
The main treatment for lupus is corticosteroid therapy, as it has a pronounced anti-inflammatory effect. An important point: constant medical supervision is required to adjust the treatment regimen.
Raynaud's Syndrome
Raynaud's syndrome is an integral component of Raynaud's disease (named after the scientist who discovered this disease). It manifests itself as a violation of blood circulation in the area of the fingers and toes, a change in the color of the skin in the affected area, convulsive disorders due to lack of oxygen. The classification of Raynaud's syndrome is represented by the primary and secondary formviolations:
- Primary occurs as an acute phenomenon associated with the influence of pathological factors of the external or internal environment. After the cause of the CSF drops is eliminated, the blood supply in the capillaries and vessels is finally restored.
- Secondary is a consequence of the disease, which leads to periodic failures in the processes of natural blood supply. For example, diabetes.
Symptomatic complex of diseases of the hands and fingers is characteristic of this type of pathology and manifests itself:
- Changing the color of the skin - from whitish to bluish.
- Swelling of the affected area.
- Neurological abnormalities - convulsions, tingling, tremors.
- Obvious intravascular changes (visible on CT).
