How to treat swollen and painful hands and wrists?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am 39 years old, and I have been having some serious problems with my hands and wrists. For the past few months, they have been painfully swollen, and I wake up every morning with stiffness that lasts for hours. My fingers are starting to look crooked, and I have noticed that gripping or writing is becoming harder. My doctor ran some blood tests, and my RF level is 82 IU/mL, with a CRP level of 18 mg/L 82. I have also lost a significant amount of weight about ten pounds and I am constantly tired, no matter how much rest I get. I am scared this might be rheumatoid arthritis because my grandmother had similar symptoms. Could you explain what might be happening and if there is a way to treat this before it gets worse? I feel like this is affecting my ability to do my work and live a normal life.

Kindly help me.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I read your query and understood your concern.

As per the complaint, the condition seems to be like arthritis. Sometimes, there might be no symptoms, but it gets worsened over the course of time. The major issue remains the joints getting affected.

If the smaller joints are showing symptoms, then adding some amount of physical activity can help.

Including active free exercises with higher repetitions and less load is beneficial.
Including a customized protocol like lifestyle modifications and ergonomic choices is preferred nowadays.
Hand grip exercises, stretching of the smaller joints, and distributing the load equally on all joints are also preferred.
Morning stiffness can be reduced by following regular morning exercises after getting out of bed, as well as exercises before going to bed at night.
Hot and cold compression is very useful in reducing the pain and swelling.
Basic home-based exercises, such as paper folding, towel gripping, wrist movements, rotations, and hand flexor and extensor stretches, can be included.
Regular physiotherapy sessions can be taken, which can be designed according to the condition of the client. The therapist will advise the number of days to be followed.
Passive mobilization by the therapist can be done during the session for ease of pain in the joints.
Along with medications, the above-mentioned therapies can help to reduce the arthritic symptoms.

I hope this has helped you.

Kindly follow up if you have more doubts.

Thank you.