Hand Osteoarthritis (Subscribe)  

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative condition in which the articular cartilage on the surfaces of the bones that form joints progressively deteriorates. The terms osteoarthrosis and OA are often used interchangeably. Although inflammation is generally absent in this degenerative condition, most physicians commonly refer to it as OA. Hence, this...

Thumb basal joint arthritis is a common condition which often affects both hands. It is painless in some people, but others have great difficulty because of pain and weakness of pinch. Over time, the thumb may draw into the palm and be compensated by stretching and hyperextending the adjacent metacarpophalangeal joint.

There are many variations on the procedure of soft tissue basal joint arthroplasty. In this case, the abductor pollicis longus tendon is split with a custom tendon stripper and used as a distally based graft for ligament reconstruction and interposition.

This woman in her 30's presented with left wrist pain and was found to have inflammatory osteoarthritic changes throughout her wrist, distal radioulnar joint and thumb basal joint. Blood tests were normal, including rheumatoid factor, antinuclear antibody, sedimentation rate, uric acid, and complete blood count. She was treated with nonsteroidal...

Clinical photographs of osteoarthritis hands and digits

Objective: To use the known association of idiopathic osteoarthritis with contracture as a means of searching for its cause. There are currently two theories concerning this association, one assuming that the contracture is a consequence of the osteoarthritis and the other that it precedes and causes the osteoarthritis. This study...

Osteoarthritis of the hand preferentially involves the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint and the carpometacarpal (CMC) joint of the thumb.1 The proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint is affected less commonly.
The term "osteoarthritis" has been used in the past to describe degenerative changes in the articular cartilage. However, a more descriptive term might...

Conclusions: A history of habitual Knuckle Cracking —including the total duration and total cumulative exposure— does not seem to be a risk factor for hand OA.
Knuckle Cracking and Hand Osteoarthritis Kevin deWeber, MD, FAAFP; Mariusz Olszewski, MD; Rebecca Ortolano, MD Posted: 03/24/2011; J Am Board Fam Med. 2011;24(2):169-174.

Scapholunate advanced collapse (SLAC) of the wrist is the most common pattern of degenerative arthritis in the wrist. Watson and Ballet coined the term SLAC wrist in 1984. Findings of bilateral SLAC wrist on a prehistoric skeleton provide paleopathological evidence of the existence of this disease 7000 years ago. The...