Conservative Treatments

There are several ways to address arthritis conservatively. The most common form of treatment is implementing gentle stretches to the affected joint at least once or twice a day. This keeps the joints mobile and helps prevent stiffening or tightening of the ligaments and tendons. People also use splints to stabilize the wrist or thumb to help reduce stress on the effected joints. Modalities such as heat and ice are very beneficial. Heat help loosen and relax the joints, while Ice helps reduce inflammation.

Injections

Cortisone injection is a more invasive form of conservative management, and is often combined with gentle stretches of the wrist and hand. The corticosteroid helps reduce inflammation of the effected joint capsule. It is best to combine gentle stretches after receiving the shot to help the soft tissue recover.

Side effects can occur! Cortisone injections can result in damage to the joint cartilage, necrotic bone tissue, infection, and even weakened tendons. This normally occurs when injections are done irresponsibly with large doses or too frequently. It is important to remind your doctor or nurse when your last cortisone injection was so that they can ensure there is a proper amount of time between injections.

Surgical Intervention

These procedures are usually a last resort, but they are very effective and often have very high success rates! One of the most common procedures performed is a trapeziectomy which helps reduce pain at the base of the thumb. The next two are silicone joint repairs which is most commonly performed at the PIP and MCP joints. Therapy is often required to ensure that the patient recovers appropriately without damaging the effected joint. Check out the videos to see how its done!

Trapeziectomy Procedure

MCP arthroplasty (silicone)

References

MayoClinic.org (2019). About Cortisone Shots. Retrieved from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/cortisone-shots/about/pac-20384794