Picture of Arthritis in Fingers
Pictures of arthritic fingers are common and they may affect up to 10% of the population. People with arthritis often have pain when doing simple tasks such as typing or writing letters. These symptoms usually appear within one year after the onset of the disease.
However, some people develop them later than others, which means that it could take longer before you experience any problems.
The most common cause of pictures in fingers is a condition called “Fibromyalgia.” It affects between 1 out of every 4 and 5 people over the age of 50. Other causes include:
Rheumatic Fever (a viral infection) – about 2% of the population is affected by rheumatic fever. It’s characterized by severe joint pain, fatigue, muscle weakness, and loss of appetite.
Arthritis – about 1% of the population is affected by arthritis. It’s characterized by stiffness in your joints, joint deformities, and loss of range of motion.
Parkinsonism – about 0.5% of the population is affected by Parkinsonism. It’s characterized by tremors and slowness in movement.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) – about 0.1% of the population is affected by CFS. It’s characterized by extreme fatigue and increased sensitivity to sunlight.
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) – about 0.1% of the population is affected by MS. It’s characterized by blurred vision and numbness in the hands.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) – about 0.1% of the population is affected by CTS. It’s characterized by numbness and weakness in the hands.
Fibromyalgia (FM) – about 0.5% of the population is affected by FM. It’s characterized by musculoskeletal pain all over the body.
Diabetes – about 2% of the population is affected by Diabetes. It’s characterized by numbness and lesions on your hands and feet.
Gout – about 1% of the population is affected by Gout. It’s characterized by painful swelling in your fingers, hands, and feet.
Scleroderma (SSc) – about 0.2% of the population is affected by Scleroderma. It’s characterized by hardening of the skin in your fingers and around your nails.
Lupus (SLE) – about 1% of the population is affected by SLE. It’s characterized by a butterfly-shaped rash on your cheeks and nose (butterfly rash).
Ankles and feet
Arthritis in the ankles and feet is quite common after the age of 40. Without treatment, it can lead to permanent damage of the joints and bones. Typically, the first symptom is aching in the joints that develops gradually over time.
This can eventually lead to more serious symptoms such as limited range of motion and bone erosion. In some cases, arthritis in the ankles and feet can lead to a condition called Charcot joint, which is a condition where the bones and cartilage begin to rub against one another. It’s important to seek out treatment before this happens.
As with arthritis in the fingers, there are two types of arthritis that can affect the ankles and feet: OA and RA.
OA tends to affect the small bones within the feet along with the toes. It usually begins with inflammation in the joints, causing pain and swelling. This can eventually lead to the bones within the joints permanently shifting out of place, which will cause the foot to become deformed over time.
The most common symptom is a feeling that you have something stuck under your feet when you walk, also known as “foot drop.”
RA tends to affect the ankle and heel bone. It’s characterized by extreme joint pain and limited range of motion. RA rarely affects the toes.
Treatments for OA and RA are almost identical. The main thing to do is make sure you stop the disease from progressing any further. This involves avoiding activities that cause pain in your feet and ankles, such as standing for long periods of time or running.
As with the other treatments, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen can be used to relieve pain and reduce inflammation in the joints. If NSAIDs aren’t enough, stronger medication such as corticosteroids can be used. Unlike the other treatments, your physician may suggest hospitalization or even surgery to fuse the knuckle joints in your feet to prevent further movement, which will reduce pain and slow progression of the disease.
It’s important to remember that all of these treatments merely slow down the progression of the disease; they do not stop it.
Sources & references used in this article:
Chronic arthritis after Sindbis-related (Pogosta) virus infection by R Luukkainen, M Laine, J Nirhamo – Scandinavian journal of …, 2000 – Taylor & Francis
Illusive clinical pictures of musculoskeletal pain syndromes by L Szczepański, A Szczepańska-Szerej – Reumatologia/Rheumatology, 2006 – termedia.pl
Palmar rheumatoid nodulosis of the fingers by N Walsh, TD Rozental, AB Chhabra, JE Isaacs…
Pictures & tears: A history of people who have cried in front of paintings by R Lagier, JC Gerster – Clinical Rheumatology, 1995 – Springer
Acute Arthritis of the Fingers in an Elderly Woman by J Elkins – 2004 – books.google.com
Homoeopathic drug pictures by K Araki, H Oiwa – Internal Medicine, 2017 – jstage.jst.go.jp
