Hi everyone!
I saw my Rheumy yesterday and she recommended that I get thumb splints. My thumbs have already started bending in towards the palm of my hands making that knuckle (MCP joint) at the base of the thumb look large. She said the arthritis has weakened the ligaments that keep that finger straight. Has anyone else tried these and if so, do they eventually straighten your fingers or are they mainly for support? I didn't think to ask her at the time.Hi, Bonita,
I don't know the answer to your question, but I will be watching this post closely. My thumbs are starting to do the same thing, and they are painful. I have never heard of thumb splints. Do you buy them at a drug store? My next rheumy appointment is not until the end of February.My right hand is starting to look like something from a monster movie. For the last few weeks, I've had significant pain in my right wrist, on the bone below the thumb. I sometimes wake with my thumb "locked" in a grotesque position. And that lower thumb joint is getting bigger and bigger. My appointment is late February, also, so I'll ask about it. My right pointing finger is joining in the fun by swelling up and not wanting to bend. Happy New Year, RA. guys...if you have any sort of hand involvement you really really need to see a hand therapist. They are trained to be able to determine and build you the correct splint for the problems. And believe me a custom splint is far more comfortable than one off the shelf. Do not wait until it is too late to do anything other than operateVee, my rheumatologist told me you can get the thumb splints at Target etc. In "Arthritis Today" magazine, there is an ad for various types of splints by a company called 3 Point Products
( http://www.3pointproducts.com ) Thank you Buckeye for your advice. I wasn't aware of custom splints and I definitely want to avoid surgery. This is all so new to me.
Cataholic, my right index finger does the same thing. Sometimes, I can bend it a little more than other times but it has a clicking feeling to it. It's amazing how fast the damage from RA progresses.I use finger splints when my thumb and finger joint pain get to be too much. I've had problems with "frozen" thumbs and wearing a splint helps me tremendously. A couple of months ago my left thumb was frozen and after wearing a splint for 3 or 4 weeks the pain left and my thumb returned to normal. Now my right thumb is frozen so I'm wearing a splint,(which I bought at a drug store) and hopefully it will be better within the same amount of time as before. Actually, the pain is so bad when my thumb moves that I have to wear the splint to keep it from moving. I hope this helps.This does help. I'll get the thumb splint to help support them. I think I'll look into the custom splints for the other fingers.
Thanks!