Hand Aid

Continued...

The lack of cartilage means that bone rubs against bone, resulting in pain and sometimes swelling. Osteoarthritis takes years to develop. If you're a "knuckle popper" you should know that this activity, while painless at the time, may be causing microtrauma to the cartilage and ligaments of your joints. If you're the friend of a knuckle popper and can't. stand the noise, make sure your buddy knows about potential complications.

Women more commonly than men develop a second form of osteoarthritis of the hands - "nontraumatic" - or not resulting from injury. This condition has no known cause and usually occurs in a person's 50s. It is more common in certain families, too.

The knuckles become enlarged by bony overgrowth, feel stiff and sometimes swollen. Treatment consists of soaking the hands in warm water, performing range-of-motion exercises and occasionally taking anti-inflammatory medication for pain.

Be Sure it's Not Broken

A tennis-playing friend of ours recently called to complain about a pain in the last joint of her ring finger - she had jammed the tip while trying to catch a tennis ball. She was sure it wasn't broken because she could still bend her finger, but the pain hadn't gone away after nearly two months. However, it did "pop" just a little when she bent it. We directed her to an orthopedic hand specialist, and an X-ray confirmed that she had sustained a broken bone.

As her story illustrates, although a finger can be broken in many ways and locations, you may still be able to move it. Many breaks will be accompanied by some deformity of the finger or difficulty moving it, but small breaks, including those that involve the joint and can cause arthritis later, don't prevent normal motion. When in doubt, see a physician for an X-ray early so that finger breaks can be appropriately treated.

Anyone involved in catching a ball is at risk for dislocating a finger, which occurs when the bone completely separates from the socket. Ouch! It hurts just to think about it. A dislocated finger may also be broken, so go immediately for an X-ray and treatment in case a more serious injury exists.

There is another serious hand injury to look out for.

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Foreword: Billie Jean King

Comments by Barb Harris
Editor in Chief,
Shape Magazine

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