About 40 percent of adults in the United States are likely to develop osteoarthritis (OA) in at least one hand by age 85, and some people are more at risk than others, according to researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Their findings were published recently in the journalArthritis & Rheumatology.
Hand OA比膝盖或髋关节关节炎更少引起注意，但它也会使人衰弱。疼痛、僵硬、有时弯曲的手指会使人难以进食、穿衣或打字。虽然它通常与老年有关，但手部OA往往开始于中年，影响一个人的工作能力。
Despite this, hand OA isn’t well studied and is often underreported, so lead study author Jin Qin, ScD, and colleagues in the Arthritis Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decided to find out just how common it is and whom it most commonly affects.
They looked at data from 1999 to 2004 and from 2005 to 2010 on more than 2,200 people enrolled in an ongoing arthritis study in Johnston County, North Carolina. Participants were considered to have hand OA if they complained of symptoms such as hand pain and stiffness and they had signs of damage to at least three finger joints on X-rays. Overall, the researchers calculated the lifetime risk of hand OA to be 40 percent; by comparison, it is 45 percent for knee osteoarthritis and 25 percent for hip OA.
But the risk for hand OA wasn’t evenly distributed. The research showed that women were twice as likely as men to develop hand OA (47 percent vs. 25 percent), whites were more affected than African Americans (41 percent vs. 29 percent) and people with obesity (having a body mass index of 30 or more) were at greater risk than those without obesity, regardless of their race or sex (47 percent vs. 36 percent).
The authors speculate that dwindling hormones after menopause may explain the gender gap between men and women, especially because the gap widens with age; other theories for the gap include variations in pain perception and anatomical differences.
体重和手部OA之间的关系还不太清楚。David Pisetsky医学博士是北卡罗来纳州达勒姆杜克大学医学中心的风湿病学家，他没有参与这项研究，他说肥胖会导致全身炎症，影响全身关节。
Not much is known about preventing hand OA, although jobs that involve prolonged pinching or gripping, repetitive motion or heavy vibrations are known to damage cartilage and joint tissues in the fingers.
Still, Dr. Pisetsky says it’s nearly impossible to predict which joints might be affected by OA, so prevention should focus on improving overall musculoskeletal health through exercise, maintaining a healthy weight and avoiding overuse and injury.
Few Treatment Options
Compared to the wide range of therapies for hip and knee arthritis, effective treatments for hand osteoarthritis are limited. They include topical and oral pain relievers andnondrug therapiesincluding splints, hand exercise, heat, massage and medical-grade chondroitin (which is not typically available in the United States). Surgery is rarely successful and usually recommended only as a last resort, according to David Ruch, MD, chief of the hand surgery at Duke University Medical Center.
Of the available options, hand exercise has been shown to be one of the most effective. In a study published inRheumatology (Oxford)in 2016, Dutch researchers found that patients with osteoarthritis who avoided using their hands and were passive about their own care were more disabled than people who remained active and effectively managed symptoms.
这一发现得到了德克萨斯州罗克沃尔市RPSC手部治疗中心高级手部治疗师Melissa Peavy的呼应，她说手部锻炼对减少关节炎肿胀和疼痛“总是有帮助的”。
她说:“病人不需要进行大量的重复就能从锻炼中获益。”“简单的练习……有助于提高灵活性，并为(日常活动)做好准备。”
Author: Linda Rath for the Arthritis Foundation
Related Resources:
- Wrist, Hand & Finger Pain
- Study Finds Chondroitin Sulfate Helps Hand OA
- Hand OA: Testing Hand Injections
Educative read, If someone has been down for the past one year due to athritis in the hip, can the exercise help to get her back to walking normally ?
我想知道更多关于骨关节炎的知识，如何通过补充和营养来缓解，我不太喜欢药物，除非绝对必要。
我和你一起吃药，我更喜欢维生素/补品。至于oa，医生会说“关节的年龄和磨损”。
依我之见，做你认为最好的——像祈祷和奇迹-;^).....J.L.
I was diagnosed with Chronic ulnocarpal impaction and severe osteoarthrosis of the first carpal metacarpal joint with small lobulated fluid collects which appear to extend from the joint that may represent small ganglion cyst.
It seems that the only option is surgery. This first showed up in 2008.
你有什么建议吗?currently, use Voltaren cream and a thumb brace.
My rheumatologist suggested hand exercise balls to strengthen my OA hands but if I try to do too much my hands really hurt. Is there a way to measure how much is too much or is there another way to strengthen my hands. Right now I have trouble holding onto things that I try to pick up.
So what type of exercises can you do for hand OA?
Can you post some exercises for hand RA? I am a knitter and gardener and those activities keep my hands active, but I would love to know more exercises to use and activities to avoid.
What are the hand exercises recommended????????? Where can they be accessed??????????
I have had OA since I was 10-12 years old and am 62 now. It has taken a tolI on me. I have had over 12 surgeries on my spine, and every joint is effected by OA.
It was definitely better when I could exercise daily. I am looking for a pool now to replace walking.. We cannot give up or in.
Thank you for this great information.
Hi i have osteoarthritis in both hands since early 40’s. Am 49 and fingers are mild to severe and my thumb is severe. Am so down with the pain and limited things i can do with my hands. Ive recently stopped working where the pain has eased but obviously when i do things with them they hurt like mad. Am trying to think of a career that will not effect them anymore,dont know what. Just want to be able to cope feel am still young and my hands are horrible looking.