If you are a woman over 50, then you may be getting hit with your first signs of menopause and keeping a close eye on how your body is changing. Paying attention to any new health problems or symptoms you develop during this time can help you get treatment for conditions sooner rather than later; early treatment of health problems can often "nip them in the bud" and keep the problem from worsening. One condition relatively common in post-menopausal women is called basal thumb arthritis. Studies show that an estimated one-quarter of all post-menopausal women develop this problem, which is a type of osteoarthritis. Read on to learn more about basal thumb osteoarthritis and what the treatment options are.
Basal Thumb Osteoarthritis
While osteoarthritis can occur in any joint in your body, basal thumb osteoarthritis is an inflammation of the base joint of your thumb called the carpometacarpal joint. This is where your thumb meets the palm of your hand just above your wrist. Like other forms of osteoarthritis, basal thumb arthritis causes pain that typically worsens as the disease progresses.
This condition occurs when the cartilage in the joint deteriorates; the cartilage in a joint serves as a cushion between the two bones meeting, and when cartilage wears away, the bones begin to "grind against" each other. This causes pain and inflammation in the joint.
It is important to know the signs of basal thumb arthritis so you can work with your doctor to help keep the disease from worsening. The most common signs of this type of arthritis include pain in the joint; joint stiffness, especially in the morning; pain when gripping objects with your hand or reduced grip strength; and swelling in the joint caused by inflammation.
As soon as you notice any signs of basal thumb arthritis, report them to your doctor so they can refer you to an orthopedist who can determine what the cause of your symptoms are. If your insurance company doesn't require you to get a referral to see a specialist, you can find a hand doctor by visiting sites such as http://www.towncenterorthopaedics.com. When basal thumb arthritis is expected, x-rays are often not needed to confirm the diagnosis (although some hand doctors may order them). Instead, the doctors often diagnose the conditioning by simply examining your hand, listening to your symptom report, and having you perform tasks with your hands in their office and seeing whether this triggers your symptoms.
Basal Thumb-Arthritis Treatment Options
After a doctor diagnoses a patient with basal thumb osteoarthritis, their treatment recommendations can vary. Many doctors typically suggest that patients try more conservative treatments first, such as anti-inflammatory medications and corticosteroid injections to relieve pain along with wearing a hand splint at night. While these treatments can help ease your pain, they do not slow the progression of the disease. If at any time during treatment you would like to repair your joint with surgery, you can go ahead and ask your orthopedic surgeon which hand surgery you are the best candidate for. In fact, one orthopedic specialist reports that one in six to eight of the patients that she diagnoses with any form of hand arthritis opts to ask for surgery on their very first visit to her.
There are actually five surgeries used to treat basal thumb arthritis, and some are actually most effective when they are performed early on before the disease worsens. Ligament reconstruction is one form of basal thumb surgery that is most effective early on before cartilage in the joint is lost. This procedure helps stabilize the carpometacarpal joint and keep the disease from progressing (cartilage loss). To perform ligament reconstruction, your hand surgeon will take a small graft of tendon from your wrist and then implant it in your thumb after removing your thumb's damaged ligament.
If you choose to wait to have hand surgery until your disease progresses, or if the condition goes undiagnosed until it has progressed, then you may then be a better candidate for ligament reconstruction and tendon interposition. This surgery involves removing the trapezium bone in your wrist, which is the small bone that your thumb bone (metacarpal bone) meets in your hand. This small bone is then replaced with a cushion made from a donor tendon in your wrist or made of a synthetic material.
The removal of your trapezium bone (or sometimes just part of it) makes room for much more "cushion" material that replaces your natural cartilage to completely relieve joint pain. This surgery has been perfected over the almost half-century it has been performed in the United States and has a very high success rate.
The three other surgical options include total joint replacement, hematoma and distraction arthroplasty, and fusion surgery. Your hand doctor may suggest one of these alternative basal thumb-arthritis surgeries if he or she feels one is a better option for you and your needs.
If you are a woman just entering menopause, then paying close attention to how your body is changing can help you get any health problems you develop treated early and before they worsen. Pay attention to how your thumbs feel because you may not realize how prevalant basal thumb arthritis is in women over 50. If you notice pain, stiffness, or swelling at the base of your thumb, then report your symptoms to your doctor, who can refer you to an orthopedic specialist who can determine whether the symptoms are caused by basal thumb arthritis and discuss with you early treatment options that can keep this form of hand arthritis from worsening.
