Overview of Symptoms of Arthritis in Fingers
1) Stiffness in the finger joints along with pain: The first symptom of Arthritis in fingers, though not a clear indicator of the disease itself. Minor fractures caused due to sudden trauma may also cause such symptoms. It is however; better to get such a condition properly checked by a doctor. The normal motion range of the finger joints is impaired and therefore, bending the fingers becomes painful or even impossible in certain cases. Both types of arthritis produce these symptoms in the fingers.
However, the distinguishing feature between these two types of arthritis is that, while in Rheumatoid Arthritis, the finger joints experience pain in the morning (or after inactivity); Osteoarthritis is characterized by increasing pain in the joints when used throughout the day.
2) Sudden development of lumps at the knuckles: This is also symptoms of Arthritis in fingers but is specific to Osteoarthritis only. These bony enlargements are technically known as Heberden’s nodes. These may/may not be painful, but they limit the movement range of the joints all the same.
3) Deformation of the finger joints: This is one the symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis in fingers. If not checked, continual damage to the overall joint structure of the fingers results in complete deformation of the fingers and loss of function.
4) Loss of grip strength: This is basically just a resultant symptom of the ones mentioned above. This is a common symptom of Arthritis in fingers (both types of Arthritis).
Symptoms of Arthritis in Fingers – Conclusion
Arthritis, as we all know, is not only limited to these symptoms alone. Other joints, skin areas and internal organs too may be affected with varying symptoms of their own. Writing about these would make the length of this article intolerable. The symptoms of Arthritis in fingers are basically limited to the ones mentioned above and are well known enough to be easily associated with the disease.