Causes of Pain When Bending Finger Joints
The finger joints hurt when bending them, sometimes severely, making it difficult to move the fingers. Particularly in the morning upon waking, the finger joints feel stiffer, and the pain during bending becomes more pronounced. What exactly causes this?
Doctor's answer (1)
Finger joint pain when bending is a common symptom that can be caused by various factors.
1. Osteoarthritis: This is one of the most common causes, especially prevalent among middle-aged and elderly individuals. Osteoarthritis results from the wearing away of joint cartilage, which may cause swelling, stiffness, and pain in the finger joints.
2. Tenosynovitis: This is another common cause. Tenosynovitis occurs when the tendons of the finger joints repeatedly and frequently move within the tendon sheath, causing tendon edema and compression, which subsequently leads to pain. Particularly when bending the fingers, the pain becomes more evident due to tendon traction.
3. Rheumatoid Arthritis: This is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in multiple joints throughout the body, including the finger joints. Patients often experience morning stiffness, characterized by limited joint mobility, significant pain, and swelling upon waking up in the morning.
4. Gout: Gout is caused by abnormal metabolism of uric acid. Hyperuricemia leads to deposition of urate crystals in the joints, triggering acute arthritis, which may also affect the finger joints.
5. Trauma: After injuries such as impact or crush injuries to the finger joints, damage to the joint capsule, ligaments, or fractures may occur, subsequently causing pain during joint bending.
6. Overuse: Prolonged finger use in activities such as typing, drawing, or carrying heavy objects may lead to fatigue of the hand muscles and joints, resulting in pain.
7. Infection: Although uncommon, joint infections can cause severe pain, redness, swelling, and fever.
