Basal Thumb Joint arthritis or something else?

Tk718 · 08-29-2006, 04:19 PM

I am 25 yrs old and in my right hand I have a pain in the basal joint. I had 2 xrays done at different facilities and no problems were found with the joint. It is moderately painfull to hold a pen for a long time and very painful if i try to touch my pinky finger with the thumb. A went to a hand surgeon for an exam and he also said my joint is fine and gave me a splint to wear. So far nothing helped and the pain is still there after over a year. I have to use the hand all the time to hold instruments in dental school so I am stuck as to what can be done. Any feedback will be appreciated.

Baybreeze · 08-29-2006, 07:21 PM

Hi,

Did any look into if it has something to do with the muscles, tendons, or ligament? Maybe it's something similar to carpal tunnel syndrome.

Tk718 · 08-29-2006, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baybreeze

Hi,

Did any look into if it has something to do with the muscles, tendons, or ligament? Maybe it's something similar to carpal tunnel syndrome.

Thanks for the reply, I will probably get an MRI and see if the doctor can pinpoint my problem. As far as carpal tunnel goes, the location of pain doesn't match with this diesease and I am pretty sure it is in the Basal Joint area.

Misty800 · 09-01-2006, 02:46 PM

You may have "trigger thumb". I have this and the x-ray did not show anything wrong, but the hand specialist said it was inflammation of the tendon in the thumb. I have inflammation in many other places too and 3 doctors have yet to address it as being arthritis. I took Actonel for osteoporosis for 6 weeks and ended up being literally poisoned by it and still suffering side effects. I do believe my thumb/fingers problem is part of the Actonel problem causing inflammation all over my body.

robin48 · 09-20-2006, 07:51 PM

I have arthritis in various joints and I also had "trigger thumb". It got to the point where I couldn't bend my right thumb at all and it was very painful. Try doing anything without using your thumb! Anyway, I first got a shot of cortisone in the thumb joint. Ouch! Relieved the symptoms for about a week. Eventually needed to have the thumb operated on a few months later. Not too bad as operations go. That was over 3 years ago and have no trouble with my thumb since. Good luck!