How do people cope with very painful and stiff hands after waking up, have tried various things like hot water etc but nothing helps?

[Hawkeye52]

This is related to my RA which is still pretty active

[Hidden]

Hello

Steep in warm water,afterwards I carry conkers in my pockets and manipulate them in my pockets this keeps the fingers supple and warm,

At night I wear my pressure gloves ??. overnight and sometimes wear splints.

BOB

[Hawkeye52 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks, will try this, anything is worth a go, are you on Biologics?

[Hidden in reply to Hawkeye52]

Hello Hawkeye

Not on Biologics at this time,They are not convinced because of my age

All the best

BOB

[Hawkeye52 in reply to Hidden]

good luck anyway

[earthwitch]

Make sure you report that back to your rheumatologist or rheumatology nurse - if you are still getting that much pain then the inflammation is clearly not under good enough control and they may need to tinker with your meds.

My hands probably aren't anywhere near as bad as yours (just the DIP joints from spondyloarthritis) but I find that getting my hands into the dishwater first thing in the morning is lovely. You could also talk to a physio about things like night splints and wax baths.

[Hidden]

A soft neoprene splint may help to stop the hand curling up during the night. There are electric gloves that keep hands warm too. Maybe even thermal gloves would be enough to keep the muscles warm. You can get hand warmers that just need snapping to use from outdoor shops. Do physios still use warm wax treatments - dunk your hands in melted wax?

[Hawkeye52 in reply to Hidden]

have looked up both items and the melted wax machines are relatively cheap, will get the gloves in the meantime, thanks for replying Colin