01/03/2021 - What did I do when my fingers started to bend inward?

[Amy_Lee]

I read in other group that some RA patients said that their fingers bend inward and they are not able to function as normal because they are very tender to touch. I can certainly relate to the pain and the feeling of disappointment.

At the early stage of my RA, my fingers bent inward too. They were very painful to touch. The occupational therapist got me to wear the fingers splint. As I used a lot of my fingers to type in the office, it was so hard for me to put it on. But I must not allow my fingers to continue to bend inward as I need my fingers to function normally.

I started to sit on my fingers as much as I could get the time to do so. I also slept on them at night. It was very painful to do so. I allowed my body weight to slowly adjust to the pain to the level I could tolerate and slowly I could sit and sleep on them.

Many months later, I started to see the result. It was so encouraging. Then I started to use my hand to bend my fingers of the other hand outwards as in the picture. At this time, mtx already kicked in, hence to bend my fingers outwards was not as painful to me though still very stiff.

While waiting for mtx to kick in, I started a lot of exercises to help myself to get back to normal. This was just what I did for my fingers and I hope it helps.

[springcross]

Thanks for sharing that Amy_Lee, I'm glad it worked for you. x

[Amy_Lee in reply to springcross]

Yes, it helped me a lot really. I hope it helps you too.