Good morning, I'm suffering from severe hand and feet pain. I’m due to have an ultrasound of my hands in 2 weeks so my consultant doesn’t want me to have a course of steroids (the only thing that works for me to relieve pain)
Has anyone got any suggestions to improve hand movement/ease pain in the interim?
I’m finding it particularly hard to make a fist/pick things up/wash my hair etc etc.
Thank you
unfortunately you are restricted. Have you tried compression gloves and socks or wrist splints these can help reduce swelling and support joints . The usual heat and ice can only do so much . I’ve been there it’s terrible life is so restricted. Once scans done make sure your booked in steroids. Good luck
Same as J1707 for me, wrist splints in the day and compression gloves at night. Hoping the next two weeks go quickly for you 🤞🏻
Hi there Em, so sorry to hear your hands and feet are ouch. Moving/swishing/opening and closing my hands in hot (but not too hot) soapy water in the basin several times a day to get the blood flowing more through them and stop them seizing so much helped a lot early days of severe RA and flares thereafter. I used to go for regular 2-3 times weekly hand & forearm wax baths at the hospital physio dept but my hospital is only a few mins away so was easy to do that.
I also do a bowl of hot water and Epsom salts as a foot soak of about 10 mins (I get too prune-like if soak any longer) and that seems to help me after any foot activity. I keep my ankles moving with gentle ankle rotations and flexing and pointing. Just steady small movements. Nothing strenuous or painful. Toe wiggling/gently clenching and releasing too if you can. You can lose a lot of muscle under foot at first which affects most movement. Also very important to get support under your feet via custom orthotics (ask your rheumy re an orthotics appointment if you feel you need one re shoes and foot support) ) or ones you can buy, but that’s trial and error. I was lucky I had an excellent physio who kept me moving. Hydrotherapy too was so beneficial to me but not every rheumy dept has access to a suitable pool.
You could try something topical and put a Voltarol type painkilling gel-cream on the feet but take care if doing it on hands. I have a hemp based gel (5Kind brand) which seems to soothe but not as powerful as Voltarol, but you always have to consider what else you are taking anti inflam wise orally, if you use Voltarol gel. I use it for when I’m gong to an appointment, etc and know my knees and ankles will be under more stress.
If my hands have been bad and I can’t wash my hair I give it a spruce up with a flannel with warm water to stimulate the scalp and refresh until can do it later in the day. Or you could use something like Simple wipes across your scalp to refresh. Also I found that some of the leave in conditioners were helpful if used sparingly and don’t make your hair heavy. A fave I often use as it’s really nice smelling and not sticky or heavy is Elvive gentle/sensitive scalp oat, leave in conditioner. A little goes a long way. Dry shampoo makes my head itch. There are also some shampoo caps that someone on here spoke of last year. Not tried those ever but Google “shampoo caps” and have a look.
Hope your hands and feet feel rellef soon. 🙏
I have inflammatory arthritis but when I broke my wrist I found a lot of things very difficult to do and then I developed CRPS which was even worse. Like you I couldn’t make a fist to start off with, I dropped so many things - anything small used to slip out of my grip which was very frustrating.
I second NK’s advice about a bowl of hottish soapy water, I used to squeeze out a dishcloth. I did that a lot as I found it so soothing, I used to do my hand exercises in hot water too.
I also bought a TheraMit that I heated in the microwave - if you buy one go for the largest size and I used compression gloves although I used them during the day and splints at night. I used magnesium flakes in the bath.
I was given an exercise sheet with physio exercises for the wrist fracture (I was found to have osteoporosis) but I was mainly left to myself to do my exercises at home until I developed CRPS - my plaster cast was too tight - this all happened during covid when I had online physio with a hand physiotherapist.
So I did a lot of gentle exercise throughout the day to keep my hands moving, I still do and we do a lot of hand exercises in my twice weekly pilates classes. I do think that keeping them moving gently is a great help
When I couldn’t use my hands I found washing my hair an absolute nightmare. My husband used to do it for me - he was willing but absolutely hopeless and it was a thoroughly unpleasant experience, I used dry shampoo and managed to only have to wash it once a week.
I’ve seen adverts in the paper for some sort of dry shampoo caps suitable for use in hospitals etc but I haven’t tried them boots.com/nilaqua-rinse-fre...
Could you treat yourself to a quick wash and blow dry at your local hairdresser or even get a friend to wash your hair? I couldn’t cut veg or that sort of thing so I bought a mini Magimix chopper and I used my useless hands as a reason to indulge in a very lightweight hairdryer and vacuum cleaner
I used paracetamol to take the edge off the pain. I think to get good results from your ultrasound - you will need to grit your teeth for the next two weeks and do what your rheumy has told you. Hopefully horrible as it is the pain you are going through now will give you a result that will help you in the long run.
Great suggestions from Neonkitty. I also use Ibuprofen gel on the soles of my feet twice a day and once I’m in bed I put it on the palms and swollen joints of my hands - all of that works well for me.
Nilaqua No Rinse waterless shampoo is great if you can’t wash your hair - Boots £3.99 called Nilaqua Towel Off shampoo or Amazon - a friend of mine used it for two weeks when her cataracts were done and I used it when I had a hip replacement. Can recommend.
Keep taking whatever pain killers you’re on regularly so your pain levels don’t dip and soar and let everybody else do anything possible to help you until you’ve had your ultrasound! All best and hope you have relief soon.
I have also used Nilaqua which my daughter bought for me when I was in hospital. I can certainly recommend it.
have you been checked for .Osteo arthritis…that can cause the symptoms you mention?
No, how do they check for that? I’ve had no imaging apart from my feet and back (had a recent spinal op)
Osteoarthritis showed up when my physio referred me for an MRI in 2021 when I flew through the air backwards and landed on my tailbone on ground that was like concrete. Turned out I had fractured my sacrum but turned out I have osteoarthritis and bursitis in there as well.
So osteoarthritis may well show up on your hand ultrasound. 🤞it will reveal all - although i can’t imagine you will be able to cross your fingers at the moment.
Your ultrasound will differentiate between synovitis (inflammation of the synovial fluid round the joints) caused by RA and the thickening around the cartilage caused by the wear and tear of osteoarthritis.
I’ve recently had ultrasound on both hands and feet and although to everyone’s surprise I had no active inflammation in either I had significant degenerative osteoarthritic changes secondary to rheumatoid which is causing the horrible pain in the balls of my feet and some joints in my fingers. So when you have your scan you’ll find out what’s causing your problems.
My own ultrasound and later an xray on My hands showed a mixture of both inflammatory and osteo arthritis.Just began using Epsom salts to soak my hands, that feels so good. I hate anything tight on my body ( a fibromyalgia thing) or anything touching my wrists, but found a looser pair of cotton gloves which not only warm my hands but seems to make it more comfortable when I try to flex the finger joints
To pick small things up ( I drop a lot of things ) like pens I have done a quick fix of wrapping bubble wrap around the stem to help me hold them better.
and a microwave wheat bag helps me with the stiffness ( in a perverse way, cold gel packs work too for me. Weird )
I am going for exray on hands , have been hurting fo well over month now, do have osteo in back hip etc, my question is how do the diagnosie inflammatory arthritis?
From my understanding blood tests generally show inflammatory arthritis for most people. Alongside symotoms. But I, like some, are diagnose with seronegative inflammatory arthritis, and we lack the blood test indicators.So, for me I had scans done on my hands ( my worse pain ) which showed inflammation. This, along with an examination by a rheumatologist and him going by my symptoms have me the diagnosis.
I hope some one will correct it I am wrong. I am going by my experience.
Thanks all. Some really useful advice there!
I just can’t help but wonder if my hands always be this bloody painful! 😥
Can’t help much with many suggestions but my RA dept did suggest soaking hands in quite hot water but wearing rubber gloves. They said it’s as effective as a wax dip. I hope u get some relief soon!
I have found warm water or a heat pad really helpful in reducing pain. If you have pain and swelling you may find a coolpack wrapped in a towel added. So heat for 10 -15 mins then cold depending on the symptoms.
I had the same issue a couple of weeks ago. I phoned the hospital to see if there were any cancellation appointments I could have. I was lucky and there was, so it meant I could have the steroids quickly to relieve the symptoms a bit. Might be worth a call if you can get there. I phoned at 9am. Just an idea
One thing I do for my hands is every morning when my hands are painfull and stiff I do stretching excersizes , just stretch hand and fingers slowly , then fold top part of fingers over towards palms then stretch out fingers and spread white quickly and you will find they loosen up and get less pain and should be able to go quicker . Obviously don’t do it if it’s painful or be more gentle with the movement . Personally I find a heat pack works well . I use one of the microwave neck warmers. I still haven’t anything to help my feet , one of them is agony and for the last 4 weeks have been reduced to wearing croc type sandals, they are the only thing I can walk in , I should see the doctor but I expect he would just put me on a waiting list to see a podiatrist who will make up a pair of insoles for shoes which I don’t wear it’s either boots or sandals so no good untill boot season comes round . I hope you find something to help x
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