From Hip Pain To Finger Pain

I was shocked at the responses to my last article about hip pain. There were no bad responses at all. All the responses shared how many people have lived and dealt with the same pain. It is always a great reminder that we are not in this battle with psoriatic arthritis alone.

Is finger pain related to psoriatic arthritis?

You would think that with seven years of battling the condition that I would know how impactful this community is, and I do. However, psoriatic arthritis is such a difficult disease that even the strongest of us have our down days.

Although some of the aches I have are from getting older, it is hard to believe that my finger-popping is age-related. It is like my body is falling apart all at once.

Discovering my own finger pain

Sleeping is a rare thing when it comes to psoriatic arthritis. When your body hurts it makes it hard to go to sleep. The doctor has put me on medicine to help me sleep at night. Most nights it works well but there are those nights where it takes forever to get to sleep. Seems like I have those more than I should.

I always find it funny when they suggest you should get at least eight hours of sleep a night. Even before psoriatic arthritis, it seems I never got that much sleep. Recently with the new hip pain, I'm awake more and more. Maybe that is why now I am sensing or feeling another problem. My middle finger on my right-hand feels like it is getting caught while trying to straighten it out.

How common is finger pain?

When I sleep at night and I use that term loosely, I have a tendency to clench my hands into fists. Why? I cannot answer that. I just know that I do it. Upon noticing it, I immediately straighten my hands. About halfway, I open my hand to the point where it feels like my middle finger hits a barrier wall.

My other fingers open up without any problem. The middle finger in question finally pops up. It doesn't hurt just feels really weird. Hopefully, someone else reading this understands what I am trying to describe so I do not sound so silly.

Fear of progression and immobilitiy

I believe I read somewhere that it is a possibility that your hand can close completely with psoriatic arthritis. That truly scares me thinking that it could happen. There was a time when I was caring for a woman that had a massive stroke.

One of her hands was completely closed. It was her dominant hand so someone had to feed her. That was part of my job. I am not saying this trying to scare anyone. We all know that psoriatic arthritis can and does affect our joints. It can and will affect your hands.

Talk to your doctor about finger pain

I've read a few articles to help arthritis finger and hand pain. Tips include heat, ice, and the importance of taking a break if your hands are starting to make you feel specific pain.

Remember once the damage is done to your joints, there is no going back. This includes me. I would never write an article about something I am dealing with to ignore what I have found. However, it does give one important point, if you are taking a specific psoriatic arthritis treatment and it is not working, please have a talk with your rheumatologist.

Even though I just started a new infusion treatment, I am seeing and feeling no improvement. On my next appointment, I will be advocating and sharing my thoughts. Please take care of yourself and your hands.