From Hip Pain To Finger Pain

By Vickie Wilkerson

3 min read

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 this battle, 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; it 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 who 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. During my next appointment, I will advocate and share my thoughts. Please take care of yourself and your hands.

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The Psoriatic-Arthritis.com team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

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candothis1 Member
Mine started with finger pain and joint deformity in end joints. What you are describing in your middle joint reminds me of something called trigger finger. Hip and tailbone pain started with me a couple of months ago and has been getting progressively worse. Definitely keeps me awake and almost impossible to sit comfortably. It is good to know that I am not alone. I hope you find some comfort in your treatments. Would love to know what’s working and not working. My doctor is recommending Humira and I am afraid to take it due to the potential serious side effects. So hard to know what to do.
1. candothis1 Member
 Thank you. Glad I was able to help identify the issue with your finger. If you don’t mind me asking.... Did you have zero side effects from Humira? Did you notice a decrease in pain only or a decrease in joint deformity or both?
2. Vickie Wilkerson Moderator & Contributor
 Hi <inline-mention user-id="3286102" username="candothis1"/> . Humira was great for the PsA. I could tell a major difference with it. I had no side effects. Unfortunately it did little for my Psoriasis which was wide spread so I had to switch to another biologic.
ddavis Member
Vickie, I couldn't comment fast enough! I have severe damage in both of my pointer fingers and have for five years or so. I was diagnosed four years ago. I have horrible pain in my fingers, and I describe it as "they are screaming at me" because sometimes the pain is all of a sudden, in one joint in one finger, and is unbearable! And then it's gone. And I also wake up with my hands in a fist and painful! Sleep is becoming more and more elusive.
Great Nana Member
Yes, Vickie, I just recently started experiencing my left thumb being in a painful bent and locked position in the morning when I wake up. I eventually can get it to straighten, with a popping sensation. It pops and clicks painfully all day (it reminds me of when my TMJ would cause my jaw to catch and then pop or click open). Now the middle finger of my left hand is doing it too but not 24/7 like my thumb. These are new symptoms since my last appointment with my rheumatologist. I was diagnosed with PsA in December 2019 and have been on methotrexate since March 2020 with some reduction in my original symptoms. I will definitely be discussing these new thumb and finger issues with my doc at my next appointment, as well as periodic left wrist pain which is also new.
CommunityMember545224 Member
 Had trigger finger and thumb, my doctor sent me to orthopedic doctor who gave me a steroid shot at the named finger/thumb. Next day they were fine, no problem since.