Suddenly we begin to have difficulties opening a jar or a can. The base of the thumb bothers us and we feel that we lack strength in our hand. The reason? Have rhizarthrosis.
A pathology of the hand that is irreversible and that it is becoming more frequent due to the excessive use of mobile phones, tablets and game consoles.
He Dr. Damian Gomez HernandezVithas Madrid Aravaca, explains that rhizarthrosis is a form of osteoarthritis that affects the thumb of the hand, more specifically to the trapezio-metacarpal joint. And he explains:
- “This pathology generally has an unfavorable prognosis, since it is an irreversible disease that tends to continually worsen.”
First symptoms of rhizarthrosis
The first symptoms that can alert us to a possible rhizarthrosis are:
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He pain and inflammation at the base of the thumb.
- Difficulty performing gestures everyday manuals, such as opening a can.
- feeling of stiffness at the trapeziometacarpal joint.
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Production of abnormal noises during hand movement.
According to the specialist, rhizarthrosis is more frequent among women, “however, in 2021 we have had a greater presence of male patients in consultations.”
And it is also undergoing a qualitatively important change:
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“The The average age of those affected is between 50 and 60 years.but in the last decade we have seen that it is increasingly presented at younger ages ».
Conservative treatment
One of the first options offered by trauma specialists is the use of splints, with the aim of immobilizing the thumb.
This orthopedic solution can be complemented with the taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or infiltrations corticosteroids or hyaluronic acid.
Surgical treatment: arthroplasty
When the most conservative therapies fail to alleviate symptoms, especially pain, the best option is arthroplasty.
It is a surgical intervention whose objective is to replace the trapezio-metacarpal joint with a prosthesis.
This technique is one of the specialties of the Vithas Madrid Aravaca Hand Surgery Unit. Especially from Doctor Damián Gómez, who has placed more than 200 of these implants “with excellent results.”
And he explains it clearly:
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“This is a state-of-the-art implant that eliminates pain, provides stability to said joint and preserves all its mobility, favoring the incorporation into the routine life of the patient at an extremely early time.”
Excessive use of mobile devices increases hand pathologies
Precisely, according to doctor Gómez, the prominence of new technologies in society, as well as a generational change in the handling of the thumb by the exaggerated and uncontrolled use of mobile devices«has derived, at the traumatological level, in a increase in pathologies of the hand, wrist and neckcaused by inappropriate postures in the use of computers, tablets or consoles, among others ».
And as the specialist assures:
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Despite the fact that the use of the new devices is very frequent in all populations of any age, “management without adequate control in the case of young university students, those in high school, and even younger people, due to the use of video consoles , for example, can generate negative effects, especially at the musculoskeletal level”, .
In this sense, he points out that two of the most affected regions are the hand and wrist. «We have young people who go to surgery consultations at our hospital for pathologies such as DeQuervain’s tenosynovitis».
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It is a painful lesion that affects the tendons of the wrist on the thumb side and causes pain when turning the wrist, grasping anything or making a fist.
But it is not the only pathology derived from our dependence on mobile technology.
Another of the main conditions derived from the exaggerated and uncontrolled use of mobile devices is incipient rhizarthrosis.
To treat these ailments, Dr. Gómez points out that in most cases they resort to:
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immobilization
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The anti-inflammatory drugs
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Physiotherapy sessions.
“It is important to explain to these patients that uncontrolled pain and the progression to chronicity of these lesions entail taking other measures, such as surgical treatment.”