Treatment Options for Carpometacarpal (CMC) Joint Osteoarthritis – Dr. Benjamin Paulson скачать в хорошем качестве

Treatment Options for Carpometacarpal (CMC) Joint Osteoarthritis – Dr. Benjamin Paulson

Dr. Benjamin Paulson discusses treatment options for Carpometacarpal (CMC) Joint Osteoarthritis (Arthritis of the Thumb). What is Carpometacarpal (CMC) Joint Osteoarthritis? Arthritis can happen in any joint. The most common arthritis is degenerative arthritis, which is just wearing out of the joint. With the hand, it's most common at the base of the thumb called CMC or Carpometacarpal Joint Osteoarthritis, where it just gets worn out and causes pain with gripping and pinching and using your thumb. What are common symptoms of arthritis of the thumb? Common symptoms of arthritis of the thumb usually involve pain. It varies on what the type of pain and how much it goes. But usually it's with activities. Usually it’s either some sharp or throbbing pain that radiates up and down the thumb. Often, it's with activities and gripping the thumb, but sometimes people do have pain at rest as well too. When should a patient see a doctor about their thumb arthritis? Patients usually seek treatment for their arthritis of the thumb when it starts interfering with their activities. We're often going to get X-rays and determine that is the cause of it because there could be some other causes such as trigger thumbs or tendonitis around the bases of the thumb – but once it's determined that it is arthritis we can talk to you about treatment options for arthritis of the thumb. What are treatment options for Carpometacarpal (CMC) Joint Osteoarthritis? Treatment options for arthritis of the thumb are usually conservative at first. Conservative treatment options include bracing, creams or heat. There are therapy programs we can do to strengthen the base of thumb. If conservative treatment option fail – surgery is an option. Most people do not end up needing surgery, but it does work very well for patients who get to that point. What is involved with the recovery from surgery? The surgical procedure for CMC arthritis is a little bit involved than other types of surgery because it involves redoing a joint and that can take quite a few months to get over it. Often, we do some type of splinting, bracing or casting for two to six weeks often followed by therapy after that. Unfortunately, it may take three months or more to get real good use of your thumb again.