Thumb Osteoarthritis Treatment Essay

Gamekeeper's Thumb, also known as Skier's Thumb or UCL tear, is an injury to the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) of the thumb. The UCL can become torn, damaged, or avulsed from the insertion point to the metacarpal-phalangeal joint of the thumb. This type of injury is common to skiers. This happens when the skier falls with an outstretched hand and the abducted thumb gets caught in the pole strap. This injury can also be seen in people with rheumatoid arthritis because of weakened ligaments. The injury can be caused by repetitive use where the UCL is gradually worn away over time. An ultrasound or MRI of the hand can look for the severity of soft tissue damage and an x-ray can be used to rule out possible fractures. The CPT code for

Rheumatoid arthritis affects the joints in the wrists and knuckles, though it may occur in any joint. It spreads throughout the body and damages connective tissues and organs. It will eventually, if unchecked, stiffen the joints in deformed positions. In this disease inflamed tissues erode the bones and cartilage.

You may need surgery if other treatments do not help, have recurring instability in the elbow, or if you have a complete tear of the UCL. After surgery you will have to wear a cast or splint and eventually have physical

The hip, knee, and thumb joints are places where it tends to happen the

Osteoarthritis, or degenerative joint disease, is a form of arthritis characterized by the breakdown of cartilage within joints. Cartilage serves to provide cushion at the ends of bones, and when the cushion is not sufficient, as in osteoarthritis, the bones rub together. As a result, osteoarthritis sufferers are constantly plagued by stiff, swollen, and inflamed joints (http://www.arthritis.org/answers/diseasecenter/oa.asp). It is a relatively common condition, with an estimated 20 million American sufferers, most of whom are elderly (http://webmd.lycos.com/content/article/1668.50297). Traditional treatments include Tylenol, aspirin, or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

• Do not press on the ganglion, poke it with a needle, or hit it.

• Using ice can be helpful after doing activities that involve the sore wrist. To apply ice to the injured area:

After surgery, you may be given a cast or splint to stabilize your finger joint. Your health care provider may show you exercises to strengthen and stretch your finger, and you may be given the name of a physical therapist.

DE Quervain’s Tenosynovitis. The rationale for choosing this condition as a differential diagnosis as the other is likely is based on the decreased sensation and the inability to grasp objects tightly. Evidence: De quervain’s tenosynovitis disease, also called gamer's thumb or mother's thumb, is a common pathological condition of the wrist. Even though the exact etiology is unknown, the cause of de quervain's disease is thought to be due to thickening of the synovial sheath containing the extensor pollicis brevis (EPB) and abductor pollicis longus (APL) tendons. This disease can cause irritation of the muscles, pain and swelling over the radial side of the wrist in patients along with an increased difficulty in gripping objects. Signs and symptoms of de quervain’s tenosynovitis include mild pain, limited ROM, swelling, and decreased sensation and locking with thumb motion (Patel, Tadisina, & Gonzalez,

Intersection syndrome is a condition that causes pain on the thumb side of the back of the forearm, about 2–3 inches above the wrist. In this part of the forearm, muscles that help move the thumb cross over muscles that help move the wrist. These muscles may swell when they rub together frequently, which interferes with movement of the bands of tissue that attach muscles to bones (tendons). This causes pain when the wrist is moved, because tendons of the wrist and thumb cannot move freely.

You use your hands and wrists every day for countless tasks. Joint conditions such as arthritis can make activities that were once simple or fun into a chore. Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis treated by orthopedic surgeons, and is caused by the gradual wearing down and weakening of the cartilage between your bones. Injury or overuse is typically the precursor to osteoarthritis of the wrist. This condition is often painful and can dramatically affect your daily life.

Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disorder, and more than half of all Americans who are older than 65 have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis. However, recent US data has revealed knee osteoarthritis does not discriminate age, and there is growing evidence that osteoarthritis affects individuals at a young age. The annual cost of osteoarthritis due to treatment and loss of productivity in the US is estimated to be more than 65 billion dollars.1 With no cure currently available for osteoarthritis, current treatments focus on management of symptoms. The primary goals of therapy include improved joint function, pain relief, and increased joint stability. Although the exact cause of osteoarthritis is unknown, many risk factors have been identified including increased age, female gender, obesity, and trauma.2 Within these risk factors, the etiology of osteoarthritis has been divided into anatomy, body mass, and gender.

The type of joint that is chronically affected is the synovial joint. The bones that are at a synovial joint are covered by articular cartilage; which reduces friction and absorbs shock. The space between the articulating bones is

According to Goodman and Fuller (2009) Osteoarthritis is divided into 2 classifications: Primary and secondary. Primary OA is a disorder of unknown cause which in the cascade of joint degeneration it is believed to be a related defect in the articular cartilage. Secondary OA has a known cause, which may be trauma, infection, hemarthrosis, osteonecrosis, or some condition Primary Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint disorder in the world and often affects the knee and hip joints (Rubak, Svendsen, Soballe, & Frost, 2013). For patients with primary hip OA, pain and disability are the most important indications for total hip replacement (THR) (Rubake et al., 2013, p.486) Primary symptoms of OA include joint pain, stiffness, and limitation of movement. Disease progression is usually slow but can

Osteoarthritis is a progressive disease of the joint, representing failed repair of the joint damage that resulted from intra-articular stresses. Intra-articular stresses maybe initiated by abnormalities in articular cartilage, sub-chondral bone, ligaments, menisci, peri-articular muscles, peripheral nervous and synovium. Ultimately, this result in the break down in the cartilage and bone, leads to the symptoms of pain, stiffness, crepitus and functional disability. As a disease, it is