Recent Blog Articles
Wildfires: How to cope when smoke affects air quality and health
PTSD: How is treatment changing?
Virtual mental health care visits: Making them work for you
How healthy is sugar alcohol?
A bird flu primer: What to know and do
New urine test may help some men with elevated PSA avoid biopsy
Dupuytren's contracture of the hand
Why play? Early games build bonds and brain
Moving from couch to 5K
How — and why — to fit more fiber and fermented food into your meals
Hands Archive
Articles
Best treatments for this common finger problem
Doctors have three ways to treat Dupuytren's contracture, a condition that pulls one or more fingers toward the palm. A needle aponeurotomy breaks up the thick collagen tissue sticking to the tendons. A collagenase injection contains an enzyme that eats up and dissolves the collagen. Surgery involves the removal of the collagen tissue. With all three procedures, the condition can return. The procedure that's right for someone depends on the condition's severity and the location of the collagen.
Dupuytren's contracture of the hand
One condition affecting the hands and fingers is Dupuytren's contracture, where one or more fingers become curled, making it difficult to perform everyday activities. Dupuytren's affects one in 20 Americans, so what do people need to know about it?
Try this: Give your hands a hand
Performing hand exercises using therapy putty can help a person improve grip and pinch strength.
Winter activity workarounds for hands that hurt
Hand arthritis makes it tough to do winter activities, such as preparing holiday feasts, shoveling snow, wrapping presents, or using walking or ski poles. It helps to plan out activities, break them up when possible, take lots of breaks, use tools to make the jobs easier, and enlist help if needed. For example, consider asking family and friends to assist with holiday meal prep, or hire a service to remove snow.
Why do I have white spots on my nails?
White spots on fingernails are common and have many possible causes. These include minor trauma to the fingers, wearing nail polish for prolonged periods, fungal infections, low iron levels, kidney disease, or liver cirrhosis.
Identifying arthritis in your fingers and thumbs
Two main types of arthritis can affect the thumb and fingers. Osteoarthritis typically affects joints in the middle or end of the fingers or the base of the thumb. Rheumatoid arthritis more often affects the fingers' middle joints or the joints that connect the fingers to the hand. Medications can halt or slow the progression of rheumatoid arthritis. There aren't any drugs proven to halt or slow osteoarthritis. Using a splint or brace, using assistive devices (such as a shirt buttoner), and working with a certified hand therapist can help people cope with either type of arthritis.
Should I stop cracking my knuckles?
People may relieve anxiety by cracking knuckles or other joints. Usually it's a harmless habit, but people with joint problems like arthritis should refrain, since doing so might worsen symptoms.
Poor handgrip strength in midlife linked to cognitive decline
A large study published online June 23, 2022, by JAMA Network Open found that poor handgrip strength in midlife was associated with cognitive decline a decade later.
Hand pain from arthritis? This may help
The joint connecting the thumb and wrist is crucial in everyday activities like opening jars or grasping objects, but if osteoarthritis develops, treatment options are limited and don't always work well. A new study has demonstrated the effectiveness of occupational therapy for arthritis in this joint of the hand.
You don't say? Cracking the code
Knuckle cracking doesn't "crack" a joint. The sound comes from gas bubbles bursting in the fluid inside the joint. While knuckle cracking is mostly harmless, other types of noises or the presence of pain can indicate a more serious joint problem.
Recent Blog Articles
Wildfires: How to cope when smoke affects air quality and health
PTSD: How is treatment changing?
Virtual mental health care visits: Making them work for you
How healthy is sugar alcohol?
A bird flu primer: What to know and do
New urine test may help some men with elevated PSA avoid biopsy
Dupuytren's contracture of the hand
Why play? Early games build bonds and brain
Moving from couch to 5K
How — and why — to fit more fiber and fermented food into your meals
Free Healthbeat Signup
Get the latest in health news delivered to your inbox!
Sign Up