insideKENT Magazine Issue 23 - February 2014 | Page 98

HEALTH+WELLNESS

Arthritis
AT THE BASE OF
THE THUMB
Why it is so
common, what can
be done to treat it
and what is its
connection with
Tunbridge Wells?
Osteoarthritis of the joint at the base of the thumb
is very common. It can be seen on an X-ray of
the hand in a third of post-menopausal women.
Of these a third will have symptoms, as will many
younger women and men. The medical terms
for this joint are the first carpometacarpal joint or
the trapeziometacarpal joint.

wrapped round the thumb, take painkillers and
to change the way they do things; for example
getting a gadget for opening jars. If this is
insufficient and medical intervention is required
then in some cases an injection of steroid into
the joint can give good pain relief, sometimes for
many months.

It is one of the most common complaints
presenting to my orthopaedic hand clinics.
Patients have pain at the base of the thumb
which is often worse with pinching or gripping
and twisting activities such as trying to remove
a tight jar lid. It can become severe enough to
disturb their sleep, and cause difficulty writing for
any length of time. The diagnosis is usually easy
to make by examining the patient and taking an
X-ray.

If these measures fail and a patient has significant
pain which is interfering with the use of their hand
they can be treated surgically. There are numerous
different operations available for treating this
problem, and the one most commonly done
throughout the country is called a trapeziectomy.

To try to explain why arthritis of this joint is so
common we have to go back a f