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Hand pain, loss of grip strength: how to prevent and relieve the joint in the case of thumb osteoarthritis? It begins with the knowledge of the disease and the body and rest.
Too often, osteoarthritis is associated with advanced age. However, the first signs of thumb osteoarthritis can manifest as early as 45 years of age approximately. The onset of this condition, which mainly affects women, can be delayed or its effects can be limited by following good practices. EPITACT® gives you some examples to avoid overusing the joint and to relieve pain.
Know your body better
We really become aware of the mechanical function of our body when pain occurs. Generally, our movements are intuitive. However, by paying attention to biomechanics, you can preserve your joints.
Occupational therapy aids this awareness in order to adopt postures and movements that allow the joints to rest. Equip yourself with adapted tools; it also improves daily comfort. It can simply consist in having adaptive scissors or ergonomic bread knife to avoid strain the joint.
Resting the joint to fight against thumb osteoarthritis
This may appear obvious but it’s not as simple as it seems: we can’t stop all movements without stopping our daily activities. To help you relieve pain and delay the effects of thumb osteoarthritis, EPITACT® has developed two braces. They accompany you either during daily activities or at night.
Thanks to the flexible brace for thumb osteoarthritis by EPITACT®*, relief is based on three actions:
- Resting the trapeziometacarpal joint by placing the thumb ray in a resting position, that is to say aligned and straight. It also slightly opens the angle between the thumb and index finger in a natural position in order to line up the thumb with the wrist and rest the joint.
- Its patented pattern allows to wrap the thumb is a fabric tube, specially adapted to reduce daily micromovements.
- It doesn’t impede movements contrary to rigid braces and doesn’t enclose the thumb to facilitate prehension.
The rigid thumb brace for night use by EPITACT®* completely rests the joint.It is designed to limit thumb movements by immobilising it thanks to semi-rigid reinforcements while placing the thumb ray in a neutral resting position. A gripping strap has been integrated at the base of the reinforcements to create a fixed point and facilitate adjustment to the wrist.
As you see it, there are several medical treatments, potentially pharmacological or surgical to avoid worsening of the condition. Surgery will be considered only if previous treatments have proved insufficient.
To learn more about the treatments of thumb osteoarthritis, three articles give recommendations on its main and associated treatments: recommendations of the European League Against Rheumatism 2007(1), updated in 2018(2) and those of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) published in 2012(3).
*These products are class I medical devices that bear the CE marking under this regulation. Carefully read the instructions before use. Manufacturer: Millet Innovation. 03/2022
For more details about this general and simplified approach, here are further sources:
(1)Zhang, W, M Doherty, B F Leeb, L Alekseeva, N K Arden, J W Bijlsma, F Dincer, et al. 05/2007 « EULAR Evidence Based Recommendations for the Management of Hand Osteoarthritis: Report of a Task Force of the EULAR Standing Committee for International Clinical Studies Including Therapeutics (ESCISIT) ». Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 66 (3): 377‑88.
(2)Kloppenburg, Margreet, Féline PB Kroon, Francisco J Blanco, Michael Doherty, Krysia S Dziedzic, Elsie Greibrokk, Ida K Haugen, et al. 05/2019 « 2018 Update of the EULAR Recommendations for the Management of Hand Osteoarthritis ». Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 78 (1): 16‑24
(3)Hochberg, Marc C., Roy D. Altman, Karine Toupin April, Maria Benkhalti, Gordon Guyatt, Jessie McGowan, Tanveer Towheed, Vivian Welch, George Wells, et Peter Tugwell. 05/2012 « American College of Rheumatology 2012 Recommendations for the Use of Nonpharmacologic and Pharmacologic Therapies in Osteoarthritis of the Hand, Hip, and Knee ». Arthritis Care & Research 64 (4): 465‑74