Posted on 11/02/2023 7:56:50 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
Initial nonsurgical treatment, including the use of orthotics and exercise therapy, provides satisfactory long-term outcomes for patients with osteoarthritis of the thumb carpometacarpal joint (CMC-1 OA), with a low rate of conversion to surgery, reports a study.
Osteoarthritis of CMC-1 is a common condition in older adults, causing pain and stiffness at the base of the thumb. Current guidelines call for initial nonsurgical treatments.
Ms. Esteban Lopez and colleagues analyzed long-term follow-up data for patients with CMC-1 OA.
Nonsurgical treatment focused on the use of orthotics, physical therapy sessions focused on exercises and achieving more stable thumb opposition, and daily home exercise. With use of the standardized Michigan Hand Questionnaire (MHQ), the researchers analyzed pain, activities of daily living (ADL), and other outcomes at long-term follow-up (greater than five years).
Thumb pain and function remain stable more than five years after treatment Initial analysis included 134 patients who did not undergo surgery. In this group, long-term follow-up showed no significant change in scores for pain or limitations in ADL from 12 months to over five years. Most improvement occurred in the first three months. From 12 months to over five years, there was "clinically relevant" improvement.
On a patient satisfaction questionnaire, outcomes of nonsurgical treatment were rated excellent by 16% of patients, good by 39%, fair by 26%, moderate by 14%, and poor by 5%. Most patients (71%) said they would be willing to undergo the same treatment again under similar circumstances.
Rates of subsequent surgery for thumb arthritis were evaluated in a larger sample of 217 patients with CMC-1 OA. At a median follow-up of seven years, the overall rate of conversion to surgical treatment was 22%. Seventy percent of patients who underwent surgery did so within the first year after initial treatment.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
You may find you don’t even need surgery.
I’ve had bone on bone in both thumbs for years. I ultimately get shots in each once a year and it becomes manageable so i can play golf.
What are the exercises and orthotics. I have had severe pain in both thumbs and I can barely pick up a mug like I use to. AND I have had to cut way back on playing my music. I can get surgery I suppose but being self employed I can’t take the risk of having no thumb for six weeks.
Same boat here.
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/losing-your-grip-how-to-treat-your-thumb-arthritis/
I’ve had osteoarthritis for years. It runs early in our family. You don’t need surgery. Just take turmeric everyday and within a couple of weeks you won’t even need Advil anymore.
Don’t buy the crapola in bottles at CVS or Costco. Its worthless. Order a pound of organic turmeric online at www.mountainroseherbs.com and get a bag of gel caps and the capsule machine at www.purebulk.com Make your own capsules and take one at breakfast and one at dinner.
“I’ve had osteoarthritis for years. It runs early in our family. You don’t need surgery. Just take turmeric everyday and within a couple of weeks you won’t even need Advil anymore.”
That’s great if it works for you. I took high-quality curcumin and various other systemic anti-inflammatories for many months, along with an anti-inflammatory diet. That reduced overall inflammation and pain from osteoarthritis in various parts of my body, but not in my CMC joint. Surgery ultimately resolved the issue. Perhaps that was necessary due to the effects of being a guitarist for 50+ years.
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