Living With Arthritis Hands: 5 Helpful Tips

If you have arthritis of the hands, you know how difficult it can be to perform every day activities.  The hands are the most useful appendage and having limited strength mobility and pain from arthritis can be extremely debilitating.

Here are 5 helpful tips for living with arthritis hands:

Heat Application

• Cold temperature can increase pain and stiffness in arthritic hands.  Heating up the hands can promote flexibility and decrease pain.  There are several ways to apply heat to the hands to relieve pain and stiffness.  You can simply soak the hands in warm water or apply a heat pack.  Hot water bottles are useful along with heating pads. If you are travelling, there are commercially available disposable hot packs that are self heating upon opening.
• A wax treatment with warm paraffin is considered by many to be a premier way of applying heat to arthritic hands. A wax treatment machine can be purchased and used at home on a daily basis or wax treatments can be done at many salons.  A warm wax treatment for the hands will also soften and improve the skin of the hands.

Over the Counter Pain Medication

• Over the counter (OTC) pain relievers are the most commonly recommended treatment for the development of arthritis.  Non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are most commonly recommended for initial treatment.  NSAIDs available over the counter include ibuprofen and naproxen.  NSAIDs were initially available as prescriptions but have been approved for OTC use for the treatment of arthritis pain without a prescription.
• Acetaminophen, the active ingredient in the brand name Tylenol has been shown to be effective in relief of mild to moderate arthritis pain.  Acetaminophen is conveniently available in several strengths including a controlled release formula which lasts for up to 12 hours.

Natural Supplements

• Glucosamine and Chondroitin natural supplements have been proven in several clinical research studies to reduce joint inflammation and restore cartilage in cases of arthritis including the hands.  Glucosamine is a naturally occurring building block of cartilage and is generally extracted from the exoskeleton of crustaceans such as crabs and lobster.
• Chondroitin is found in animal cartilage and provides flexibility in cartilage.  It may also decrease the cartilage destruction processes which occur in arthritis of the hands.  Use of glucosamine and chondroitin may improve hand flexibility and decrease arthritis hand pain.  They are widely available both separately and in combination form in most groceries, drug stores and health food stores.

Topical pain relievers

• Topical pain relievers using one of two types of ingredients may be very effective in relieving the pain of arthritis hands.  Methyl salicylate, present in Aspercreme and Myoflex promotes relief of pain and healing by interfering with inflammatory processes.  Capsaicin, an extract of the chemical that causes red pepper plants to be “hot” works to relieve pain by increasing blood supply to the joint and acting as a warming agent to relieve stiffness.  It may also decrease inflammation and joint damage because of antioxidant activity.
• Common side effects of either type of cream are localized tingling or burning of the skin where it is applied.  Neither cream, but particularly capsaicin should not be applied near the eyes or on sensitive skin.

Arthritis Aids

• A wide variety of gadgets and arthritis aids are useful to those who have developed limited mobility or lost hand strength due to arthritis of the hands.  Use of these gadgets can decrease pain of arthritis because they substitute for performing difficult activities.
• Some examples include kitchen aids such as jar openers, grasping devices and automated can openers.  Other things such as dressing aids like button fasteners, zipper pulls and sock pullers may help cope with arthritis hand difficulties including stiffness and loss of flexibility.