What the hell is wrong with my finger joints....

Right hand, the middle and ring finger... the big knuckles and knuckles at the hand have been sore for weeks.... painful in the morning.

I cant get rid of the pain... affects my workouts at the gym and starting to bug the shite out of me...

Anyone?

Old age and arthritis?

 

I had a co-worker who had similar, turns out he had a gluten allergy causing joint pain.

I am not a doctor, but I enjoy research. More often than not, Inflammation = allergy.

Take a food allergy test. My sister used Everlywell brand tests. The nutritionists she saw after the fact said they use the same tests.

 

Do your finger joints have visible cyst like swelling in the joints?
How old are you?
What do you do for a living?

 

No visible swelling or cyst like bumps. Its really deep in the joints and the knuckles.... Like they just need to pop...but I do that and it doesnt help.
42
IT Desk jockey....

I just find it weird, its only my right hand, and only the two fingers and only the two main joints/knuckles.... freaking me out man!

 

Gout or arthritis would be my guess

 

I get it in my hands often and I have actually gotten Cortizone shots. They call it trigger finger. Sometimes they lock up, very painful.

 

Well I see that gout can be triggered by alcohol ....

 

Hold off the workouts for a bit. See if things improve.

It could simply be over stressed joints.

You may consider contacting your Dr.

 

I put in a request to the VA to go see my doc.

So ill find out in 2023

appreciate it.

 

Well your ulnar nerve innervates your ring and pinky fingers and the radial nerve innervates the rest. So unless you have cubital tunnel and carpel tunnel at the same time it's unlikely it's a nerve issue from your IT work. Unless you have any symptoms in which the pain travels up your arm it probably isn't nerve related, but that's always a possibility. If you are a lifter you typically would notice issues mostly with bench press and nerve issues in the wrist and forearm.

Arthritic changes within the joint will usually cause swelling within the synovial sacs in the joint space. Typically in the fingers/knuckles (because of how mobile those joints are) it causes cyst like swelling. You said the pain is in the bottom knuckle which swelling may be harder to see.

@Bishop2Queens6 brings up a valid point regarding allergies, but I would take it a step further and say that a lot of inflammation in general can be due to diet as well as other environmental factors. Your body can decide at any given time it no longer likes a medication, food, soap, lotion etc. I have an autoimmune disease, which has helped me understand that anything my body comes in contact with can cause issues at any time. In fact just this week I found out I have an allergy to a med I've been taking most of my life. Body just decided this week, enough is enough.

It's never a bad idea to look at your diet. You can search online for pro-inflammatory foods. They typically are carbohydrates (especially anything processed like sugar and wheat), alcohol, and dairy products.

If you are over weight and have any potential blood sugar issues (or are diabetic) this could be a perpetuation of symptoms. Could even be a perpetuation of nerve damage from high blood sugar.

If you have not been getting regular yearly check ups and blood work you may want to do that now just to check in on the basic things.

If your diet is pretty good and you are in good health then you may want to reach out to a physical therapist. Every state is different and some states allow you to see a PT without a diagnosis from a physician for X amount of visits (Call your insurance to verify what they allow). If there is potentially some issue with the joint itself I think a PT would be a better first opinion because they are typically better at determining if it's a nerve or a joint issue. I have found that PTs have been very helpful in my life because they look at things from a different lens. Surgeons tend to see cutting, primary care providers tend to just see what they can prescribe you to relieve symptoms, but PTs try to resolve things from a non-invasive perspective, bit because they deal with post-surgical patients so much they know where their knowledge ends. So they tend to be great for knowing when you need to see a doc vs. when you can benefit from trying other methods first. Just my experience though.

**I'm not a physician or medical professional of any kind. My experience stems from being a medical records analyst at law firms and a medical malpractice paralegal along with many medical professionals in my family and having my fair share of medical care for my young age. It goes without saying, if you feel you need a medical evaluation, get one, regardless of what anyone on the internet says

 

I really appreciate the time you took for this...

I would say my food diet is pretty good... not overweight and I am at the gym probably 4-5 times a week doing weight training... my BMI is within the healthy ranges.

I like my salty snacks, but its considered a "treat" should I do fast food...

I do drink pretty regularly and did have my doc tell me I should cut back.... potential liver issues. However, my limited research does not seem to link any liver issue symptoms to what I am experiencing.

I do crush the carbs too.... chips, crackers, breads ....

I fucking hate getting old.

 

Amen brother.

I'm turning 30 this year and already feel the changes. Far before most people will feel them but my body has taken a beating most people haven't between sports injuries and chronic illness (and I'm sure with your prior service and VA status so has yours).

Thank you for your service

 

I noticed that almost immediately after turning 40 I started having a bunch of little issues.

I would recommend a 30 day flush. No booze, tons of water. Lean protein and vegetables only. It will hurt but you’d be amazed at how you feel at the end of it. Skin and eyes clear, sleeping like a doll, tons of energy and mental calm and clarity.

 

I hear ya... I did a 90 day last year and it was rough, but felt much better overall.
probably time for that again. A hard reset.

 

As others have said, it could be gout. Your habits sound like mine, except I run more than weight lift. I love pretty much any carb, and drink to often. I do watch the sodium intake and eat a low fat/modest calorie diet with plenty of vegetables. My protein is fish, chicken, yogurt, etc. Don't dislike red meat, just favor whites.

My experience with gout though was more related to daily dehydration/sweet tea/Mt Dew consumption than it was the alcohol. I was working construction in my 20's, sweating profusely all day, and drinking more tea/Dew than water. Not unusual to drink 3-4 Dews and several glasses of tea in a day.

Got gout in my both my big toes. Dropped the sweet drinks and drank just water all day. Cut out most red meat. Never decreased my alcohol, because, come on, I was in my 20's and single. Gout went away in month or so. No swelling, just pain. I may have taken some Ibuprofin, can't remember.

A bit later in life, I was working with a guy who had never even tasted alcohol, he was in his mid 40's, and he had gout in both hands at one point. I can't remember what doctor advised him to do to take.

Not saying alcohol doesn't play into getting gout, but just my experience it was more from my chronic dehydration, which of course, is an effect of alcohol intake.

The allergy theory really makes sense too though.