Monday, April 5, 2021

Osteoarthritis of the Fingers Heberden’s Nodes

 


Osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition of the cartilage. There is no clear etiology identified for osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is not related to tumor, inflammation, infection, gout, or trauma. Osteoarthritis is different from rheumatoid arthritis which is an inflammatory condition. The distal interphalangeal joint (DIP) is the joint that is most often involved with osteoarthritis. The trapeziometacarpal joint (TM) is the second most involved joint with osteoarthritis. When the trapeziometacarpal joint is involved, it causes pain with weak pinch and grip. Osteoarthritis of the fingers involves the following: DIP (Heberden’s Nodes). Heberden’s nodes are bony swellings (osteophytes) that can develop in the distal interphalangeal joints (DIP) due to the effects of osteoarthritis on these joints. Heberden’s nodes are a sign of osteoarthritis caused by osteophytes formation (bony outgrowth) of the articular cartilage in response to repeated microtrauma at the joint. Heberden’s nodes are more common in women than in men. PIP (Bouchard’s nodes) are also associated with osteoarthritis, and they are similar bony growths which develop in the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints. Bouchard’s nodes, like Heberden’s nodes, may or may not be painful. Swollen, hard, and painful finger joints (Heberden’s and Bouchard’s nodes) is the classical signs of DIP and PIP joint osteoarthritis. A mucous cyst is a small, fluid-filled sacs that form between the DIP joint of the finger and the bottom of the fingernail are another sign of osteoarthritis. The best treatment for the mucous cyst is surgical excision of the cyst and removal of the underlying osteophyte to decrease the risk of recurrence.