Osteoarthritis – wrist and hand

Your wrist suddenly hurts without warning: something you were holding falls from your hand, such as a coffee cup, keys or phone. A sharp, piercing pain appears. These are not ‘tired hands after a full day at work’. They are probably degenerative changes in the wrist and hand.

What is actually happening?

The wrist and fingers contain more than a dozen small joints that work as a team, like links in one chain: each moves separately, but together they create the smooth movement of the entire hand. When cartilage in one of these joints wears down, the links no longer glide freely. Friction, pain and bony enlargements appear, and movement loses smoothness and strength. Deformity or limited movement of the hand may develop.

Most often this is natural age-related joint wear, more common in women over fifty, especially at the base of the thumb. Sometimes an old wrist injury accelerates the changes: a fracture or dislocation that did not heal properly. Less often, an inflammatory disease such as rheumatoid arthritis or gout is responsible.

How can you recognize it?

• hard, palpable enlargements of the finger joints that widen and change their shape,
• morning stiffness of the hands that eases during the day after movement,
• pain and weakened grip causing objects to suddenly fall from the hand,
• difficulty with precise tasks and less free, precise movement.

Why you should not wait

The body does not rebuild degenerated cartilage; over time, joint deformity and enlargement may develop, accelerating stiffening.

Early treatment allows temporary relief, prolongs comfortable function and preserves hand function for longer. Neglected changes usually end in permanent restriction of movement and grip, making the simplest daily activities difficult.

How we help

We begin with a consultation and an X-ray showing which hand joints are affected and how much the articular cartilage has worn down. When planning surgery on a more complex joint, such as an advanced wrist deformity, computed tomography improves planning accuracy by showing the bone geometry in three dimensions.

For early changes, we begin without surgery: an orthosis relieving the joint, rehabilitation, anti-inflammatory medication and sometimes a hyaluronic-acid injection directly into the joint, improving its glide and reducing pain.

When this is insufficient, we tailor surgery to the specific joint: from removing a damaged bone fragment, through fusing the most severely damaged joint, which eliminates pain at the cost of movement, to replacing the joint with an implant that takes over its function and preserves movement.

There is one goal: a hand that once again grips securely and without pain.

Book a consultation

If you recognize these symptoms, do not wait until your hand stops obeying you at an important moment. Book a consultation. We will check which joints are affected and tell you which treatment will provide the best result.