Base Of Thumb Arthritis
What is it?
Arthritis at the base of thumb is very common. It can give you pain and weakness with a ‘pinch grip’ and difficulty with tasks such as opening jars.
What is it?
Arthritis at the base of thumb is very common. It can give you pain and weakness with a ‘pinch grip’ and difficulty with tasks such as opening jars.
What causes it?
It is theorised that it is due to damage to the anterior oblique ligament (Beak ligament) which leads to instability, subluxation, and arthritis of CMC joint.
What happens if you do nothing?
The arthritis generally gets worse with time, but your symptoms can ‘ wax and wane’.
What happens if you do nothing?
The arthritis generally gets worse with time, but your symptoms can ‘ wax and wane’.
What treatments are there?
Non-operative treatment includes simple painkillers, the use of a splint or a targeted steroid injection into the affected area. A ‘trapeziectomy’ is the most common operation to be performed for this condition when non-operative treatments have failed. This involves removing the bone at the base of the thumb. When I do this operation, I perform a ligament reconstruction to support the thumb- although not all surgeons use this technique. It is performed under regional or general anaesthetic as a daycase procedure. Splinting is required for 6 weeks and it takes roughly 3 months to recover from.