Rheumatoid arthritis commonly affects the fingers. This can dramatically affect quality of life. The joints become inflamed, swollen, and also hot and, the problem is very persistent. Sufferers can experience pain and challenges when driving or opening a cupboard. It can be very challening to reduce the inflammation caught in the finger joints. There are natural remedies for rheumatoid arthritis in fingers that can help support improvements..
In this article, we discuss the treatment for rheumatoid arthritis in fingers.
What Causes Rheumatoid Arthritis in The Fingers?
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune condition. This means that your body’s immune system attacks your body. In the case of Rheumatoid Arthritis, the joints are involved in the inflammatory process, and the ongoing inflammation can result in permanent damage. Causitive factors include hereditary features, environment, poor gut microbiome, an also overuse of antibiotics and oxidative stress.
Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis in Fingers
The #1 rule is to maintain low inflammation levels at all times. To do this we have our major resources of medications, diet and exercise. Ensure that your medications are adequately matching your symptom levels. There is no point trying to combat extremely elevated CRP and ESR levels with diet and exercise alone. The inflammation in the body simultaneously exists at the intestinal wall, creating more leaky gut. This also creates more autoimmunity, as the contents of the intestinal tract can ‘leak’ into the bloodstream trigging an immune response.
A DMARD like Methotrexate can actually help to reduce leaky gut by helping to partially restore a balance to the gut microbiome. [1]
Natural Remedies For Rheumatoid Arthritis in the Fingers
Here are 4 natural remedies for rheumatoid arthritis in the fingers
Eat the Right Foods
Eat a low-fat, whole foods plant based diet which has been consistently shown by review studies to achieve the best outcomes for Rheumatoid Arthritis patients. Going through a simple elimination process can also be useful for identifying any foods that are triggering. This is also how the Paddison Program works.
Particular nutrients have been found to help protect against arthritis inflammation so we can advise you on foods that are going to support your recovery. One example is to consume more foods containing vitamin C [2].
Oral Health and Rheumatoid Arthritis
Associations between Rheumatoid arthritis and periodontal disease (gum disease) exist [3]. At Rheumatoid Support we can advise on how to look after your oral health. If you don’t currently have dental problems then it is still important to look after your oral health. See this interview with Robert on RA and Oral Health.
Exercise and Movement Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis in the Fingers
Throughout the day, get your fingers moving with low-impact exercise that gets the joints moving through their range of motion without irritation.
Upper body workouts can also be very beneficial as they drive blood flow to the extremities. Hold the handles or bands in the palm of the hand, rather than the fingers, so that the fingers aren’t irritated or compressed.
Even though the movements don’t appear to be working the fingers directly, the fingers can also benefit by having the entire arm engaged. You can use inexpensive resistance bands and these can be very helpful in doing upper body workouts.
Plan for regular exercise whilst also finding a balance so as to no push your joints when inflamed and painful. If you have very sore fingers first thing in the morning don’t try to close them in a fist immediately. Wait until the range of motion improves and they become less stiff before working them too much.
Get a Good Nights Sleep
Also review your sleep habits because sleep problems are associated with rheumatoid arthritis [4]. Check what you’re doing when you’re sleeping. For example, make sure you’re not sleeping on your hands which would cause additional load on them.
Don’t put hands under the pillow whilst lying on the stomach, or have fingers interlocked when side sleeping. Being mindful of the hands and finger positions will aid in prevention of irritating them during the night.
What Some Help With Reversing Rheumatoid Arthritis in Fingers?
If your finger inflammation is persistent, depsite being on appropriate medications, then following the Paddison Program diet, and undertaking regular exercise can help you. Inside our coaching platform we have arthritis experts who have experience in reversing RA in the fingers. Learn more about RA Coaching.
[1] Zhang, X., Zhang, D., Jia, H. et al. The oral and gut microbiomes are perturbed in rheumatoid arthritis and partly normalized after treatment. Nat Med 21, 895–905 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.3914