Knuckle pain happens to everyone and has numerous causes and side effects. From the index finger to the middle finger, any digit on your hand may become painful and swollen.
Knuckle pain can result from damaged skin or joints, as well as underlying issues with your bones, blood vessels, and connective tissues.
Luckily, many of these causes can be treated medically or even with home remedies like compresses and Epsom salt baths.
In this article, we will explore knuckle pain causes in detail, including the related symptoms to watch out for and the possibilities for treatment both medical and natural. Prevention tips may also help you get your knuckle pain under control so that there is no swelling in the future.
What Causes Knuckle Pain?
Like many types of pain, pain in the knuckles can be triggered by multiple factors. Your knuckle pain could simply be caused by an injury or a more complicated condition such as rheumatoid arthritis. Here are some of the more common types of causes of painful knuckles.
1. Injury
Your knuckles are in an area of the body that is frequently in use. As a result, the knuckles can get injured very easily. It may be something as simple as a bruise from a whack against a banister, or you might have accidentally closed a car door on your hand, causing index finger knuckle pain. Repetitive movement can also cause knuckle injury. Injuries can cause instant knuckle pain, but they can also damage the knuckle, creating a breeding ground for issues later on that can also trigger knuckle pain.
2. Infection
Occasionally, bacteria or a virus can enter the body through an open wound and cause an infection. This includes the knuckles. The infections that can cause pain in knuckles include impetigo (infection of the skin), septic arthritis (infection of the joints), erysipelas, osteomyelitis (infection of the bones), and cellulitis (infection of the subcutaneous tissue).
3. Inflammation
Inflammation of all sorts can cause finger joint pain, and it is not limited to inflammation of the joint itself. Myositis, for example, is the inflammation of muscle tissue, and inclusion-body myositis, in particular, affects the knuckle joints. The joints can also be affected by what happens to the surrounding tendons. Tendonitis, the inflammation of the tendons, can also cause swollen knuckles.
Osteoarthritis can cause the wearing down of the cartilage between the joints of the knuckle, which can subsequently cause pain. Gout is the buildup of uric acid crystals, and can often cause painful and swollen finger joints. Rheumatoid arthritis is another common autoimmune condition that causes inflammation of the joints and knuckles.
4. Disease
There are a number of diseases that can cause pain in the knuckles. Diabetes can cause stiffness, swelling, and pain in the joints. In the case of diabetes, this knuckle pain may come and go or it might become a semi-permanent issue. Peripheral neuropathy is a disease that can cause nerve damage to your hands. This nerve damage can often cause knuckle pain.
Thromboangiitis obliterans is a condition that can cause pain in the knuckle, as it blocks blood flow and blood vessels from making their way to the hand. Raynaud’s disease, specifically, reduces the blood supply to the knuckles, which can often cause pain.
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Up until the end of 2016, Brent Chittenden had been a freelance researcher and writer, writing about everything from entertainment—including pro wrestling and stand-up comedy—to health and nutrition, to culture and lifestyle. In 2017, he joined the Doctors Health Press full time and couldn’t be happier about it. With a graduate certificate in Radio and Broadcasting, Brent brings extensive experience as a communicator and researcher, adding to the many talented health authorities and professionals on whose expertise Doctors Health Press readers rely.
Brent is excited to be delving deeper into the world of alternative and natural health. He feels that good health is a work in progress. Brent is targeting his own health goals by doing cardio and weight training three times a week, working on meal portion control, and replacing processed, junk food with fresh and whole food options.
When he isn’t sitting at his keyboard, you can usually find him at the movies, with his nose deep in a good book, or digging into the latest breakthroughs in the health industry.