Can arthritis actually fracture a joint?

[ChrisDDD]

I'm 57 and developed arthritis in the last few months.  My right pinkie finger has swollen to the point that it looks and feels like it's broken.  It's the middle joint between the hand knuckle and the nail knuckle.  There's now a lump or "knob" where it feels broken.  I even have to be careful drying my hands because if I forget to "guard" the joint and bend or twist the finger accidentally, it's very painful.  I don't know whether to go to the doctor because what are they going to do about it?  I've thought about splinting it, but will that just make it worse?

[carolanivey]

Yep, gettin' older ain't for sissies, is it? ;)  Feel better!

[ChrisDDD]

Thank you!  I've already got a bone spur on my foot that flattened out when I was running and is now a painful lump.  My doctor said it's probably fractured.  Oh, getting old is so much fun.

[carolanivey]

Hi,

You've probably developed a bone spur on that joint - I had the same thing on my ring finger. There's another one like it on my pinkie but it's not bad enough to do anything about yet.

At some point, the tendon starts snapping back and forth across that bone protrusion and it's EXTREMELY painful. An orthopedic surgeon can do outpatient surgery to shave off the bone spur and relieve the pain. In the mean time you can splint the finger to keep the pain to a minimum. I bought those elastic finger sleeves in the first-aid section of the pharmacy, and slid a popsicle stick underneath it to hold the finger straight.