h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Is it just age or is my body trying to tell me something?

Since February 2006 I have suffered the minor distraction of frequently tender knuckles. I haven't been able to link it to a change in lifestyle, diet or work, and it has varied between all-but-unnoticeable most of the time to agonising bursts of pain when I've accidentally twisted or banged my knuckles on something. It has made me cautious before attempting to snap my fingers.

After six months of this irritation I went to the doctor who couldn't suggest anything to remove it. He arranged for me to get some blood tests and x-rays, but these turned up negative. Since then I have also noticed occasional similar tenderness in my feet, causing me to hobble when I get up in the morning, but most of the time not impinging on my awareness.

These gripes have not prevented me doing anything, so I realise I have little to complain about. It is not knowing the cause that niggles. I have spent a day wielding a pickaxe without any obvious after-effects, and a couple of days painting bathroom walls - which did leave increased tenderness for a couple of days.

If anyone has any ideas as to possible causes, or just wants to put my minor problem into perspective with their own health molehill/mountain, comments welcomed.

Have you considered that it might be arthritis? When I was younger I was somewhat athletic. I have found that the minor injuries I suffered playing softball and basketball have come home to haunt me now. The pain in your feet sounds like what I have. I notice it most when travelling by auto and my feet are not elevated. Sometimes when I get out of the car, I feel positively crippled. After walking around awhile, the condition usually goes away.
I take a lot more Ibuprophen than I used to and am also taking glucosamine chondroitin for my joints. I think the g.c. helps, but maybe it's the placebo effect. Who knows?

I hope your tender knuckles are just a temporary thing.

Are you talking about pain inside your joints, or sore skin?

*looks concerned, but has no suggestions to offer*

Thanks for the concern I wasn't expecting miracles, just grumbling.

Gnomon it is in the joints, not the skin, the kind of feeling you might get from a bruise, or from over-exerting the joints. The base level being a simple awareness that you can feel the slightly excessive warmth of the joints all the time without wanting to. Deliberatley squeezing the joints doesn't actually seem to cause any extra discomfort (as it would if they were really bruised).

Lady C you are probably right . But at the younger side of 42 I wasn't expecting arthritis to appear without warning. I guess I'm hoping to find the symptom is triggered by something I can avoid (rather than simply deterioration due to age), but I'm at a loss to know what to try.

Have you been eating any sort of offal, or drinking a lot of port or red wine?

You have redness, swelling and fever in the joints, right? I have had that for several years--started when I was in my forties. Some days it will manifest itself in my thumb--other times in the forefinger and at times in the pinky. From time to time I will have it in all my fingers. Today it is the second joint of the forefinger on my right hand.
My physician recommended Ibuprophen. She says I can take 800 mg up to three times a day. I told her I certainly didn't want to take that much--just enough to take off the edge. I get along pretty well with 600 milligrams in the morning and then a booster of 400 mg later in the day.
We have a hot tub and that helps too.
Oh, the joys of middle age!

Offal no, moderately (less than a bottle a week taken over a few days usually)

I suggested gout (picking up on the port reference) to the GP and he said 'no, it's not that' - apparently the sensation with gout is more akin to gritty (and extremely painful) feeling of irritation and inflammation of joints, typically in the thumb and big toe, which doesn't match my symptoms.

It does sound like arthritis all right. I get it in my thumb joints, and sometimes in my other fingers.

I've been told that drinking cod liver does wonders for arthritis, but I haven't tried it myself.

My GP as far as I can recall didn't make any suggestion for regular prophylactic measures. I think he may have mentioned Ibuprophen to allieviate symptoms (but this advice may have come from someone else ).

I don't know what other people feel about medecines but I don't want to see myself as a hypochondriac popping pills for this and supplements for that - the image leaps to mind of the daughter-in-law Vera in the Giles cartoons with a permanent sniffle and handbag full of pill bottles http://giles.clickhere2.net/family.htm . I'll take an aspirin at the first sign of a headache (or after an evening drinking ) but generally expect my body to look after itself with good diet and exercise.

I have to admit this is not entirely true, as I have also recently (following the visit to the doctor to discuss my knuckle discomfort) started taking at his request fish oil capsules to lower my cholesterol. That is a different story though.

Note: if you follow the Giles link don't browse too much (unless you have an effective pop-up blocker) or you will be submerged in adverts popping up

Sorry to hear this, Pimms. Rheumatism came to mind, as a doctor told me that starts in the hands and feet, but if nothing's come up in the blood tests...

A friend of mine has just developed arthritis in her hands - a real bugger as she had recently graduated as a massage therapist . There are various supplements you can take to help with the pain, and you can also adapt your diet to avoid foods which aggravate it.

Could it be RSI? That gives me pains in my hands sometimes.

Lbclaire

That's rough, Pimms. I have arthritis in my fingers but was older when it set in. DMSO helps if you can find it. Rub it in a couple of times a day. Makes your mouth taste like garlic, thought.

You'd think if cod liver oil would help I'd benefit from the fish oil capsules then. Can't say I've noticed any difference yet I read this http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/cod-liver-oil.htm to see what similarities exist between cod liver oil and omega 3 fish oil. So yes, it is supposed to help.

The link from this article to arthritis (http://www.healingdaily.com/conditions/MSM-for-joint-pain.htm) goes on about MSM, organic sulphur, which it turns out is a form of DSMO, which Hyp mentions.

Well another google turned up this: http://www.oralchelation.com/wednesday/previous/2001/5Sep2001.htm This article was strangely gripping (if not emotionally neutral ) - certainly appears to provide a lot of information about what DSMO and MSM are (and are not) You have to scroll down a bit to get past the haranguing the author gives some of his other hobbyhorses to the stuff on DSMO - a by-product of paper processing apparently.

What variety of DSMO do you use Hyp? A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. I don't want to take any of these 'health promoting' sites at face-value. They are certainly beguiling. People looking for a solution to a problem are proabably easy prey to the siren calls to use this or that.

I don't think it is RSI Claire - I might be getting confused but always associate RSI with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Another quick google gives this: http://eeshop.unl.edu/rsi.html which sets me right (and seems to offer useful tips and to be fairly balanced, unlike the links in the previous message ), CTS is a widely publicised but small category of RSI injuries.

Maybe I have brought the arthritic pain on by years of pc use. Seems strange that it has been so drastically different in its effects this year...

Ho hum

Pimms, I have never taken it in an oral form. I have only used plain old DMSO. Horse linament. I got it from my veterinarian but I've also seen it at our local farm supply store. It's an ointment or sometimes a liquid you rub into your joints or sore back or shoulder or whatever. It works.

I suppose there isn't much profit to be made using the old fashioned version so they are tarting it up for human use.

I haven't suffered from joint tenderness in the last week (though it is there if I concentrate on it) - I have been too distracted by insect bites and (since 1st September) what feels a bit like a splinter in my big toe (though there is no obvious entry point or inflammation).

Please unsubscribe if these trivial observations are as dull as I imagine them to be. I just wanted to record them somewhere. It is irritating to go to the doctor and be unable to be specific about how frequent or how bad symptoms are, or when they started.

The toe thing sounds like the early stages of gout. But maybe not, hope not, since there should be some inflamation, too. But that's exactly the way F described it when his first started - like a splinter in his toe.

Many ago I had raging toothache as a teenager. Being home alone at the time I foraged in the cupboard for a remedy and found the Horse Liniment In desperation I put some on my face.

It took the pain away completely very quickly but my face blew up like a balloon. I have never forgotten it. Wouldn't recommend it for that but otherwise it is brilliant stuff.

Glad I am not the only one with aches and pains. Have just done some gardening - couldn't get up off the ground, and couldn't straighten up either, much to husband's amusement. Every bit of me aches, but the only way is to carry on, or I would seize up altogether.

Websailor