Arm and Hand Pain

Was the MRI of the cervical spine? Nothing showed at all?

Has a neurologist done EMG/nerve conduction studies of upper limbs?

I am new to this group as well.
I am 73 and I have started to get arthritis in my fingers.
Does anyone have anything they take for it? The pain is certainly not unbearable yet but like everything it won’t get better as I get older. Nothing does.
Looking for ideas on how to treat it. Has anyone had surgery to fix it.
I welcome your suggestions.

Hi I use Voltaren. It works better than aspirin. Also to sleep sometimes I take hydrazine.

There are easy exercises on the internet and you tube for your fingers and hands. I do them watching TV or while my husband is driving.
Lidocaine is safer than Voltaren. No stomach upset. Look for 4% gel which is sold over the counter and on line. Not 0.4%! Your doctor could prescribe 5%.
Everyone is different, but I won't do surgery unless absolutely necessary. I am 77.

Thanks for your input. I thought only old people got arthritis. I guess I must be getting old.
Has anyone ever had surgery if it gets really bad?

Thanks for your input. My thumb bothers me the most. I will try the 4% Lidocaine.

The answer above was a little mixed up, so let me clarify to @daze didn’t understand that the recommendation for Voltaren is not oral, but topical! I use the same topical, but I use diclofenac which is just a different brand than Voltaren. I also use the 3% for some strange reason I had to fight Medicare to get it in December. It was totally bizarre and I think it’s political. I think everyone should be very careful and be researching their medicines and not just take what the insurance company now says is OK when I research the topical medication they said is OK for hands it’s actually not recommended because it’s toxic so I called them and I gave them the research for the Voltaren/diclofenac which the FDA approves for use on hands and knees for arthritis.
Let me also say that we don’t just have to age and accept the pain! There are miracles and one of them for myself. I got here in this group. My hands are riddled with arthritis and a very top drawer. Arthritis hand specialist told me there’s nothing that could be done because of all the OA in my hands Which shows up on the x-rays. In this group somebody recommended tart cherry capsules. I bought ZAZZEE for 20 bucks on Amazon in 24 hours all the pain in my hands were gone. It was nothing short of a miracle after 30 years and I said WTF?! So I asked my primary doctor why and she said I might have high uric acid. I took a very simple blood test and it turned out. I have gout, gout, arthritis! So for 30 years, I’ve suffered with inflammation from Gowdy arthritis and nobody cared to look. I’ve been to rheumatologist arthritis, doctors and surgeons for surgery as I use my hands for work, I’m an artist and nobody checked for Gouty arthritis, even though it runs in my family. And even having two flares, sending me to the hospital with gout, arthritis was not enough to clue them in. After a few months, I asked my doctor to put me on the allopurinol, which is what my dad was on for gout. She wasn’t sure but she did it and I felt even better. Here I am feeling absolutely fantastic being able to weed again and do things with my hands and wrists without suffering. I am 67 and it’s appalling to think that for 25 years I’ve been suffering from the inflammatory reactions of arthritis and nobody pegged it. I encourage you to read about pain management in this group and continue working as best you can. I know now that it’s not simply having an x-ray that shows me loaded with arthritis bones, but it’s where and how things interact with those bones. Keep asking for tests and keep trying to use different modalities! 25 years was a long time to wait for a miracle, but I got it!

You are absolutely right and I should have clarified. You have to be extremely careful not to touch your eyes after using diclofenac gel or any medication on your hands. I'm just unlucky that no matter where I use it it now upsets my gut as does the oral medicine. I do take it orally very occasionally when the side effect won't bother me as much as the pain.
Tart dark cherry didn't help me in any form.
I was thinking about asking my rheumatologist about gout and will after what you've said. I do have OA and inflammatory arthritis, Sjogren's. X-rays, MRIs and tests have confirmed them. If we don't make suggestions doctors seem reluctant to order too many tests. That could be because of insurance company dictates.
A suggestion I forgot to recommend is compression gloves. I highly recommend Dr. Arthritis for their service, cost and product. They also included a booklet of hand exercises
Also I finally gave in and started wearing compression socks even though our weather here gets very humid and hot. What a difference even for my toes.
I agree that this website has good information.
@daveshaw please at least try the exercises. You'll be doing something proactive and it costs nothing.

topical medications don't react with your gut. You are probably worrying or have some other causal thing. Ask your doctor.

This is Dave Shaw and I promise to do my exercises. 😊