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PMR's effect on my hands
Has PMR affected your hands? In February, I noticed my legs and arms were often sore and stiff (no pain in my neck or shoulders). I lived with the pain for three weeks before seeing my doctor. He diagnosed my situation as PRM and put me on prednisone with taper. I am now down to 1.25 mg a day. My legs have been pain free for several weeks, and my arms are also mostly pain free. I don't know whether the soreness in my arms is due to doing something I shouldn't be doing (age 83) or whether it is a residual of PRM. Maybe 6 weeks after I was first treated, I noticed quite a bit of pain and stiffness in my hands. We didn't increase the amount of prednisone once it began affecting my hands. The pain sometimes feels like i stuck my hands in a very hot pot of water. Other times, it feels like many bee stings on my hands. My hands are also often numb or "asleep," especially when I wake up in the morning. Within 10 minutes or so after getting up, the pain/sensations are generally gone for the day, although at times, my hand still go to sleep and become numb during the day. I really shouldn't be complaining when I read about what some of you in the group have gone/are going through. I see my doctor in a couple of weeks. I'll see what he suggests but am wondering whether any of you have had significant hand pain.
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@jmaname same here as far as the arms and shoulders but my thumbs seem to be unaffected - fingers, wrists are tho.
@eltje
I know that experience.
Same with me and at about the same time.
Carpal tunnel ruled out for me after x-rays, scans and injections.
I hope your journey through this is brief and that you heal completely.
Keep us informed.
My first experience with PMR was my left hand could not close even the slightest into a fist and my left arm was severly swollen. The right hand and arm were fine. I then experienced the pain in the buttocks, thighs, lower back, scalp, etc. I was put on 20mg Prednisone and that brought down the swelling and relieved the pain for the most part. After a short time on the 20mg the Dr. suggested I start a taper of 1mg every 3 weeks. That went ok at the start but I noticed as I got closer to 10 mg I would experience some pain for several days after the taper. By the time I got to 8mg the pain did not go away and the right hand would be very difficult to get moving each morning. Soaking it in hot water and using my left hand to exercise the fingers it would get better and be functional the rest of the day. However it was always painful to some degree. The Dr. has put me back to 10mg and I have an appointment Monday so we will see where we go from here.
@mjdcl57
The refrigerator water temp bath is painful (pain from the coldness) beginning at about 1 minute in….until about 2 minutes in. Then the pain decreases and the remaining 8 minutes are more tolerable.
I just have to tough it out.
Afterwards, I don’t move my hands and fingers until they’ve warmed up quite a bit. That’s why I do it at night, before bed.
Good luck. Tell us how your experience results.
@abd
I feel the pain in the thumbs were the result of injuries. Right index finger has a nodule but no pain. About 6 months ago, I had neck and back pain due to overdoing things in the garden, esp carrying heavy items. Weekly physio treatments helped a lot and eased the spine and neck. However, the pain in the shoulders, arms, wrists and thumbs continued I think because it is hard to avoid re-injuring arms and shoulders. I have continued with exercise classes although the movement of my arms is restricted. I have had stiff tap and door latches replaced, wear tight gloves when driving, and when lifting anything heavier than half kilo. Concentrating and being aware of anything that hurts my thumbs and avoiding it in future, and using both hands when lifting, have all helpedover time to ease the main pain problem. I have had the problem diagnosed as PMR and have just started taking Prednisone and Methotestrate to hopefully stop it recurring and control the inflammation. I hope I haven't left anything out as the worst of it was at the beginning which was about 6 months ago. I am now feeling much better, and hoping you will find relief soon.
@jmaname have you tried thumb splints? I had the same issues with my thumbs the splints really helped. I wore them for two weeks and the pain subsided. It still comes back if I do too much. Hope this helps.
zkeith: The symptoms you describe sound alot like CTS-especially that, for the most part, they subside after getting out of bed. As a retired P.T., I am very familiar with CTS. I began having PMR symptoms June 2025. After months of debilitating shoulder, hip and knee pain, the coup d'etat was excruciating right hand pain that occurred every night at 3 am and did not stop unless I took Tylenol. It was also better upon getting OOB. I have had CTS symptoms off and on for years, but nothing like this. I self-diagnosed myself with PMR and my PCP agreed. I began10 mg pred Oct 2025. The pred relived all my symptoms. I had bilateral upper extremity EMG's that definitively diagnosed I had CTS. I saw a surgeon and planned for surgery. However, since the pred, I had no further symptoms, so I decided against surgery. I am now tapering off pred as I have started weekly self-injections of Tyenne, so time will tell if the CTS will return.
I would recommend that you try bilateral wrist supports for nighttime sleep, as many folks with CTS unknowingly flex their wrists as they sleep, exacerbating the CTS symptoms. I use the Ergodyne ProFlex 4020, $12 each on amazon. You may decide to also wear them during the day when you have the numbness in your hands. If these help, I think you should see a hand specialist for a definitive diagnosis. P.T. may help, but surgery may be indicated.
Bottomline, I feel confident that the inflammation I experienced before PMR was diagnosed was a direct cause of my CTS flare up. God speed to you and all of us struggling through the autoimmune maze!
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2 Reactions@chpfireball Splints would have been an excellent idea. I didn't have access an occupational therapist - I went shopping and found a thumb brace designed for sports activities from a pharmacy which helped at first but later caused irritation and swelling near my wrist and it wasn't clear if it was designed for a left or right hand. After a while the opposite thumb started to become affected due I think to being used more often. I tried an elbow compression sleeve which was good. Later, I found a pair of light weight thumb supports from an on-line company which supports the thumbs and cushioning under the lower part of the thumbs. Good when gardening and typing using both hands. It relieved the stress and pain in these areas. I can't wear them permanently because they tend to cut off the circulation around the thumbs. I find wearing gloves more comfortable for driving and this helped support my arms as well when turning the steering wheel. I think any support is a good idea when lifting. Medication I feel has helped as well but I think it's still important to continue avoiding spraining of hands, arms and shoulders. Also gentle exercises with instructors and especially physiotherapy has helped me a lot with my neck, back, hips and knees. Recently I joined a Tai Chi group and the moral support has been very good.
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2 ReactionsOn May 26, 2026 I saw my rheumatologist again after going 3 months without seeing her. I had tapered down and been on 10mg prednisone for a month for PMR. She lowered the prednisone dose to 7 1/2mg for 2 months. On June 2 the arthritis in my right thumb started being very painful again. The higher doses of prednisone since October 2025 had kept me with no thumb and hand pain. I plan to get me a hand brace and take Tylenol. I am hoping this will be enough for pain, so I can continue to reduce the prednisone.
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1 ReactionCould be something totally different from PMR. Carpal Tunnel in your hand?? Your doc should be able to assess this.