Finger joint pain can affect a person’s everyday activities and may have several causes. It is common for swelling and stiffness to accompany finger joint pain. Many conditions, such as arthritis, can cause finger pain. Numbness or tingling in the fingers may be a sign of a problem with nerves or blood flow. Redness and swelling can be a sign of infection or inflammation.
If you’ve noticed numbness in your fingers, there are a lot of possible causes. Injured or pinched nerves can lead to numb fingers. So can blood flow issues or a range of other medical conditions. The feeling can be harmless and go away on its own. Some people experience finger joint pain that worsens when they move or press on the finger. Others may have persistent finger joint pain that does not improve with rest or over-the-counter (OTC) treatment, and then it’s something you should talk about with your doctor.
Causes
Finger injuries are common, especially in athletes and people who work with heavy machinery. As trauma can often result in pain and inflammation, people will likely experience discomfort when pressing on the finger. Common causes of finger injuries include:
a sprain, which refers to a stretched or torn ligament
a strain, when a muscle or tendon becomes stretched or torn
a dislocated finger joint, when something forces a finger bone out of its joint
a fractured or broken bone, when a finger bone breaks
Treatment
People can treat mild sprains and strains with RICE (rest, ice, compression, and elevation) therapy.
Rest: Avoid moving or using the injured finger for a few days. Consider immobilizing the injured finger using a splint or buddy-taping it to another finger.
Ice: Place an ice pack on the injured finger for 20 minutes, between four and eight times daily. Applying ice can help reduce swelling and minimize pain.
Compression: Wrap the injured finger in a soft dressing or a bandage. Make sure the bandage is snug but not constricting.
Elevation: Keep the injured finger above the heart to reduce blood pressure and swelling in the finger.
Taking OTC pain medicines can help alleviate pain and reduce swelling, but long term or overuse of these medicines come with side effects.
Severe injuries, such as dislocations and fractures, require medical intervention. A healthcare professional can move a finger bone back into its joint and reset a fractured bone. They will then immobilise the finger to allow it to heal properly.
Acupressure
According to the ACUSANSTHAN first aid treatment for numbness in fingers is to paste a Byol magnet with a medical tape on Meridian point Li 1 (see figure). The white side of the magnet should be touching the medical adhesive tape.
For pain in fingers, the yellow side of the Byol magnet should touch the adhesive tape. Paste the magnet on Meridian point Si 7 as shown in the figure.