So, following up on yesterday's thoughts about Daisy knowing everything, I am eschewing the usual time-consuming, fruitless, and full-of-quacks online search and going straight to the source
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You need to distinguish between actual joint pain (does it hurt when you move the joint or press on the joint? Is it swollen? Warm? Red?
and pain from another source such as nerve pain. (electric? tingly? pins and needles? associated numbness?) The tingly tells me it's probably not truly joint pain.
You'd have to have bilateral pinched spinal nerves to have symptoms in both hands, but this is possible. Have you been aggravating your neck with the horses in some way? Or some gardening or other activity? Bilateral symptoms which are from the neck and are progressive are concerning and need prompt further medical evaluation.
Another cause of symptoms in the pinky side of the hand is impingement of the ulnar nerve either in the wrist or more commonly where it runs in a groove (the ulnar groove) at the elbow. Symptoms get worse at night or are apparent upon awakiening because the person has slept with pressure on that area or/and with their arms bent at the elbow which stretches the ulnar nerve and adds stress to it. You could try sleeping with volleyball type knee pads on your elbows - that cushions the elbow area and keeps your elbows in extension.
Hey, a consult from Dr. Moonette! *waves* Much of what you suggest rings true. I've had pinched nerves and in fact have osteoarthritis in my cervical spine - I usually find that to be a sharper pain. This really does seem to be the joints. They're not swollen but they're stiff and achy. I have an arthritic joint on my right index finger. I sound like a geezer, don't I? Today my hands are sore in general as I was doing tons of pruning yesterday, so it's hard to separate out the discomfort that has been there all week. I like your overnight idea, I might try sleeping without bending my elbows and see what happens. Entirely possible I've been putting stress on something while working with the horses or in the yard, and I'm behind on my chiro visits. I need to get back there.
and pain from another source such as nerve pain. (electric? tingly? pins and needles? associated numbness?) The tingly tells me it's probably not truly joint pain.
You'd have to have bilateral pinched spinal nerves to have symptoms in both hands, but this is possible. Have you been aggravating your neck with the horses in some way? Or some gardening or other activity? Bilateral symptoms which are from the neck and are progressive are concerning and need prompt further medical evaluation.
Another cause of symptoms in the pinky side of the hand is impingement of the ulnar nerve either in the wrist or more commonly where it runs in a groove (the ulnar groove) at the elbow. Symptoms get worse at night or are apparent upon awakiening because the person has slept with pressure on that area or/and with their arms bent at the elbow which stretches the ulnar nerve and adds stress to it. You could try sleeping with volleyball type knee pads on your elbows - that cushions the elbow area and keeps your elbows in extension.
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Much of what you suggest rings true. I've had pinched nerves and in fact have osteoarthritis in my cervical spine - I usually find that to be a sharper pain. This really does seem to be the joints. They're not swollen but they're stiff and achy. I have an arthritic joint on my right index finger. I sound like a geezer, don't I? Today my hands are sore in general as I was doing tons of pruning yesterday, so it's hard to separate out the discomfort that has been there all week. I like your overnight idea, I might try sleeping without bending my elbows and see what happens. Entirely possible I've been putting stress on something while working with the horses or in the yard, and I'm behind on my chiro visits. I need to get back there.
Thanks for the input!
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