Question: I have just been diagnosed with arthritis in my right small finger and I am concerned it will start spreading to other fingers. What can I take to help stop the spread and maybe also help ease the joint pain in my finger?

Dr. Hibberd's Answer:

Arthritis is actually an inflammation of one or many joints. I need additional information to be able to give you specifics, but once the cause of the arthritis is determined, you may prevent other joints from becoming involved by treating the underlying condition.

There are many different types of arthritis. Some affect predominately large joints, while others affect small joints. The most common form of arthritis is degenerative osteoarthritis, and risk rises with age. While we have medications to relieve pain, we yet have no medications to prevent the onset of osteoarthritis.

We have effective medications for progressive inflammatory osteoarthritis, but have yet to find an effective preventive medication for the more common, milder forms. The secret will probably lie in further understanding of what factors trigger arthritis, then finding ways to reverse this aging process.