Basal joint arthritis is known as thumb arthritis.The basal joint is also called thumb CMC (carpometacarpal) joint. This joint is greatly stressed especially while doing pinching movements.
Types of Basal Joint Arthritis
Arthritis in basal joints can be of many types like traumatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Traumatic arthritis occurs when a joint is injured, osteoarthritis is a degenerative type of arthritis, whereas rheumatoid is an autoimmune disorder.
Treatment of Basal joint Arthritis
The treatment of the above mentioned types of arthritis is generally done with the help of splints. Splints are used to give support and protection to the basal bones and help in their smooth functioning. Another treatment is suspension plasty. It is a type of surgery where basal bone is removed. Ligament repair and tendon transfer are main features of this surgery.
Basal Joint Arthritis Splints
The initial management of arthritis is considered as splinting. The goal of splinting the patients of arthritis includes:
- To reduce the pain and inflammation of the involved joints.
- To rest and support the weakened structure.
- To position the involved joints closely, in order to properly align them.
- To provide external support, in order to improve the proper functioning of hand.
- The main aim of splinting is to position healing structures properly.
Suspensionplasty Basal Joint Arthritis
Suspensionplasty is the use of abductor pollicis longus (APL) tendon as sling. First, the bone at the base of thumb (trapezium) is removed. Then the APL is taken from its attachments to the carpometacarpel (CMC) and threaded to the two tunnels. One tunnel goes through the bone of the index figure. While the other goes through the thumb.
The APL is stitched to another tendon to hold in its place. The overall effect is to stop the deforming force of the APL on the CMC joint. The grip and key pinch strength is measured before and after surgery. The range of motions and pain levels were also recorded; x-rays were also taken both before and after the process of Suspensionplasty.
The conclusion that was drawn after all the above recordings was that most of the patients were pain free after the surgery. Pinching and gripping activities became easier for most of them.
Suspensionplasty for Treating Basal Joint Arthritis
Suspensionplasty has become a preferred treatment method for basal joint arthritis. In this method, the abductor pollicis longus (APL) tendon is used as sling. To start, the trapezium bone located at thumb base is removed. Later, the APL’s attachments with the carpometacarpel (CMC) are removed. Then, it is threaded through both the tunnels. The first tunnel leads to the index finger bone. The other tunnel traces to the thumb.
The APL is held in place by stitching it to another tendon. This prevents the APL from exerting its deforming force on the CMC joint. The pinch strength of the hand is measured prior to and after the surgery. The pain levels and range of motion are also noted. X-rays are also taken before and after the suspensionplasty process.
Benefits of Suspensionplasty
Most patients report that they are free of pain after the treatment. They also said that their gripping and pinching abilities became better
