If your thumb hurts when you grip, write, or open a jar, you are not alone. Many people suffer from a type of arthritis in the thumb that doctors call rhizarthrosis. It causes pain that can make everyday tasks hard.
This article looks at a study that tested a treatment called hyaluronic acid injections. Researchers wanted to know if these injections could help people with thumb arthritis feel better.
Here are three things this study found:
- Hyaluronic acid injections helped reduce pain in the thumb joint
- People who got the injections could use their hands better
- Their grip strength also improved after the treatment
Key Findings at a Glance
- Research shows that hyaluronic acid injections reduced thumb pain by 0.8 to 4 points on a 10 point pain scale after 24 weeks
- According to this study, all patients reported better hand function after receiving the injections
- Studies indicate that grip strength increased by 0.4 to 2 kilograms after 24 weeks of treatment
- Sixteen different trials with 587 patients were reviewed to reach these conclusions
- Medical evidence suggests that hyaluronic acid can be a valid treatment option for thumb arthritis
In this article
- What is thumb arthritis and why does it hurt?
- What is hyaluronic acid and how does it work?
- What did this study find?
- How much did pain improve?
- Did people use their hands better?
- Did grip strength get better?
- Frequently asked questions
- What does this mean for you?
- Important information
- Study source
What is thumb arthritis and why does it hurt?
Thumb arthritis happens at the base of your thumb. The joint where your thumb meets your wrist is called the TMC joint. TMC stands for trapeziometacarpal, which is just the fancy medical name for that thumb base joint.
When you have this condition, simple things become painful. You might hurt when you turn a key, button your shirt, or hold a pen. The pain can make you feel frustrated because your hands are so important for daily life.
You may be wondering why this matters. Current treatments for thumb arthritis do not always work well. Many people still have pain even after trying medicine or wearing a brace.
What is hyaluronic acid and how does it work?
Hyaluronic acid is a gel like substance that is naturally found in your joints. Think of it as a cushion or lubricant that helps your joints move smoothly. When you have arthritis, your body does not make enough of this cushioning substance.
Doctors can inject hyaluronic acid directly into your sore thumb joint. This is called visco supplementation. Visco means thick and supplementation means adding something that is missing.
Here is where it gets interesting. The injected hyaluronic acid acts like a cushion between the bones. It may also help reduce swelling in the joint.
What did this study find?
Researchers looked at many different studies about hyaluronic acid injections for thumb arthritis. They wanted to see if the treatment really helped. This kind of review is called a systematic review. That means they carefully collected and compared results from many studies.
According to this study, they found 16 different trials. A trial is a research study where doctors test a treatment on real patients. All together, these trials included 587 patients who received hyaluronic acid injections.
The researchers looked at three important things:
- How much pain did people have?
- Could people use their hands better?
- Did their grip strength improve?
They checked these things at the start of treatment. Then they checked again after 4 weeks, 12 weeks, and 24 weeks. This way they could see if the treatment kept working over time.
How much did pain improve?
Research shows that pain got better for people who received the injections. Doctors measure pain using something called a Visual Analogue Score. This is usually a scale from 0 to 10. Zero means no pain at all. Ten means the worst pain you can imagine.
Let us look closer at what happened:
| Time After Injection | Pain Reduction |
|---|---|
| After 4 weeks | Pain dropped by 0.65 to 3.5 points |
| After 24 weeks | Pain dropped by 0.8 to 4 points |
What does this mean in real life? If your thumb pain was a 7 out of 10 before treatment, it might go down to a 4 or even a 3 after 24 weeks. That is a big difference. It could mean the difference between struggling to open a bottle and being able to do it without thinking twice.
These improvements were measured compared to baseline. Baseline just means how things were before treatment started.
Did people use their hands better?
According to this study, all of the trials reported that people could use their hands better after the injections. Doctors call this functional capacity. Functional capacity means your ability to do everyday tasks.
Researchers use special scales to measure how well you can use your hands. These are called functional scales. They ask questions like:
- Can you write with a pen?
- Can you open a jar?
- Can you button your clothes?
- Can you hold a cup?
Every single study in this review found that people answered yes more often after getting hyaluronic acid injections. They had less disability. Disability here means things you cannot do because of your thumb pain.
This is important because it means the treatment did not just make people feel better. It actually helped them do more with their hands.
Did grip strength get better?
Studies indicate that grip strength also improved. Grip strength is exactly what it sounds like. It measures how hard you can squeeze or pinch with your thumb and fingers.
Doctors measure pinch strength in kilograms. Here is what the research found:
| Time After Injection | Increase in Pinch Strength |
|---|---|
| After 4 weeks | 0.1 to 1.4 kilograms stronger |
| After 24 weeks | 0.4 to 2 kilograms stronger |
Even a small increase in strength can make a big difference. An extra kilogram of pinch strength might help you hold a bag of groceries or grip a steering wheel without pain.
The fact that strength improved along with pain and function tells us something important. The treatment seems to help the joint work better overall.
About this site
We created this site to help people like you understand medical research about thumb pain and rhizarthrosis. We read scientific articles published by doctors and researchers. Then we explain what they mean in simple words.
We only use information from real published studies. We never make things up or guess. Our goal is to help you make sense of the science so you can have better conversations with your doctor.
Feel free to explore more articles on our site. Each one breaks down a different piece of research about thumb arthritis.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take for hyaluronic acid injections to work?
According to this study, people started to feel better within 4 weeks after getting the injection. The benefits continued and even got better at 24 weeks. This means the treatment may keep helping you for several months.
Is hyaluronic acid a cure for thumb arthritis?
Medical evidence from this study suggests that hyaluronic acid helps with symptoms. It reduces pain and helps you use your hands better. However, the study does not say it cures arthritis or stops it from getting worse. It is a treatment that helps you feel better and function better.
How many studies looked at this treatment?
Research shows that 16 different trials were reviewed. These trials included 587 patients total who received hyaluronic acid injections. Some were randomized controlled trials, which are the strongest type of study. Others were single arm studies or comparison trials.
Did everyone in the studies get better?
The study found that results varied between different trials. Some people had more pain relief than others. Some got stronger improvements in function. But overall, the pattern was positive. Most people who got the injections had less pain and better hand use.
What does this mean for you?
If you have thumb arthritis and current treatments are not helping enough, hyaluronic acid injections might be worth discussing with your doctor. The research reviewed in this study shows that these injections can reduce pain, improve how well you use your hands, and increase your grip strength.
The benefits appear to last for at least 24 weeks. That is about six months. For many people, having less pain and better hand function for six months could make a real difference in their quality of life.
Of course, every person is different. What works well for one person might work differently for another. That is why it is important to talk with a doctor who knows your specific situation.
This study gives you good information to bring to that conversation. You can ask your doctor if hyaluronic acid injections might be right for you.
Important information
This article is for educational purposes only. It is not medical advice. It does not replace a conversation with your doctor or healthcare provider.
We explain what research studies found. We do not tell you what treatment you should choose. Only a qualified healthcare professional who examines you can give you personal medical advice.
If you have thumb pain or think you might have rhizarthrosis, please see a doctor for proper diagnosis and treatment.
Study source
This article is based on the following published research:
Pinto, I., Duarte, C., Vilabril, F., & Brito, I. (2022). Impact of Hyaluronic Acid Treatment on Rhizarthrosis: a Systematic Review. ARP Rheumatol.