{"id":5379,"date":"2016-11-30T15:18:56","date_gmt":"2016-11-30T19:18:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/?p=5379"},"modified":"2018-08-27T15:45:52","modified_gmt":"2018-08-27T19:45:52","slug":"how-to-cope-with-arthritis-in-your-hands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/how-to-cope-with-arthritis-in-your-hands\/","title":{"rendered":"Mount Sinai&#8217;s Focus on Healthy Aging Asks Dr. Pruzansky How to Cope with Hand Arthritis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>New York City based Dr. Mark Pruzansky, a hand surgery and sports injury pioneer, was featured in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.focusonhealthyaging.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Focus on Healthy Aging<\/a>, the monthly newsletter from the world-renowned Mt. Sinai School of Medicine.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_6881\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6881\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/psoriatic-arthritis-traumatic-loss-of-fifth-digit-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-6881\" srcset=\"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/psoriatic-arthritis-traumatic-loss-of-fifth-digit-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/psoriatic-arthritis-traumatic-loss-of-fifth-digit-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/psoriatic-arthritis-traumatic-loss-of-fifth-digit-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/psoriatic-arthritis-traumatic-loss-of-fifth-digit.jpg 533w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"><p id=\"caption-attachment-6881\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Psoriatic arthritis. Traumatic loss of fifth digit.<\/p><\/div>The article, <a href=\"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/dr-mark-pruzansky-FHA-Jan-2017-Hand-Arthritis.pdf\">Coping With Arthritis in Your Hands<\/a>, looks\u00a0at self-help strategies and medications you can use to pain and maintain your range-of-motion.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Pruzansky is an assistant professor of orthopaedics at Mount Sinai so he was asked about the two different types of arthritis that afflict the hand, osteoarthritis (OA) and the less common rheumatoid arthritis (RA):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/patient-education\/osteoarthritis\/\">Osteoarthritis (OA)<\/a><\/strong>: Develops due to \u201cwear and tear\u201d that results in a loss of joint cartilage which is the rubbery material covering the ends of the bones.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/patient-education\/rheumatoid-arthritis\/\">Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)<\/a><\/strong>: This is caused\u00a0by a faulty immune system that attacks the synovium (the tissue that lines joints).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When it comes to self-help treatments and medication, Dr. Pruzansky offers some advice.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Acupuncture, diet, and herbal supplements that claim to reduce arthritis pain:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201c\u001eThese are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, and may reduce the effectiveness of, and interact with, conventional drugs,\u201d says Dr. Pruzansky. \u201cFor example, herbal supplements can decrease the effectiveness of RA drugs.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Splints, exercises, and occupational therapy:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cAn occupational therapist also can analyze how you tend to use your hands, and give specifi c advice on ways to reduce stress and increase stamina in weakened joints,\u201d said Dr. Pruzansky.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5381\" src=\"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Screen-Shot-2016-11-30-at-1.51.21-PM.png\" alt=\"hand arthritis exercises\" width=\"518\" height=\"513\" srcset=\"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Screen-Shot-2016-11-30-at-1.51.21-PM.png 518w, https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Screen-Shot-2016-11-30-at-1.51.21-PM-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Screen-Shot-2016-11-30-at-1.51.21-PM-300x297.png 300w, https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Screen-Shot-2016-11-30-at-1.51.21-PM-40x40.png 40w, https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Screen-Shot-2016-11-30-at-1.51.21-PM-50x50.png 50w, https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Screen-Shot-2016-11-30-at-1.51.21-PM-144x144.png 144w, https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Screen-Shot-2016-11-30-at-1.51.21-PM-303x300.png 303w, https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Screen-Shot-2016-11-30-at-1.51.21-PM-125x125.png 125w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 518px) 100vw, 518px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Over-the-counter medication, NSAIDs, opioids, steroids, cortisone injections:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cTreat these drugs with caution even if you\u2019re taking OTC versions, due to the possible side effects,&#8221; Dr. Pruzansky cautions.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Some drugs have side effects like kidney damage and high blood pressure while others can suppress the immune system, for example. And cortisone shots, which can provide several months worth of relief, can&#8217;t be used too often because they can weaken the tissue.<\/p>\n<p>Click here to read the full article, <a href=\"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/dr-mark-pruzansky-FHA-Jan-2017-Hand-Arthritis.pdf\">Coping With Arthritis in Your Hands<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New York City based Dr. Mark Pruzansky, a hand surgery and sports injury pioneer, was featured in Focus on Healthy Aging, the monthly newsletter from the world-renowned Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. The article, Coping With Arthritis in Your Hands, looks\u00a0at self-help strategies and medications you can use to pain and maintain your range-of-motion. Dr. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5381,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5379"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5379\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/handsurgeonsnyc.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}