About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Coping and support
By Mayo Clinic staffAdaptive equipment can help make daily tasks easier and less painful. For instance, buy a jar opener for opening lids in the kitchen. Consider replacing traditional door handles in your home with levers, which don't require the use of your thumb. Equipment is available for turning keys and modifying kitchen and household tools, as well.
Making smart choices also plays a part in coping with this condition. For example:
- Instead of carrying a clutch-style purse, use one with a shoulder or arm strap.
- Instead of grasping handle-type grocery bags, use paper bags that can be held on your hip and with your arm.
Talk to your doctor about other equipment and ideas that may be helpful for you.
- Swigart CR. Arthritis of the base of the thumb. Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine. 2008;1:142.
- Arthritis of the thumb. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00210. Accessed Feb. 2, 2010.
- Deune EG, et al. The patient with hand, wrist, or elbow pain. In: Current Rheumatology Diagnosis & Treatment. 2nd ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2007. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=2729561. Accessed Feb. 2, 2010.
- Dias R, et al. Basal thumb arthritis. Postgraduate Medical Journal. 2007;83:40.
- 5. Arthritis: Base of the thumb. American Society for Surgery of the Hand. http://www.assh.org/PUBLIC/HANDCONDITIONS/Pages/ArthritisBaseofthe.aspx. Accessed Feb. 2, 2010.
- Osteoarthritis. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Osteoarthritis/default.asp. Accessed Feb. 3, 2010.
- What is arthroscopy? American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00109. Accessed Feb. 3, 2010.
- Looking after your joints when you have arthritis. Arthritis Research Campaign. http://www.arc.org.uk/arthinfo/patpubs/6055/6055.asp. Accessed Feb. 3, 2010.
- Wajon A, et al. Surgery for thumb (trapeziometacarpal joint) osteoarthritis. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2009:CD004631.
Find Mayo Clinic on