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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffYour doctor may use a variety of methods to diagnose thumb arthritis, including a physical examination and certain X-ray imaging techniques.
During a physical exam, your doctor will ask about your symptoms and look for noticeable swelling or lumps on your joints.
Your doctor may conduct a test in which he or she holds your joint while moving your thumb, with pressure, against your wrist bone. If this movement produces a grinding sound, or causes pain or a gritty feeling, it means the cartilage has worn down and the bones are rubbing against each other.
Imaging techniques can reveal bony projections that grow along the edges of bones (bone spurs), worn-down cartilage and loss of joint space — each indicating the presence of thumb arthritis. Your doctor may recommend the following techniques:
- X-rays
- Bone scans
- Computerized tomography (CT) scans
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans
- 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.
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