What Causes Pain And Swelling In Knuckle And Index Finger?

Posted on Wed, 16 Mar 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 16 Mar 2016 Answered on

Thu, 19 May 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : my right knuckle is swollen and I have some burning pain with it. My right index finger hurts and doesn't bend without pain making it hard to open jars. This has gone on for about 12 days and came on all of the sudden. Sounds like arthritis I know. My left hand is fine though. I visited my family physician last week with these symptoms and he put me on 5 days of prednisone. He thinks it's irritated and/or may have a viral infection. The prednisone seemed to start working but then it did no good but I continued and took all the pills. I plan to go back and see him but in the meantime, what do you think, doctor?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (3 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Tendonitis likely.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
The pain in the knuckle and index finger is likely to be due to an inflammation of the tendon called tendonitis. Arthritis of small joints is also a possibility.
In addition to steroid and pain killers, doing a hot compress and applying a local analgesic gel will help. Avoid all painful movements and let it rest to heal.
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.
For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar