How to Fix Knuckle Pain

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1 Pain Relief and Swelling Reduction

2 Treating Arthritis

3 Injuries and Tendonitis

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Co-authored by Luba Lee, FNP-BC, MS

Last Updated: June 6, 2024 References

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It’s common to feel some occasional pain in your knuckles. After all, these are busy joints that are responsible for most of our daily tasks. This is why you probably want a quick solution to knuckle pain so you can get on with your life. You’re in luck! While there are all kinds of causes for knuckle pain, ranging from injuries to ganglion cysts to arthritis, the ways to relieve the pain and reduce swelling are similar. Try these tricks to help your hands feel better. If your pain doesn’t get better or is interfering with your everyday life, then see your doctor for further treatment.

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Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Pain Relief and Swelling Reduction

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1. 1
   Rest your hand to let the knuckle heal. No matter what's causing the pain, some rest will always help. Try to use your fingers less and keep your hand as still as you can. This can help cut down on your inflammation and pain.

   • Especially try to take a break from the activities that cause pain. For example, if you type on the computer a lot, limiting your computer time could help give your fingers a break.
   • If only one knuckle or finger hurts, then you can still use your hands. Just try to keep pressure off the painful spots.
2. 2
   Shake out your hands to release tension and stress from your joints. If you work with your hands a lot, such as typing, gardening, housework or child-care, take breaks and shake out excess tension in your muscles and joints that build up. Sit or stand with your arms dangling by your sides, bring your hands level with your waist, soften your elbows, shake off your hands and arms 5-20 times. Then, straighten your elbows and shake out the entire length of your arms. Shake as gently or as vigorously as you find it comfortable. Rest and ice your knuckles afterward.
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3. 3
   Ice your knuckles to soothe the pain. This is another trick that works well, no matter what's causing your pain. Wrap an ice pack in a towel and hold it onto your painful knuckles for 20 minutes at a time. Repeat this every 2-3 hours while the pain and swelling last.

   • If you don’t have an ice pack, you can use a bag of frozen vegetables instead.
   • Don’t leave an ice pack on for more than 20 minutes at a time or you could damage your skin. Also never apply an ice pack without wrapping it in a towel first.
4. 4
   Take NSAID pain relievers to reduce pain and inflammation. NSAID pain relievers help fight inflammation and swelling, so they’re the best medications for painful knuckles. Good choices include ibuprofen, naproxen, and aspirin. Take one of these medications to treat the pain and help the knuckle heal.

   • Pain relievers are only meant for short-term use, so if you have to take them longer than a week and the pain doesn’t improve, see your doctor.
   • Other medications like acetaminophen will help mask the pain, but they don’t reduce inflammation or help the pain heal. This is why NSAIDs are a better choice.
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Method 2

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Treating Arthritis

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1. 1
   Notice pain and stiffness, especially in the morning, as osteoarthritis. This form of arthritis is from normal wear-and-tear on your joints, and it’s common in your hands and fingers. The common signs are pain when moving, stiffness, and tenderness when you press on the joint. These symptoms are usually worse in the morning.

   • There might also be some swelling around your joint, but not as much as with rheumatoid arthritis.
   • Osteoarthritis progresses and gets worse over time, so if the pain gets worse, it’s a good bet that this is what you have.
2. 2
   Look for swelling, redness, and heat for rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder that attacks your joints. Along with pain, it usually causes swelling, redness, and radiating heat in your joints. If you’re experiencing these symptoms, then see your doctor to start treatment.

   • You might also have a fever, fatigue, or loss of appetite during a flare-up.
   • Your fingers may look a bit crooked, but this is usually a later symptom of rheumatoid arthritis.
3. 3
   Try heat instead of ice to soothe the pain. Both rheumatoid and osteoarthritis can cause sore muscles around your joints, including in your hands. If you’re feeling a dull soreness around your knuckles, then try using a heating pad instead of ice to soothe the pain.

   • You can use ice and heat at different times to treat arthritis. Heat is good for soreness and ice is good for sharp pains and swelling.
   • Heat can also work for injuries and tendonitis if your finger is stiff. Heat helps increase flexibility.
4. 4
   Complete physical therapy to strengthen your joints. Exercising and stretching your hands is good for your joints and might help reduce arthritis pain. Visit a physical therapist to learn the right ways to strengthen your joints. This won’t cure arthritis, but it can slow the progression and protect your joints.

   • The physical therapist will probably give you some exercises to do at home. Make sure you stay consistent and do these exercises for the best results.
   • This is more effective for osteoarthritis, but could also help with rheumatoid arthritis.
5. 5
   Get cortisone injections to reduce joint inflammation. Cortisone is a steroid medication that fights inflammation from rheumatoid and osteoarthritis. If your knuckle pain is coming from arthritis, then it can help relieve the pain. Visit your doctor for a cortisone injection into your finger joints to see if this helps.

   • Cortisone shots sometimes cause a spike in the pain for 24-48 hours after the injection. This is normal, and the pain should reduce after the shots start working.
   • Cortisone isn’t a permanent solution, and you might need injections every few months for a chronic condition like arthritis. Follow your doctor’s guidance for the best treatment.
6. 6
   Take anti-rheumatic drugs to fight rheumatoid arthritis. Since rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder, the best treatment is medication. Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) like methotrexate are usually the go-to medication to suppress your immune system and treat the condition. Visit your doctor for a prescription and take according to their directions.

   • You’ll probably have to take these drugs for the rest of your life, since rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic condition.
7. 7
   Fight septic arthritis with antibiotics. Septic arthritis is a rarer type of arthritis caused by an infection in your joint. The only way to get rid of this is with antibiotics to kill the infection. Take the medication that your doctor prescribes to knock out the infection and heal your joint pain.

   • The symptoms of septic arthritis are similar to rheumatoid arthritis, and include redness, swelling, pain, and a fever. See your doctor if your experience these symptoms.
   • Always take the entire course of antibiotics to clear the infection entirely.
   • For deep infections, your doctor may have to inject antibiotics into the joint.
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Method 3

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Injuries and Tendonitis

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1. 1
   Check for bruising or swelling to indicate an injury. While you might think it would be easy to tell when you injured your finger, it’s not always so obvious. Generally, a telltale sign is bruising and swelling along with the pain. If you see these signs, then you probably jammed or hit your finger with something.

   • Sometimes your grip will also be weak if you have an injury. Squeezing or making a fist might be painful.
   • If your pain is sharply focused on one spot, or you heard any cracking when you got the injury, then your finger is probably broken near the knuckle. Visit the doctor for treatment.
2. 2
   Recognize tendonitis by checking for stiffness and swelling. Sometimes called "trigger finger" because of the way your finger locks into place, tendonitis in your fingers causes joint swelling and stiffness. This happens because the tendon in your finger is inflamed. You might find it hard to straighten your finger or notice cracking when you move it. These are telltale signs of tendonitis.

   • The most common cause for tendonitis is simple overuse. Rest and ice usually do the trick.
3. 3
   Splint the finger to keep it stable. Keeping your finger straight helps these conditions heal better. Place something flat and firm, like a popsicle stick, under the painful finger. Then wrap medical tape around the splint above and below the painful knuckle to attach it.

   • Pharmacies and medical supply stores also sell padded splints, so you can get one of these for more comfort.
   • You could also tape the painful finger to the finger next to it. This isn’t as good as a splint, but will help keep the finger straight.
   • The length of time you need to keep your splint on depends on the injury. It’s best to ask your doctor how long you should keep it on.
4. 4
   Get corticosteroid injections to correct tendonitis. If tendonitis doesn't go away with home care, then steroid injections can knock out the inflammation. This medication heals the swelling around your tendon and should help it move more easily. Visit your doctor to receive an injection into your joint to correct the tendonitis.

   • Unlike arthritis, corticosteroid injections usually clear up tendonitis permanently.
5. 5
   Have surgery if your finger is locked in place. In rare cases, tendonitis is bad enough that you can't move your finger. If nothing else works to correct it, then your doctor will probably recommend minor surgery. During the procedure, a surgeon will shave around the tendon a bit so it can move freely again. This works for most people with severe trigger finger.

   • This is very minor surgery that only takes about 20 minutes. You can go home within a few hours.
   • Normally, you'll only have local anesthesia instead of general anesthesia. This means you'll be awake but won't feel any pain.
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• There are all kinds of other causes for joint pain, like gout, carpal tunnel, or fibromyalgia. This is why it's important to see your doctor for joint pain that doesn't go away.
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