Is there medication that can manage pain and stiffness in the hands effectively?
Pain and stiffness in the hands is a common problem in scleroderma. This may be due to a number of problems and each would have to be assessed by your rheumatologist. They include osteoarthritis, inflammatory arthritis, calcinosis and finally Raynaud’s phenomenon. Some patients may have just Raynaud’s but others may have a combination of these and each will require quite different medication or combination of treatments. Overall we would recommend diagnosis in the first instance. We often favour wax treatment, as this is useful for osteoarthritis and for the treatment of calcinosis. Important Note : When using wax treatment on your hands any broken skin must be protected with plastic gloves.
