手首の痛み　梅雨時期

Wrist pain Rainy season

梅雨の季節や、雨の日は、関節が痛んだりしびれたりすることがあります。梅雨時期の天気の変化による不調は気象病の可能性があります。梅雨時期、痛みが増すようであれば、原因には気温、気圧、湿度などの要素が関わってきます。特に気圧の変動は、頭痛、めまい、肩こり・首痛、古傷の痛み、腰痛、倦怠感、気分の落ち込み、眠気、うつ・不安感、神経痛の悪化、関節リウマチの悪化、耳の症状、耳の痛み、耳鳴り、突発性難聴などに波及します。今症例では、梅雨に入り、手首の痛みを発症したケースです。手首の痛みというと、手首を酷使するような、ピアニストや料理人などに多発するイメージがありました。しかし、コロナで、家にいることが多かったせいで、家事の増大や、パソコン作業が増えて、手首の腱鞘炎を感じるビジネスマンや主婦たちが増えてきています。手首に痛みがあると、仕事や家事など、日常生活に支障をきたすことも少なくありません。スマートフォンやパソコンなどの長時間にわたる操作は、手首に負担を掛かけている可能性があります。手首の酷使のほかに、親指の使いすぎも、手首を痛めます。親指を開く時、私たちは「手首を通る腱」を使っています。親指を使いすぎると、腱とその通り道である腱鞘が何度もこすれあい、炎症を起こす可能性があります。また更年期が始まる４０～５０歳の女性に手首の痛みが多くなります。理由として、体内のホルモンバランスが関与します。女性ホルモンが減少すると、炎症を抑える機能が弱くなり、腱鞘炎を起こしやすくなると言われています。ホルモンバランスの関与以外でも、女性は妊娠中や、子育て中なども、子どもを抱っこしたり、子供の頭を支えたりするときに、親指を大きく開くことが多いため、手首の痛みを起こしやすくなります。また、糖尿病患者も腱鞘炎になりやすいと言われています。これは血中の糖が多いことが原因で、抹消の血行が滞ったり、炎症が起こっても、血流が悪いので、治りにくかったりするためです。関節リウマチを患っている人は、腱鞘の炎症によりばね指を起こしやすく、人工透析を受けている人は透析アミロイドというタンパク質の蓄積により、炎症を起こして、ばね指を発症しやすくなります。鍼灸治療としては鍼の刺激によって筋肉の柔軟性を高め、手指への負担を軽くします。鍼には血流を改善する効果があるので、炎症部位に留まっている血液の循環を促し炎症を鎮め、痛みが和らげていきます。

During the rainy season and on rainy days, joints may become sore and numb. Discomfort caused by weather changes during the rainy season may be a weather-related illness. If pain increases during the rainy season, the cause may involve factors such as temperature, air pressure, and humidity. In particular, changes in air pressure can spill over into headaches, dizziness, stiff shoulders and neck pain, pain from old injuries, back pain, fatigue, mood swings, drowsiness, depression and anxiety, worsening nerve pain, worsening rheumatoid arthritis, ear symptoms, ear pain, tinnitus, sudden hearing loss, etc. In the present case, the patient developed wrist pain during the rainy season. Wrist pain was thought to occur frequently in pianists, cooks, and others who overuse their wrists. However, with Corona, more and more businessmen and housewives are experiencing tendonitis in their wrists due to increased housework and computer work due to the fact that they are home more often. Pain in the wrist often interferes with work, housework, and other daily activities. Prolonged use of smartphones, computers, and other devices can put a strain on the wrist. In addition to overuse of the wrist, overuse of the thumb can also cause wrist pain. When we open our thumbs, we are using a "tendon that runs through the wrist. Overuse of the thumb can cause the tendon and its pathway, the tendon sheath, to rub against each other repeatedly, which can lead to inflammation. Wrist pain is also more common in women between the ages of 40 and 50, when menopause begins. Hormonal balance in the body is involved as a reason. When female hormones decrease, their ability to suppress inflammation weakens, making tendonitis more likely to occur. In addition to hormonal imbalance, women are also more prone to wrist pain during pregnancy and while raising children, as they often open their thumbs wide when carrying their children or supporting their children's heads. Diabetics are also prone to tendonitis. This is due to high levels of sugar in the blood, which causes blood circulation in the eliminative organs to stagnate and inflammation to occur, making it difficult to heal because of poor blood flow. People suffering from rheumatoid arthritis are more likely to develop spring toes due to inflammation of the tendon sheath, and people undergoing dialysis are more likely to develop spring toes due to inflammation caused by the accumulation of a protein called dialysis amyloid. As for acupuncture treatment, acupuncture needles increase muscle flexibility and lighten the load on the fingers. Acupuncture has the effect of improving blood flow, so it stimulates the circulation of blood that is retained in the inflamed area and soothes the inflammation, thereby relieving the pain.