Hand All specialist areas

Thumb base arthritis

Hand

Arthritis of the thumb base, also known as rhizarthrosis, is the most common arthritis of the hand. It is caused by wear and tear of the joint cartilage between the base of the thumb and the carpal bone and causes pain, loss of strength and limited mobility.

Surgery is necessary if conservative therapies do not provide sufficient relief and hand strength or mobility is severely restricted.

Today, a thumb saddle joint prosthesis is more commonly implanted for rhizarthrosis, if possible. This method has proven to be more effective in maintaining mobility and relieving pain.

After about three weeks of immobilisation, physiotherapy follow-up treatment begins with mobilisation and strengthening exercises. Full recovery can take several weeks to months, depending on the initial findings.

Medical team in this field

Senior physician

Nibna Fuchs

Dr Nina Fuchs

Head physician

Attending physician

Marco Canova

Dr Marco Canova

Attending physician

Stefan Riederer

Dr Stefan Riederer

Attending physician

Entire Team