What is the cause of joint pain in hands and feet after childbirth?

Having a baby is the happiest thing for women. After all, all the efforts over such a long time have not been wasted. As long as the baby is healthy, you will be very relieved. Although the child was born safely, the mother still has to face many practical problems, such as how to breastfeed and what methods to use to help her body return to normal. So, what is the cause of joint pain in hands and feet after childbirth?

Causes of postpartum finger joint pain

Postpartum finger joint pain is a type of postpartum joint pain. The main cause of the disease is the endocrine changes in the mother's body after delivery, which causes the strength and elasticity of the hand muscles and tendons to decrease to varying degrees, and the tension of the joint capsule and ligaments near the joints to weaken, thereby leading to joint relaxation and weakened function. This is the underlying cause of joint pain in the hands and feet for new mothers.

(1) Nerve compression. During pregnancy, there is an overall increase in the amount of water circulating in the body. Therefore, the ligaments in the wrist and other parts become edematous, compressing the nerve channel that controls the fingers, the median nerve, causing numbness and pain, which causes carpal tunnel syndrome.

(2) Vitamin B12 deficiency. Lack of this vitamin can cause peripheral nerve disorders and lead to numbness and pain in the joints.

(3) If a mother does housework too early or too much after giving birth, or holds the baby for too long, or is exposed to cold water, it will overload the joints, tendons and ligaments, causing pain in the wrists and finger joints, and the most common "mom's wrist", which is clinically also known as "narrowing tendon bursitis of the wrist." The symptoms are: swelling and pain at the base of the mother's thumb, which makes it difficult to move the thumb or wrist; grasping, gripping, twisting, pinching and other actions will cause or aggravate wrist pain, and in severe cases it will affect sleep; the pain is sometimes like neuralgia, which will spread up to the arm and down to the end of the thumb.

(4) During the confinement period, postpartum mothers have less activity and even seldom get out of bed to walk. This will cause the fat pad in the heel to degenerate due to disuse and become weak. Its role in supporting body weight and cushioning vibrations during exercise is greatly weakened.

(5) Traditional Chinese medicine believes that postpartum joint pain is related to postpartum blood deficiency, blood stasis, or retention of wind, cold and dampness. If blood is deficient, the limbs, tendons, veins and joints will not be nourished; if blood is stagnant, the circulation of qi and blood will be blocked; if wind, cold and dampness invade the body and stay between the skin, meridians and joints, blocking the circulation of qi and blood, all of which can cause postpartum joint pain.

Therefore, the reason why postpartum mothers suffer from postpartum finger joint pain is also closely related to the above 5 points. During the confinement period, mothers should rest well, reduce labor and contact with cold water, and avoid postpartum finger joint pain.