Pain at the base of the thumb usually starts small — a jar lid, a car key, a firm handshake. For a lot of patients it's the most common form of hand arthritis, and it's also one of the most treatable if it's caught before it limits daily function.

Morning hand stiffness is one of the most normalized symptoms in clinical medicine. It is also one of the most diagnostically important — and the single most useful question is one most physicians never ask: how long does it last?