Need trekking pole recommendation

[Chris_Cates]

Have you talked with a physical therapist about this issue?

Nope. Never used a physical therapist. I'm planning to ask my doctor about it at my next regular appointment.

[ScareBear]

Have you talked with a physical therapist about this issue?

Ummm...about that thought....osteoarthritis doesn't work that way. At least, not in the base of the fingers/thumb. In your knee, yes to a degree. There you focus on improving your quad strength to help take the load better. In your shoulder for sure, but that is a range of motion issue. OP's issue is due to mechanical wear and tear or repeated minor injuries(lineman's hands). You see it mostly with former athletes, especially football(American) players. Baseball catchers too. Carpenters and roofers too. No treatment and therapy isn't really called for. The injections into the joints....yikes...more pain than help I think. It's mostly a pain management issue. Rheumatoid Arthritis/Psoriatic Arthritis are autoimmune diseases. There, the joint damage is caused by inflammation to the joints, the key being joints. Rarely do you see an individual with multiple distant osteos at the same time, like a knee, shoulder, hip, thumb and toe. In RA/PA, its often MOST of the major joints being affected. Or at least, multiple joints. All at once. It sucks. Give me osteo in one or two joints any day of the week. Just sayin...

Think of osteo as self-inflicted due to wear and tear and/or injuries and RA/PA as an actual entire body illness due to your autoimmune system attacking your own body for giggles...big difference...

Your joint replacements that are non-injury related are almost always osteoarthritis. You've worn out the cartilage, or injured it, and now the joint is compromised. After too long of bone-on-bone, you can't stand the pain and are willing to part with your original components for titanium ones...

[Lyle]

PacerPoles - been using them for many years, work fine for tents/tarps. More comfortable than ANY other grips.

[cmoulder]

Some (many?) downhill skiers are now using strapless poles that support the heel of the hand.

I use GG grips on my 3-season poles without straps and don't miss them at all... in fact, much prefer strapless.

Winter (for snowshoeing) I use straps but use them only to suspend my wrists. Using them in the "standard" manner while wearing gloves reduces blood flow and makes my hands cold.