What causes osteoarthritis, and what can be done to ease the pain?

what can I do about my hands

It`s caused by the breakdown and eventual loss of the cartilage of one or more joints. Cartilage is a protein substance that serves as a "cushion" between the bones of the joints.
Aside from weight reduction and avoiding activities that exert excessive stress on the joint cartilage, there is no specific treatment to halt cartilage degeneration or to repair damaged cartilage in osteoarthritis, you may benefit from conservative measures such as rest, exercise, weight reduction, physical and occupational therapy, and mechanical support devices.
In many patients with osteoarthritis, mild pain relievers such as aspirin and acetaminophen (Tylenol) may be sufficient treatment.....hope it helps.

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The other person did a good job answering what this Condition is. I have seen in physical therapy a hot wax treatment for the hands. Your hands are placed in hot wax, not enough to burn, and it penetrates deeply to remove the pain. You may want to go to physical therapy, they will do different modalities to help you deal with the pain. They do massage therapy which is wonderful.

I've also enclosed a link about natural treatments for osteoarthritis, you may want to try some of these as they are very good for this condition.