as with any new activity a little discomfort is normal...if you haven't ran a step in years and decide to race your child to the end of the road, chances are your legs are going to tell you about it...maybe for days...use eases the pain, really. if i go a couple months with no hand work my fingers will literally cramp up and my wrist swells, it's ugly...i kind of ease back into it...use what ever pain reliever works for you, use a good lotion, or ointment, sew for maybe 15 minutes and put it down, go back hours later and do another 15 minutes, after some time you will find you can sew as long as you want without the residual discomfort. and as long as you stick with it you should be ok.
I know a retired surgeon, he has been a fabulous hand piecer/quilter for years, he said it's how he kept his fingers nimble to be able to preform surgery well.
and all that being said...if you already are dealing with arthritis...still doing it as much as possible will help keep you using your hands, fingers, but it will probably always hurt a bit. don't over do it to the point where you are really hurting for days...take it easy and do it in little time spurts.