Trigger finger takes place due to inflammation of the tendons that flex your fingers, causing finger tenderness and pain. The condition limits your finger’s movement and can make it difficult to correct and bend your finger.
What Are the Symptoms of Trigger Finger?
Common early symptoms include:
- a lingering soreness in the base of your thumb or another finger
- a bump or lump around the base of your finger near the palm
- tenderness around the base of your finger
- a clicking or snapping noise with movement
- stiffness in your finger
If you don’t get treatment for it, set off finger can progress. Advanced symptoms include a thumb, another finger, or both being locked in a bent or straight position. You might also be not able to uncurl your finger without utilizing the other hand if you have a sophisticated case of trigger finger.
The symptoms of trigger finger tend to be even worse in the morning. The finger usually begins to unwind and move more easily as the day goes on.
What Causes Trigger Finger?
Your fingers have numerous little bones. Tendons link these bones to muscles. When your muscles contract or tighten, your tendons pull on your bones to move your fingers.
Long tendons, called flexor tendons, extend from your forearm to the muscles and bones in your hands. Flexor tendons slide through a flexor tendon sheath, which resembles a tunnel for the tendon. If the tunnel narrows, your tendon can’t move quickly. This is what occurs in trigger finger.
When the tendon slides through the narrowed sheath, it becomes inflamed and swells. Movement becomes exceptionally difficult. Inflammation may trigger a bump to establish, which further restricts movement. This leads to your finger remaining in a bent position. It ends up being exceptionally difficult to straighten.
Who Is at Risk for Trigger Finger?
Some individuals are most likely to have trigger finger than others. For instance, according to the Mayo Center, it’s more common in women than in men.
Other dangers factors connected with trigger finger include:
- being between the ages of 40 and 60
- having diabetes
- having hypothyroidism
- having rheumatoid arthritis
- having tuberculosis
- performing repetitive activities that can strain your hand, such as playing a musical instrument
According to the Cleveland Clinic, trigger finger most frequently impacts musicians, farmers, and industrial workers.
How is Trigger Finger Diagnosed?
A doctor can normally identify trigger finger with a physical exam and some basic questions about your medical history.
Your doctor will listen for characteristic clicking upon movement. They’ll try to find a bent finger. They may also view you opening and closing your hand. Diagnosis generally will not require an X-ray or other imaging tests.
How is Trigger Finger Treated?
At-home Treatments
Treatments depend on the intensity of the signs. At-home treatments include:
- taking a break from repetitive activities for 4 to 6 weeks
- using a brace or splint to limit motion and rest the hand
- applying heat or ice to reduce swelling
- putting your hand in warm water several times throughout the day to unwind the tendons and muscles
- carefully extending your fingers to improve their variety of movement
Medications
Medications may assist eliminate inflammation. Anti-inflammatory medications include:
- ibuprofen (Advil).
- naproxen (Aleve).
- prescription anti-inflammatories.
- steroid injections.
Surgery
If medications and at-home treatments don’t work, your medical professional may advise surgical treatment. Surgeons carry out surgical treatment for trigger finger on an outpatient basis. After you get an anesthesia shot, your cosmetic surgeon makes a small cut in the palm and after that cuts the tightened tendon sheath.
As the tendon sheath heals, the location is looser, assisting your finger move more quickly. Surgery risks include infection or ineffective surgical outcomes.
Surgery healing can take a couple of weeks to six months. Your physician might advise physical treatment workouts to relieve post-surgery stiffness. As a basic rule, as soon as the doctor releases the tendon sheath, the tendon can move freely.
You should be able to go back to your typical activities within a few days. Your medical professional will remove the sutures in 7 to 14 days.
What Is the Outlook for People With Trigger Finger?
Lifestyle changes and avoiding certain activities are frequently efficient treatments for trigger finger.
Corticosteroid treatment may likewise be effective, however the signs might return after this treatment.
According to a study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgical treatment, scientists discovered that symptoms had actually returned in 56 percent of affected digits 12 months after individuals got corticosteroid injection treatments.
These signs typically came back several months after getting the shot. However, the injection is quick and basic. It can enable you to put off having surgical treatment up until a time that’s easier.
The researchers in this research study also found that individuals with insulin-dependent diabetes, who were also younger and had a number of symptomatic fingers, were most likely to have signs return.
