Well I honestly never knew that "trigger finger" was an actual medical condition, but I do now.
I've been suffering from pain in the thumb of my right hand for 2 full months now. It hurts at night, sometimes enough to wake me up. During the day it tends to hurt less, but I'm unable to use that thumb normally. When it's really bad, I can hardly bend my thumb, unless I use my other hand to flex it. If I try to flex it on it's own, it's like it gets 'caught' on something, then it finally breaks free and almost gets stuck in the new position, and flexing it straight again comes with pain - from the joint down to the joint in my hand at the base of my thumb. I tried icing it, heating it, stretching it, nothing helped.
I finally went to see my GP a the urging of Mrs. Etrain. I've been living with this as while it's been limiting me somewhat, it hasn't been unbearable, just a nuisance and somewhat uncomfortable. Doc checked me over for all of 2 minutes and diagnosed it as "trigger finger". You have got to be kidding me! I had no idea it was a real-deal medical issue. It apparently has to do with the sheath that surrounds the tendon that flexes your thumb. With trigger finger, that sheath gets swollen and compresses the tendon, keeping it from working normally. What's worse is that over time, it leads to scarring inside the sheath which can then lead to permanent damage.
So I'm on high doses of Ibuprofen for a week to see what effect it has - unfortunately it's only served to lessen the pain a bit, but the problem remains. Next step is PT. If that doesn't do it, cortisone. And if that doesn't do it, surgery. Having been through carpal tunnel surgery in both hands, I can say I don't look forward to another surgery. I'm hoping it doesn't have to come to that. At the moment, I can live with it, but if living with it leads to permanent damage, I'm going to have to head it off before that happens.
Just curious, anyone else here ever experience this? If so, how did it work out for you? Any non-surgical remedies that you can recommend?
I've been suffering from pain in the thumb of my right hand for 2 full months now. It hurts at night, sometimes enough to wake me up. During the day it tends to hurt less, but I'm unable to use that thumb normally. When it's really bad, I can hardly bend my thumb, unless I use my other hand to flex it. If I try to flex it on it's own, it's like it gets 'caught' on something, then it finally breaks free and almost gets stuck in the new position, and flexing it straight again comes with pain - from the joint down to the joint in my hand at the base of my thumb. I tried icing it, heating it, stretching it, nothing helped.
I finally went to see my GP a the urging of Mrs. Etrain. I've been living with this as while it's been limiting me somewhat, it hasn't been unbearable, just a nuisance and somewhat uncomfortable. Doc checked me over for all of 2 minutes and diagnosed it as "trigger finger". You have got to be kidding me! I had no idea it was a real-deal medical issue. It apparently has to do with the sheath that surrounds the tendon that flexes your thumb. With trigger finger, that sheath gets swollen and compresses the tendon, keeping it from working normally. What's worse is that over time, it leads to scarring inside the sheath which can then lead to permanent damage.
So I'm on high doses of Ibuprofen for a week to see what effect it has - unfortunately it's only served to lessen the pain a bit, but the problem remains. Next step is PT. If that doesn't do it, cortisone. And if that doesn't do it, surgery. Having been through carpal tunnel surgery in both hands, I can say I don't look forward to another surgery. I'm hoping it doesn't have to come to that. At the moment, I can live with it, but if living with it leads to permanent damage, I'm going to have to head it off before that happens.
Just curious, anyone else here ever experience this? If so, how did it work out for you? Any non-surgical remedies that you can recommend?