Help anyone?

charlesrehm01
Posts: 0
Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2014 12:13 pm
Status: Offline

Thu May 04, 2017 4:41 pm

I'm suffering from a trigger finger preventing me from fretting my guitar. I went to a hand specialist who injected me with a steroid that did nothing. Any suggestions?

Thanks all, Charlie


mrp777
Posts: 0
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2016 7:15 am
Status: Offline

Thu May 04, 2017 5:56 pm

I had the same problem. I woke up every morning with my ring finger locked down. Had to "snap" it back into place. As you know, the trigger finger is caused, usually, by inflammation around the tendon at the base of your finger. The tendon moves back and forth through a sheath, and if there's inflammation, it basically gets stuck in the sheath, locking the finger in place. The technical term for this condition is "Stenosing Tenosynovitis".

I went to an orthopedic hand specialist and got the cortisone injection, which gave me some relief for many weeks. But, the problem eventually came back. Had another injection and, again, some relief for about 6 weeks or so. But then it came back again. Doctor said he wouldn't give any more injections because they wouldn't cure the problem. He advised me to have surgery. Essentially, they make a little snip of the sheath and it gives the tendon more room to slide in and out. All my research indicated its not really a big deal. However, I opted not to have the surgery.

Purely by coincidence, at about the same time, I had decided to do a major cutback on eating carbohydrates (sugar) and flour. I just wanted to clean up my diet a bit. After about 6 weeks, I realized that my trigger finger had gone away (as well as some sciatica pain I was having also). I did a lot of reading about the effect of carbohydrates on creating inflammation in the body. I believe that by eliminating sugar and reducing carbs, the inflammation in my finger went away. I'm not claiming this will help you, but its worth a try.


sandysue
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2011 3:06 pm
Status: Offline

Thu May 04, 2017 6:13 pm

Hi Charlie:

The first line of treatment for tenosynovitis of the thumb or finger flexor tendons and surrounding tendon sheath is of course rest. If that doesn't resolve the issue then an inject of steroid solution between the tendon sheath, and it's tendon, to reduce inflammation and swelling of the tendon sheath, should in turn restore smooth movement of the tendon and prevent triggering once the swelling is reduced.

If steroid injections are not effective in resolving the pain and triggering, then there is a somewhat minor surgical option available to release the tendon sheath so that free movement of the tendon can be restored. That is usually done by a plastic surgeon, a hand specialist, an orthopedic surgeon, or other type of specialist proficient is treating that particular ailment. Hope that helps. :)

Sandy


User avatar
auntlynnie
Posts: 34
Joined: Mon May 14, 2012 5:31 am
Status: Offline

Fri May 05, 2017 1:38 pm

I also had trigger finger a few years ago. And I sincerely believe it was caused by swiping on my iPad. It was only with that one finger, so I changed how I was using the ipad and I haven't had any problems since. Most of my wrist and hand problems these days seem to be caused by my electronics. Good motivation to put them down and play my guitar more.

Good luck - hope it clears up soon for you.

Lynn


Post Reply Previous topicNext topic