Trigger finger is a condition that makes your fingers or thumb difficult to move. It can ‘freeze’ them in a flexed position and affects the tendons in your fingers and thumbs. This medical condition gets its name from the position your fingers can get stuck in. Actually, it looks like you’re trying to pull an invisible finger.
If you happen to have trigger finger, your affected fingers or thumb can be stuck flexed in toward your palm. It can be difficult or impossible to straighten your affected digits. Not to mention, trigger finger can affect any of your digits, but people most commonly develop it in their ring fingers.
So, how do you tell if you have trigger finger? Well, one of the most common symptoms of trigger finger is a snapping or popping feeling when you move your fingers or thumb. It might feel like your affected digits are ‘catching’ or getting stuck as they move.
You may also make do with pain and stiffness when flexing your fingers or thumb in toward your palm and swelling or a tender lump in the palm of your hand. It also entails soreness in your palm near the base of your fingers or thumb. This pain is usually worse when you’re gripping or grasping something.
Trigger finger symptoms, more so stiffness and locked positions, are usually worse first thing in the morning. Stiffness usually gets a little better as you start using your fingers and thumb during the day.
So, what causes trigger finger? Swelling in or around the tendons in your fingers or thumb causes trigger finger or trigger thumb. For those who might not know, tendons are bands of tissue that attach muscles to bones. Tendons and muscles in your hands work together to flex and straighten your fingers and thumb.
A tunnel of tissue called a sheath surrounds these tendons. The sheath protects them and keeps the tendons in place. Trigger finger comes to be when the tendons in your affected fingers or thumb become irritated and swollen and can’t easily slide through their sheaths.
A bump may also form on your affected tendon, which makes it even more difficult for the tendon to easily glide through its sheath. Remember, just about anyone can develop trigger finger, but it’s more common in people between the ages of 40 and 60.
