TRIGGER FINGER-01

TRIGGER FINGER:

 

 Definition:

Trigger finger, also known as stenosing tenosynovitis (stuh-NO-sing ten-o-sin-o-VIE-tis), is a condition in which one of your fingers gets stuck in a bent position. Your finger may straighten with a snap — like a trigger being pulled and released.

Trigger finger occurs when inflammation narrows the space within the sheath that surrounds the tendon in the affected finger. If trigger finger is severe, your finger may become locked in a bent position. Trigger finger is a painful condition that causes the fingers or thumb to catch or lock when bent. In the thumb it’s called trigger thumb.

Trigger finger happens when tendons in the finger or thumb become inflamed. Tendons are tough bands of tissue that connect muscles and bones. Together, the tendons and muscles in the hands and arms bend and straighten the fingers and thumbs.

A tendon usually glides easily through the tissue that covers it (called a sheath) because of a lubricating membrane surrounding the joint called the synovial. Sometimes a tendon may become inflamed and swollen. When this happens, bending the finger or thumb can pull the inflamed tendon through a narrowed tendon sheath, making it snap or pop.

Who Is at Risk for Trigger Finger?

Some people are more likely to experience trigger finger than others. For example, it is more common in women than in men (American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, 2010).

Other risks factors associated with trigger finger include:

• being between the ages of 40 and 60
• having diabetes, hypothyroidism, or rheumatoid arthritis
• having tuberculosis 
• performing repetitive activities that can strain the hand, such as playing a musical instrument or repeatedly using hand tools 

According to the Cleveland Clinic, trigger finger most commonly affects musicians, farmers, and industrial workers.


What causes trigger finger?

Trigger finger is caused by local swelling from inflammation or scarring of the tendon sheath around the flexor tendons. These are tendons that normally pull the affected digit inward toward the palm (flexion). Usually, trigger finger occurs as an isolated condition because of repetitive trauma. Sometimes, trigger finger is an associated condition resulting from an underlying illness that causes inflammation of tissues of the hand, such as rheumatoid arthritis. In fact, data presented at the 2005 American College of Rheumatology national meeting suggested that a majority of patients with rheumatoid arthritis have inflammation around the tendons of the palm of the hand that could develop into trigger finger.

Symptoms:

Signs and symptoms of trigger finger may progress from mild to severe and include:

• Finger stiffness, particularly in the morning
• A popping or clicking sensation as you move your finger
• Tenderness or a bump (nodule) in the palm at the base of the affected finger
• Finger catching or locking in a bent position, which suddenly pops straight
• Finger locked in a bent position, which you are unable to straighten

Trigger finger more commonly affects your thumb or your middle or ring finger. More than one finger may be affected at a time, and both hands might be involved. Triggering is usually more pronounced in the morning, while firmly grasping an object or when straightening your finger.

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