Trigger Finger

[BonzaiDuck]

I started playing the piano -- taking lessons -- at age 6. I learned to play classical and rock guitar by age 18. I took typing lessons in high-school, and if I'd had a laptop computer to use in college classes in the late 1960s, I would've probably scored a fellowship to assist with my PhD.

What I'm saying here is that I've always been very dexterous.

So here I am, just short of 77 as I approach my October birthday. For the last few months, I've noticed what my retired friend called "trigger-finger" in my right-hand pinky finger.

Let me describe this. Curl your fingers until your fingertips touch your palms at the knuckles. When I do this, my pinky locks into this position at the first joint above the palm. Just putting the pinky in that position causes some discomfort, or I would almost call it momentary pain. Unlocking it -- straightening the finger again -- causes momentary pain in that particular joint.

I notice this particularly in the morning when I wake up. It gets better as the day progresses. Some online indications at Mayo Clinic or elsewhere suggest a possible link with diabetes. That is, if blood sugar is -- or was -- a bit too high, it causes some sort of bonding between collagen molecules, which may clog the sheath through which a tendon passes in the finger. I have been told that using an exercise ball will improve the operation of fingers that otherwise have this symptom. The exercise ball definitely provides some temporary improvement, but we start over when waking the next morning. I was also told that it is a progressive symptom. It will get worse. Diabetes is not a necessary condition for this symptom to develop in aging, but it may be the case that more people with diabetes acquire this symptom than people without.

And if it gets worse, I worry that more fingers -- likely in my right hand at least -- will develop this symptom.

Right now, I can play my piano, play my guitar, and type at the speeds I describe as "faster than I can think".

Does anyone else have experience with this "trigger-finger" symptom? What were you told about it? What did YOUR doctor say? I'm seeing my GP in early October.

 

[lxskllr]

I get it a lot when climbing. It's almost like a whole hand cramp from gripping the rope, and saw. I infrequently get it in a single finger(little also if I remember right), but it goes away soon enough. I figure it's just from the breakdown process of aging. If I were try to do something about it, it would be massaging, stretching, and strength training. No idea if that's on base or not, but that's what I'd do.

 

[Brainonska511]

There are a bunch of things that can lead to trigger fingers, but I believe narrowing it down means looking at any constellation of symptoms. Anything else going on?

 

[DAPUNISHER]

We all need to hang out on discord or something so we can hear you play. 70+ years of playing must mean you sound alright.

I have no idea what the treatment is, and I didnt even stay at a Holiday Inn Express.

I do know a lifetime of combat sports and XTREME! sports has ruined my right hand. When I make a fist it sounds like I am cracking walnuts. I have a permanently displaced and previously fractured carpal in that hand. I have to crack my knuckles a few times a day to loosen it and get the gas out of the joints or it ain't fun. I don't even want to think about 20yrs in the future, if I live to be your age.

I fervently hope you get the care and rehab necessary and get to continue to enjoy your passions. You are one of the good ones man.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Responding to all here . . . lxkllr spoke of acquiring trigger-finger from using his fingers while climbing. I think I can relate to that. I've had consistent experiences where I grip my steering wheel too tightly with my right hand, and this might have exacerbated what may involve multiple causation.

My doctor says I'm keeping my blood sugar down, and my blood pressure is also doing well -- I clocked in at 130 / 80 this morning before my 1-mile daily walk

But I remember that habit that developed for long-distance driving with my steering wheel. And I have my suspicions.

I've been in touch with a high-school classmate (1965) whom I plan to visit on my 800-mile round-trip to visit my immediate family this Thanksgiving. She has terrible arthritis and bone problems. Eight years ago, she would go for daily two-mile walks. Then she had problems with bones in her foot, and needed titanium parts installed. This wasn't done properly, and the parts now need to come out. But she also needs a shoulder replacement, and is advised about a knee. My little trigger finger problem is minor and next to nothing compared to the way some people suffer.

As for DAPUNISHER, I can understand. I was a draft-dodger for high-school sports and particularly football, so I missed the injuries some folks acquire in their youth. For me, it's OK though. I once MET Van Cliburn in a brief encounter and handshake back in 1969, but I could only do so much -- Chopin, mostly. These days, I just listen: Thelonious Monk figures big in my collection. I also have the complete works for harpsichord by J. S. Bach. Back to my steering wheel -- I installed a tablet on my Trooper's dashboard, and often make the hyperbole that it contains half the Library of Congress music collection. The Trooper is 30 years old, and I contemplate eventually buying a newer vehicle. But if it doesn't have my mobile concert hall with the Polk Audio and Chinese D18 bullet speakers, well . . . . there you are . . .

 

[Torn Mind]

Is this like you curl the finger and it feels tight or immobile?

With 77 years of use, it is highly probable the muscles in the forearm are tightly wound. I often lay down, put my palm on my forehead and then apply finger pressure onto my forearm to loose up the forearm muscles.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Is this like you curl the finger and it feels tight or immobile?

With 77 years of use, it is highly probable the muscles in the forearm are tightly wound. I often lay down, put my palm on my forehead and then apply finger pressure onto my forearm to loose up the forearm muscles.

Like I tried to describe -- I can curl my finger just so far -- say -- two-thirds of the way toward touching the joint at my palm. If it goes further, I can feel it passing a point where it sort of locks. As if there is an obstacle to getting the finger to touch my palm. so yeah -- "tight or immobile".

I'm wondering what would happen if I make a fist with my right hand before a doze off to sleep. I usually put that hand under my pillow with fingers extended.

 

[highland145]

Surgery for that in Feb. Started on both pinky's after carpal surgery last year. Seems a somewhat common side effect. Started as a.."that's interesting" to eff me, that hurts. It would catch during the night. That really sucked. Before surgery, I cut 2 short pieces of cpvc pipe to use as splints. Worked great but the daytime issue got worse. Surgery fixed the right and the left has mostly gone away.

No blood sugar issues. The CT was from biking and surgery was a complete success.

edit: wrist braces worked for several years for the CT. They kept my hands straight. Curling them at night was a problem.

 

[Torn Mind]

Like I tried to describe -- I can curl my finger just so far -- say -- two-thirds of the way toward touching the joint at my palm. If it goes further, I can feel it passing a point where it sort of locks. As if there is an obstacle to getting the finger to touch my palm. so yeah -- "tight or immobile".

I'm wondering what would happen if I make a fist with my right hand before a doze off to sleep. I usually put that hand under my pillow with fingers extended.

I don't know if it is similar, but I had a laceration that basically immobilized my right arm for a month. My pinky was definitely not where it was before the laceration, sticking out the wrong direction and getting a little "locked" up while. A lot of the troubles were due to the muscles in the forearm all tightening up. And that lingered for year. Also, overwork from stirring concrete a couple times probably did not help even before the laceration.

Ultimately, the constant use of a mouse and the lingering tightness became overwhelming, and I had to essentially turn my right anterior forearm into a violin fingerboard and apply pressure to all the tender points on it(and the muscles have to be in extension, which means subtle repositioning) with my left hand onto the muscles. I did get rid of the gorilla arm and got myself feeling back to when I was a teenager in terms of fluidity.

 

[Steltek]

My mother had trigger thumb on both hands. It was related to the specific way that she used her hands for years and years when sorting mail and putting up mail (she was a retired postal service clerk, and it is apparently a common affiliction for people that do that for a living). Both hands were giving her problems when she retired. Six years ago, her right hand was very, very bad while her left hand was somewhat bad but getting progressively worse over time. Of course, being the idiot she is, she refused to go to the doctor and just suffered.

While it can go away on its own, her eventual surgeon said it normally doesn't long term and the affected finger can eventually get locked in place. While mom's thumbs never locked, they got exceedingly painful to the point that she couldn't bear to use (or, in the case of her right hand, even touch her thumb) without suffering excruciating pain.

As @highland145 says, the ultimate treatment is surgical (she had the right thumb done about 6 years ago, and the left one two years ago). Her case was pretty bad because she waited to take care of it for so long (she has a family history of osteoporosis and the trapzium bone in her right hand had partially deteriorated which required a bone graft that vastly complicated that surgery). The left hand was a lot more straight-forward as it wasn't as bad and a new technique had become available, but she still waited too long yet again.

Since the surgeries, the problem hasn't recurred in either hand. However, because she insisted on waiting so long to finally take care of the problem and let it get so bad, her grip is severely weakened in both hands and she has a diminished ability to use her thumbs.

So, lesson learned is talk to your doctor, and listen to your doctor when he says it is time to do something about it or you'll ultimately regret it.

 

[highland145]

Wife messed around and wouldn't do the carpal surgery, finally, end of last year. Still has some pain.

Same surgeon as me and mine is fine.

Hard headed peeps.