This book describes Stenosing Tenosynovitis (Trigger Finger), Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases
Trigger Finger (Stenosing Tenosynovitis)
Trigger finger you have made my finger stuck in a bent position
I cannot straighten it by myself; I need to push it to enable motion
When it becomes unstuck, it will pop out like a trigger
It is like a swollen tendon being pushed through a narrowed tunnel
This swollen tendon feels like a bump on the palm side of my finger
It is where the tendon get stuck in the narrowed tunnel
Do not do things with the hands by too much gripping
Or carry heavy bags with handles in the palms during carrying
Do not use the fingers to do repetitive movements
Try not to press the handle of a chopper on the meat's hard ligaments
There will cause the tendon's tunnel sheath to be compressed
As a result the sheath tunnel will collapse and become depressed
The treatment is to try exercising the fingers in warm water
And stretch the tendon through the tunnel's depressed quarter
If that do not work you may need a shot of cortisone into the tendon sheath
Or Surgery to cut the narrowed tendon sheath for the tendon's relief
-An original poem by Kenneth Kee
Stenosing tenosynovitis is the compression of the tendon sheath of one of the tendon to the fingers or thumb
The tendon sheath is a protective tunnel for the tendon which protects for the tendon as it travels across the finger's bones particularly at the joints.
Trigger Finger happens as a result of narrowing of the tendon sheath and the inflammation of the tendon.
The medical name for Trigger Finger is stenosing tenosynovitis.
Stenosing indicates the narrowing of an opening or passageway in the body.
The tendons slide through a protective covering termed the tendon sheath.
The sheath acts like a tunnel, and has an inner lining with a thin membrane termed synovium.
Areas of thick fibrous tissue called pulleys are also part of the tendon sheath.
These structures are connected to the bones of the fingers and thumb, and maintained the tendons close to the bones over which they pass.
Trigger finger is when a finger or thumb gets stuck in a bent position, like the patient is squeezing a trigger.
Once it gets "unstuck," the finger will pop straight out, like a trigger being released.
In severe cases the finger cannot be straightened.
When the tendon gets stuck in the sheath, the finger becomes locked in the narrowed tendon sheath until the tendon is released from the tight region from forced movement of the locked finger using the other hand.
If left untreated an affected finger can become permanently bent inwards.
If the patient has a trigger finger, the patient may notice:
The finger is stiff or it locks in a bent position.
The patient has painful snapping or popping when the patient bend and straighten the finger.
The symptoms are worse in the morning.
The patient has a tender bump on the palm side of the hand at the base of the finger.
Trigger finger can happen in both children and adults, but it is more frequent in people who:
a. Is over age 45 or are female
b. Have diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, or gout
c. Do work or activities that require repeated gripping of their hands
In infants no treatment is advised as most cases resolve spontaneously.
If the thumb deformity in the child has not corrected by the age of 3 years, surgery is advised.
Most trigger fingers in adults can be treated successfully with local steroid injections and splinting.
Trigger fingers that fail to respond to 2 injections normally need surgical dissection of the tendon nodule and release of the A1 pulley