Trigger fingers and other such troubles...

[JestMe]

I'm not sure if this is the best place to start this thread so forgive me if it's not... This topic came up in another thread and I thought it would be interesting to see if others had/have these kind of issues and how they dealt/deal with them.... I didn't want to hijack the other thread so I brought up this thread.

I am hoping those that have these problems will jump into the thread and share their experiences... successful or otherwise.

Danny B mentioned having a trigger finger and tendon issues... to Danny B I say ...I wish you the best of luck with your hand and tendon issues. These things can be very frustrating for guitar players. I hope you are able to get back to normal with everything.

I have had trigger fingers, discomfort and tightness in both hands for many years. The 1st steroid injections I had were very helpful and my hands were great for a year or so. Then gradually they started to stiffen up and the trigger fingers, tightness and stiffness were all fully back.

Eventually, I went to another doctor and got another steroid shot which didn't seem to help at all. I have lived with it since then. That was a couple years ago. I'm no expert but I wonder if perhaps it is too late for the shots to help... At times, I think of going to see another orthopedic doctor for a 3rd try...

Anyone else been through this?

 

[Rick23]

I have had intermittent problems with trigger finger for a couple of years. Guitar - wise I am fortunate that it is the ring finger on my picking hand, and since finger style is way over my skill level, it doesn't affect my playing, although I could probably use it as an excuse for my lack of ability!. I guess my case is pretty mild, I haven't had to see a doctor yet. But I have gotten some relief from a simple remedy I found on Amazon. It is a 10 pack of small elastic terry cloth supports, kind of like a wrist brace in finger size. I just put it on the affected finger before bed and take it off in the morning. The symptoms were much less painful, and over a month or two, the inflammation settled down, and it has been completely bearable for about six months now. My co-worker had surgery on his, and his is good now, but if I can avoid surgery, I do. Anyway, just thought I'd mention what worked for me, hope you find a good remedy.

 

[JestMe]

Rick

Thanks for replying I'm curious about that Amazon product you mentioned. Any chance you might recall the name of it? I might like to try it. Thanks

I thought there might be more activity in this thread. I suppose it's a good thing there aren't more posts.
I have thought about surgery I understand it is pretty straightforward and in-patient that's good I just hat to give up playing while healing. I knew some one a few years back who played bass and had the surgery. All turned out well though in his case it took a long time form his fingers to feel normal and regain strength.

 

[glynnd]

I can relate to your issues having had three surgical procedures for Dupuytrens Contracture and also experiencing trigger finger problems.

I get trigger finger in the little finger of my right hand, my picking hand. I went to a local hand therapy clinic and they made me a plastic sheath that fits over the finger from the palm up to about the second joint, this immobilizes the joint allowing the tendon to rest, they also showed me exercises to do to retain mobility without "triggering". I also had a steroid shot which worked for a while but eventually the trigger effect returned.

As you probably know trigger finger is an inflamed tendon, your muscle can pull it through the sheath in your knuckle but it won't release smoothly and as it catches it causes the unpleasant trigger effect. Every time that happens it inflames the tendon some more and you can get to the point that it won't release and surgery is required to straighten out the finger.

I would be careful about wearing a device that immobilizes the finger all night. I did that for a while and found I couldn't move my finger at all in the morning and had to have physio therapy to get it moving again.

You should be able to manipulate the affected finger with your other hand, Put your thumb against the palm side of the finger by the affected joint, put your index finger on the tip of the affected finger and gently bend it as far as it will go and then straighten it back out. Let your other hand do all the work and completely relax the affected finger. Since you are not stressing the tendon it should move smoothly through the knuckle.

This is the clinic I went to http://www.islandhandtherapy.com/ there is probably something similar in your area. They can perform therapy on the finger, give you exercises to do and make a sheath from a plastic type material that becomes flexible in hot water and allows them to mold it to your finger. I wear mine when I'm playing.

I would look into physio therapy for your problem. Hope this helps.

 

[Rick23]

Chris, they are ASX elastic finger sleeve support. 10 pack for $6.71. Good luck!

 

[Silicon Valley Tom]

My grandfather may have had a similar problem. During 1918, grandpa (he was 28) worked on the docks in San Francisco, operating a crane to off load ships. He was left handed and fell from the crane and managed to grab one of the steel cables to prevent him from hitting the concrete below. It caused him a good deal of pain, and when he was in his fifties, his little finger began curling to the point where it could not be straightened. I remember that he had a deep grove in the shape of a spiral from the wrist to his shoulder, due to the steel cable.

Grandpa went to the doctor when he was 65 and they operated on the finger. He regained full mobility and strength and was told to do exercises with a rubber ball, which he refused to do. After a few years, the little finger again curled to the point where it could not be opened.

If you go through this operation by all means do the exercises prescribed!

By the way my brother and I think of our grandpa as our "Super Hero". He raised us!

Tom

 

[JestMe]

Glynd

Thanks for the input. I hope your hands are doing great now and continue to stay in great shape.

I'm going back several years but I DID go to hand therapy [I believe they called it Occupational therapy then] They convinced me to buy a hot wax treatment station - dip my hands into the hot wax, put on plastic gloves and wrap my hands in towels and sit for 20-30 minutes. It actually felt great! My hands felt really good for 30-60 minutes... the problem was by the time I got the wax heated, dipped, cleaned up, put it away... it took longer to do all that than the amount of time I enjoyed relief... they wanted me to do this twice a day... it would take 3+ hours and provide 2 hours of relief. And was really hard to find the time to do that.

Sometimes I put rubber gloves on and stick my hands in a sink of hot water... I should try PT once more.

 

[JestMe]

Rick - thanks for the product referral. I may give them a try.

 

[JestMe]

Tom

Interesting story. Your grandpa sounds like a "Super Hero"!