subject: Take Care Of Your Trigger Finger Treatment As Early As Possible [print this page] As we age, our bodies go through many changes, and just like the many side effects of medicines, the changes are rarely for the better. We slow down, our minds wander, even our bones may become thin without our awareness. Some of these conditions are life threatening, like those increasing our risk of heart attack or stroke, other complicate our lives in an aggravating way. Pain in our joints can reflect a lifetime of activity and even over activity which can lead to serous conditions. Others, like conditions in our hands, can respond to simple care like trigger finger treatment.
Most of us take the basic ability to use our hands for granted, and for most of us we will have no serious problems as long as we take care and manage to avoid accidents. But for some, especially for those suffering from a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis or diabetes, there is a condition that can sneak up on us. When it does, we are immediately aware of just how important the free and easy movement of our hands and fingers are. An ailment colloquially known as trigger finger, which aptly describes the physical manifestations of the problem, is an example.
In this condition, a finger of one hand may remain in its coiled position as if one had used that finger to pull the trigger of a hand gun, usually upon awakening in the morning. The effort to straighten the finger is met with pain and a pop as the digit is extended. While this condition is not life threatening, it should never be taken lightly or ignored as it can progress and limit the use of the finger altogether.
The method the body uses to extend and contract our fingers is complex and beautiful in design. The tendons are enclosed with tissue and pass trough natural pulleys which serve to move the bones. Much like a more famous sister ailment, carpal tunnel syndrome, the issue is with the areas which resemble small tunnels, through which the tendons slide back and forth.
Although it is not usually accompanied by any precipitating event such injury, the tendon becomes irritated, with arthritis or diabetes the usual causal agent. Once the irritation occurs, the body reacts to this affliction by inducing the tendon to thicken in a response intended to increase its strength. Because it must fit through a small area of tissue, these tissue may also thicken as the are impacted by the now enlarged tendon which results in a smaller opening.
The enlarged tunnel tissue shrinks the opening for an already larger tendon, and this is what creates the problem. The effort to extend the finger causes the tendon to catch as it bunches up at the opening.
This condition affects women more often than men, and it affects all sufferers as the reach 40 to 60 years of age. Because it is not truly critical to our health, it is often dismissed as another uncomfortable and annoying part of growing old. In rare cases, the condition can progress to the stage where the individual cannot extend the affected finger at all and it requires surgery to enlarge the tunnels and restore movement. All of that can be prevented by seeking trigger finger treatment as soon as it appears.
