Thickening of the tendon resulting in pain and/or difficulty bending or straightening the finger or thumb.

What is it?
Trigger finger is a condition that results from thickening of the tendon in your palm which affects your fingers or thumb. Tendons are rope-like structures that attach muscle to bone and allow you to bend your joints. This thickening results in pain and/or difficulty bending or straightening the finger or thumb. The symptoms include locking or clicking, pain, and stiffness (or any combination of
these.) Occasionally, there is an actual lump in the palm that moves when you bend the finger.
The symptoms can be worse with heavy use of the hand or sometimes in the morning.

What causes it?
The symptoms are often seen in people who use their hands and fingers extensively.  Needlework,
heavy computer use, and other forceful, repetitious activities may also provoke trigger finger. Trigger
finger is commonly associated with diabetes, arthritis, and carpal tunnel syndrome.  People
may recall an injury to the hand, but usually there is no clear inciting event.

How is it diagnosed?
Trigger finger/trigger thumb is diagnosed with an examination by your physician. The location of the
pain and swelling over the tendon in the palm is characteristic of trigger finger. Some patients may
experience a click or stiffness in the finger itself, the joints, or even at the tip of the finger or thumb.

 What are the treaments?
Trigger finger is often successfully treated with a cortisone injection into the area adjacent to
the tendon.  The application of ice several times a day after the injection is also an important part
of treatment.  If the injection does not completely relieve ALL of the symptoms, surgery should be
performed or permanent stiffness may occur. This stiffness is very difficult to treat.

For the past several years, Dr. Helgemo has performed all trigger finger surgical procedures in
the office. This has been a tremendous benefit to the patient for a number of reasons. The safety and efficacy of the procedure itself are enhanced by performing the trigger finger release in the office under local anesthesia. In many cases, the results are immediately apparent- your finger clicks, and in a few minutes the clicking is gone. The time spent at the office is trivial compared with time
spent when this is performed in the operating room. An additional advantage is that the cost
of the procedure in the office is significantly less than when performed in the hospital. The trigger
finger release is done through a small incision in the palm of your hand.  The sheath around the
tendon is opened up to enlarge the space of the tendon.