As we all know, our hands are used constantly all day long for almost everything that we do. If we injure our fingers or hands, this could impact how we perform our daily tasks at work, home and play.
Health injuries such as thumb tendonitis and De Quervain's tendonitis can impact how we do these things also. These can occur by a number of factors.
Do I have Tendonitis of the thumb? What is it?
Let's talk a minute about tendonitis in the thumb. Sometimes this can happen when you have an irritation or swelling of the hand tendons. Usually this will happen on the thumb side of the wrist.
What happens is the irritation that you have causes the compartment that the tendon runs in to swell. The shape of the compartment changes. The tendon can't move as it should in this compartment. Pain and tenderness occurs along the thumb side of the wrist. This pain can be felt if you go to grasp something, make a fist or by turning the wrist.
Thumb tendonitis and a repetitive motion injury
If you have a job or some task that you have to use a repetitive motion, can cause this problem. This repeated movement over the years will or can cause pain in the hand, possibly injured nerves (carpal tunnel syndrome), you can have locking fingers (trigger finger) and loss of movement or pain that effects the thumb.
How do you know you have thumb tendonitis? Some signs and symptoms.
Pain on the thumb side of the wrist is the main symptom. This pain may appear gradually or even suddenly. This may even seem like an arthritic pain. The pain is felt in the wrist, but can travel up the forearm.
You can feel a severe pain when you go and grab something or when you are twisting your wrist. Swelling will probably be obvious in the thumb area. A catching or locking of the fingers including the thumb may start to happen. You may start to feel a numbness on the index finger and the back of the thumb.
How can I treat this?
One of the initial treatments is a thumb splint or brace to help support the thumb. Resting and some type of anti-inflammatory medication can be helpful. Icing the effective area can decrease the inflammation.
When suffering from thumb tendonitis or De Quervain's tendonitis, you doctor may have you get a cortisone injection. This is going to help with the swelling and the pain. I have had them and they do work quite well. Be careful taking multiple injections in that this can weaken the tendon and cause more damage.
Sometimes surgery can become necessary. This would happen if the pain remains constant or if it continues to come back. Surgery sometimes is a good options and can cure the problem. It is just a small incision and is day surgery, you are in and out. You just wear a splint until the stitches are removed.
How to tell if you have Thumb Tendonitis For Sure
A simple 3 step test to tell if you are suffering from thumb tendonitis or even Dequervain's tendonitis. The following is the way to tell.
* What you need to do first is to make a fist by having the fingers over the thumb.
* What you want to do next is bend the wrist in the direction of the little finger.
* If you are suffering from thumb tendinitis, the person is going to find this very painful. You are also going to find tenderness to the touch directly over the thumb side of the wrist.
Now you know how to see if you are really suffering from thumb tendonitis. Two steps and you know for sure.
