trigger finger
Member of
TRIGGER Study Collaboration
Painful condition in which a finger or thumb clicks or locks as it is bent towards the palm.
Steroid injection
Clinical research suggests to try this first and leave surgery as the labs solution.
Pain and triggering are controlled in about 70% of cases.
Success rate is lower in people with diabetes.
The risks of injection
Very occasionally causes some thinning or colour change in the skin at the site of injection. Improvement may occur within a few days of injection, but may take several weeks. A second injection is sometimes helpful, but surgery may be needed if triggering persists.
Surgery
Local anasthetic
Small incision, in the Palm.
The mouth of the tendon tunnel is widened.
You will require a small dressing for 10-14 days, but light use of the hand is possible from the day of surgery and active use of the digit will aid the recovery of movement. Pain relief is usually rapid.