3 Simple Exercises for Trigger Finger
Trigger finger is a painful condition that makes your fingers or thumb catch or lock when you bend them. It can affect any finger, or more than one.
You might hear trigger finger also be referred to as stenosing tendosynovitis. When it affects your thumb, it’s called trigger thumb.
Most of the time, it comes from a repeated movement or forceful use of your finger or thumb. It can also happen when tendons (tough bands of tissue that connect muscles and bones in your finger or thumb) get inflamed. Together, the tendons and muscles in your hands and arms bend and straighten your fingers and thumbs
A tendon usually glides easily through the tissue that covers it (called a sheath) thanks to the synovium, a membrane that surrounds joints and keeps them lubricated.
Sometimes a tendon gets inflamed and swollen. Long-term irritation of the tendon sheath can lead to scarring and thickening that affect the tendon’s motion. When this happens, bending your finger or thumb pulls the inflamed tendon through a narrowed sheath and makes it snap or pop.
Physical therapy has been shown to be an effective treatment for the management of patients suffering from trigger finger.
In today’s video, we demonstrate 3 simple exercises we commonly prescribe for trigger finger:
- 𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧 𝐆𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 -Start with an open palm and then bend your fingers to a claw hand. Next, return to an open palm and then make a fist. Next, return to an open palm and then to an “L” hand”. Finally, return to an open palm and then repeat the series for 3 sets of 10 reps.
- 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 – Start with your fingers together in an elastic band and slowly open all fingers against the resistance. Repeat for 3 sets of 10 reps.
- 𝐏𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 – Slowly pinch putty and release with alternating pinching grips. Start with thumb and pointer finger; thumb and middle finger; thumb and ring finger; and thumb and pinky finger. Repeat 3 sets of 10 reps each pinching grip.