Trigger Finger

It’s a common hand condition that you may have experienced or heard about: it’s trigger finger. So, let’s shed some light on exactly what trigger finger is, and how hand therapy can play a crucial role in providing relief and improving the quality of life for those dealing with this condition.

What is Trigger Finger?

Trigger finger, medically known as Stenosing Tenosynovitis, is a condition that affects the tendons in the hand. It often occurs when the tendon becomes inflamed or irritated, resulting in pain, stiffness, and difficulty straightening or bending the affected finger. The finger may also lock in a bent position and suddenly release, resembling the mechanism of a trigger being pulled.

How Can Hand Therapy Help?

Hand therapy, a specialized field within occupational and physical therapy, offers a range of techniques and treatments that can significantly benefit individuals with trigger finger. Here are some key ways hand therapy can help:

Conservative Management: Hand therapists are skilled in developing customized treatment plans to manage trigger finger without surgery. They may use techniques like splinting, activity modification, and therapeutic exercises to reduce pain and improve finger mobility.

Manual Therapy: Hand therapists employ hands-on techniques to address soft tissue restrictions, joint stiffness, and scar tissue, promoting optimal finger movement and function. Manual therapy can help restore the natural gliding motion of tendons and reduce triggering.

Education and Self-Management: Hand therapists play a vital role in educating patients about trigger finger, its causes, and strategies for self-management. They provide guidance on ergonomic principles, joint protection techniques, and home exercises to minimize symptoms and prevent recurrence.

Post-Surgical Rehabilitation: In cases where surgical intervention is necessary, hand therapy is crucial for post-operative rehabilitation. Hand therapists work closely with patients to regain strength, flexibility, and coordination following trigger finger release surgery, ensuring optimal recovery.

Why Choose Sun City Physiotherapy for Hand Therapy?

At Sun City we take pride in our team of highly skilled, university educated hand therapists who are dedicated to providing exceptional care to our patients. Our therapists have extensive experience in managing hand and upper extremity conditions, including trigger finger. With a client-centered approach, we emphasize individualized treatment plans tailored to your specific needs and goals.

We understand the impact that trigger finger can have on your daily activities and overall quality of life. Our comprehensive hand therapy program aims to relieve pain, improve hand function, and help you regain control of your life.

If you or someone you know is experiencing trigger finger symptoms, we encourage you to schedule an appointment with one of our hand therapy experts. Together, we can create a personalized plan to address your specific needs, and guide you on the path to recovery. We’re here to support you every step of the way.

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DeQuervain’s Syndrome and Physiotherapy

Elbow, Wrist and Hand

DeQuervain’s Syndrome and Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy Can Help with DeQuervain’s Syndrome

Do you experience pain in your wrist near the base of your thumb? Did it come on gradually? Is it sore when you move your thumb or wrist? Does it hurt to grip, write, garden, hold a cup of coffee, cut vegetables or pick up a baby? If so, you may have a condition known as de Quervain’s syndrome.

DeQuervain’s syndrome involves the abductor pollicis longus tendon and extensor pollicis brevis tendon. These tendons connect muscles in your forearm to bones in your thumb. To help reduce excessive friction, these tendons travel in a tendon sheath. When a high load is placed on these tendons, such as a repetitive movement of the thumb or wrist, it can result in a thickening of the tendons and the sheath. Initially, symptoms are usually only present with certain aggravating activities, but if this injury continues to worsen you may experience pain at rest, swelling and tenderness at the base of your thumb and wrist.

Rest is the first step to treating de Quervain’s syndrome. This is often difficult when we use our wrist and thumb dexterity for so many daily activities. For this reason, it is not uncommon to see people who have had this condition for weeks to months at a time, with no significant change in symptoms. As a general rule, try to avoid any positions or movements that cause pain. A protective splint may provide some benefit in the initial stages of healing to help immobilize the wrist and thumb.

Physiotherapy can help treat this injury using a combination of education, modalities, manual therapy, soft tissue techniques and a progressive home exercise program. Since the tendons and sheath are often aggravated by repetitive movement or prolonged positions of the thumb and wrist, it also may be necessary to address your home or work ergonomics. When possible, modify to a neutral thumb and wrist position and take frequent breaks from your activity.

De Quervain’s syndrome usually begins with a gradual onset of symptoms, often when a new movement or activity is introduced that places increased demands on the tissue. An example is a mother with the new task of repetitively picking up a newborn baby. Physiotherapy can be quite helpful in the management of this condition. If you experience pain at the base of your thumb as the result of a trauma, such as a fall on an outstretched hand, it is advisable that you follow up with your doctor to determine if further investigations, such as an x-ray, are required prior to starting physiotherapy.

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Tennis Elbow

Elbow, Wrist and Hand

Tennis Elbow – you don’t need to play tennis to get it!

Tennis elbow is so called as one of the reasons you can get it is from faulty technique in a tennis shot. This is only one of the ways that you can get tennis elbow though, it can come on from many other activities that involve a lot of wrist and forearm use.

The medical name for this condition, lateral epicondylitis, gives us more information about where the problem occurs. The lateral epicondyle is a small bony prominence on the outside of the elbow and is the point of attachment for the tendons of the wrist extensor muscles. These muscles run up the top of the forearm and play a role in movements such as bending the wrist back, making a fist, and twisting the forearm.

Lateral epicondylitis occurs if these muscles are used more than they are used to, resulting in pain and damage to the tendon where it attaches onto the bone at the lateral epicondyle. If you have tennis elbow, you will likely report an increase in pain when gripping tightly or shaking hands, using a screwdriver or twisting a jar, or any activity that requires wrist and hand use. The outside of the elbow can be very sensitive to touch, and you may find it will get very stiff, especially first thing in the morning.

In order to treat tennis elbow, it is important to identify the reason why it became injured in the first place and correct that. Apart from stopping the aggravating activity, there are often other contributing factors that need to be changed in each individual case. These can be related to our own anatomy in the elbow and arm, movement patterns which are overloading and therefore damaging the tendon, or factors relating to the equipment being used.

A physiotherapist can identify the changes that need to be made in each individual case and implement these. As well as this there is specific treatment that can be done to the tendon to ensure optimal healing such as friction massage and laser, and a stretching and strengthening program should be implemented too to ensure the muscles and tendons are in good shape to be able to cope comfortably with being used in the future.

So even if you don’t play tennis, you can still be affected by tennis elbow. Taking the right action will take your pain away.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Elbow, Wrist and Hand

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common wrist and hand injury. It occurs when one of the major nerves called the median nerve is compressed within the carpal tunnel of the wrist. This may occur for a number of reasons but some of the more common reasons include: pregnancy, gout, trauma (repetitive or direct trauma), or infection. Carpal tunnel can happen at anytime, however it is more common between the ages of 40-60 and women tend to be affected more often then men.

This condition is characterized by burning wrist pain and numbness or tingling within the hand. This often occurs at night and the patient usually wakes up due to the symptoms. In some cases the pain can radiate to the forearm, elbow, and shoulder.

Some of the other symptoms reported by patients include poor sensation in the hand, weakness of the hand, cramping in the hand, reduced temperature in the hand, and sometimes shaking or flicking the hand relieves the symptoms. There may also be muscle wasting around the thumb. Movements of the hand are often pain free, however some resisted movements around the thumb can be painful.

Diagnosing carpal tunnel syndrome is often done based on the patient’s medical history. Your physiotherapist or physician will take you through a series of tests and if carpal tunnel syndrome is suspected a nerve conduction test may be ordered to confirm the diagnosis. Diabetes should be excluded, as it can be a risk factor for carpal tunnel syndrome.

Mild cases can be treated conservatively. This may include splinting, activity modification, diuretics, and NSAID medications. Techniques such as contrast baths, which are alternating baths of cold and warm water, may be used in some cases to control inflammation and swelling. A physiotherapist may give you specific exercises that can be helpful with a patient’s recovery. For more persistent or severe cases, corticosteroid injections or surgery may be required.

Wrist and hand injuries are often difficult to diagnose so if you are experiencing symptoms of this nature it is recommended that you see your health care professional to have it taken care of.

Trigger Finger

What is Trigger Finger?

How Can Hand Therapy Help?

Why Choose Sun City Physiotherapy for Hand Therapy?

Sun City Physiotherapy Locations

Phone: 250-861-8056

Phone: 250-762-6313

Phone: 250-766-2544

Phone: 778-699-2006

DeQuervain’s Syndrome and Physiotherapy

Sun City Physiotherapy Locations

Phone: 250-861-8056

Phone: 250-762-6313

Phone: 250-766-2544

Phone: 778-699-2006

Sun City Physiotherapy Locations

Phone: 250-861-8056

Phone: 250-762-6313

Phone: 250-766-2544

Phone: 778-699-2006