Suffering From a Swollen Thumb? Check for De Quervain's Tendinosis

Human body consists of tendons, tough tissues that connects muscle to bone and is responsible for withstanding tension. Sometimes, the tendon around the thumb gets irritated and swollen due to various reasons and this condition is known as De Quervain's tendinosis. The word tendinosis in itself means the swelling of the tendons. Swelling and compression of the tendon can cause pain and tenderness around the thumb and you experience the pain while forming a fist, trying to grip something and when trying to turn your wrist. 

However, the exact cause of this condition is not yet known, its cause is considered as any activity that depends on repetitive hand or wrist movement. These activities include doing household chores or working in the garden, playing, lifting things etc. All such activities can even worsen the pain in a person suffering De Quervain's tendinosis. This condition can further lead to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in a person. It is a condition of hand and arm that causes numbness, tingling, weakness and other symptoms and is caused due to the pressure on the median nerve in your wrist. Various factors including structure of the wrist, certain health problems and possibly patterns of hand use contribute to this condition. 

Carpal tunnel is a thin passageway surrounded by bones and ligaments. It is located on the palm side of the wrist protecting the main nerve of hand and the nine tendons that help bend fingers. Compression of the nerve due to pressure causes numbness, tingling and weakness in the hand. Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome usually occur in the thumb, index finger, middle finger, and half of the ring finger. You can get relief by keeping your hand movement at rest. However, people suffering from this condition can get relieved with quick and proper treatment and can easily restore wrist and hand function actively. 

Ulnar Tunnel Syndrome - A Painful Condition Leading To Trigger Finger

Ulnar Tunnel Syndrome is a painful condition of your hand and is caused when the median nerve that extends down the arm, across the elbow, and into the hand gets compressed. Median nerve is one of the main nerves branching from the brachial plexus. Injury to the hand such as joint dislocation or fracture can tear or inflame the ulnar nerve making it swollen and thus gets trapped causing pain. Injuries to your hand can cause due to accidents, falling etc and further cause the condition called ulnar nerve entrapment. The symptoms of this condition include: 

• softness along the inside of the elbow 
• tingling and deadness in little and ring fingers 
• difficulty hand movements. 
• lack of griping power, muscle weakness 
• pain within the border of the shoulder blade

If you experience any of these symptoms, you should immediately contact a physician. Early diagnosis and treatment is essential to control the pain and fast recovery. Though mostly the problem is in the elbow area, people experience pain in the hand and fingers because ulnar nerve controls movement and sensation there. Both sensory and motor skills are affected causing Trigger finger, a painful condition related with a clicking sensation during finger extension, or locking in a closed position during gripping activities.

The index, middle and ring fingers are common to this condition and the clicking is clearly heard upon while bending the fingers to make a firm grip. Suffering from this condition cannot make firm grips while holding something as he finds it difficult to stretch or bend his fingers properly. Trying to stretch or hold something will cause pain leading the patient to the doctor. The popping or the clicking of the finger is the characteristic of trigger thumb and it worsens in the morning upon waking up. With passive stretching of hand and fingers, we can avoid this condition.