When we get a health injury, this can impact how we do things. Some injuries that can happen can be thumb tendinitis and even Dequervains tendinitis. Getting these injuries can happen in a number of different ways.



What is Tendonitis of the Thumb

Here is some basic information on what is tendonitis in the thumb. This will happen when there is an irritation or swelling of the tendons of the hand. This happens with the tendons along the side of the wrist on the thumb side.

This irritation then causes the compartment (the lining) that is around the tendon to swell. This swelling changes the shape of the compartment. Then the tendon cannot move in the compartment as it should. What happens then is pain and tenderness along the thumb side of the wrist. You will notice the pain when you try to make a fist or when you try and grasp or grip things and 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.

Signs and Symptoms of Thumb Tendinitis

The first thing that will alert you is the pain on the thumb side of the wrist. This can happen gradually, but sometimes, one day it can be there. You can almost think that you have arthritis or some type of arthritic pain. This pain can start in the wrist and travel all the way up the forearm.

The pain is worse when you grasp something or when you twist the wrist. You may see swelling on the thumb side of the wrist. You may on occasion feel a "catching" or "snapping" when you move the thumb. There can be numbness on the back of the thumb and in the index finger.

Things to do

An initial treatment when you start to feel the symptoms is to rest the thumb. Stop doing and moving the injured area. You can start to ice the thumb in 15 minute intervals. Take some over the counter anti-inflammatory medication. Use a thumb splint or brace to reduce the movement and help to support it.

An effective treatment of De Quervain's tendonitis or tendinitis in thumb is that your doctor may prescribe is a cortisone injection around the tendon to help decrease the swelling and provide pain relief.

The last straw if the other treatments don't provide relief is surgery. You would do this if the pain is constant or constantly recurring. Surgical treatments do work well and can cure the problem. You are in and out, day surgery and then you wear a splint for several day to brace the treated area or until the stitches are removed.

A way to tell if you are suffering from thumb tendonitis

Here is a procedure to tell if you have thumb tendonitis or DeQuervain's. It is called Finkelstein test.

* Make a fist with the fingers over the thumb.

* Now it is simple, just bend the wrist in the direction of the pinky (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.

2 steps and you will know if you have or possibly have thumb tendonitis.