Trigger Thumb Routine - Massage, Stretches and Exercises

[duffsbirdhouse88]

do you guys have a number I could call to ask stuff the doctor said I may have this but I do not think this is what I have my wrist will click into place and click back out but not shoot back up its something is catching

[URehab]

@duffsbirdhouse88

Sorry but we cannot diagnose your condition over the phone. If things are popping in and out of place, it sounds like you need an MRI and have a profesional look at the results. Good luck!

[psalm18and2]

I am sooo happy to find this video! I've had this trigger thumb for over two years. At one point I got a shot of cortisone which helped some but the side effects on my mood were horrific and I will NEVER take another shot of cortisone! Doctor said my only option was surgeory and I am not doing that. I did not realize there was a nodule, but sure enough I can feel it. Thanks for the video, I will be working on this :)

[URehab]

@psalm18and2

Glad to hear you are getting better and taking control of your own health condition! Keep us updated!

[URehab]

@bilbo317

PART –II: that need to be stretched and elongated and the underused areas that need to be strengthened in order to maintain muscle balance in and around all of the joints. PainReliever (.com) and Flextend (.com) both ship overseas. You really need to be sure that you address the muscle imbalance in your hands/wrists but also throughout your entirebody. so you can improve and eliminate other injuries and conditiions that might arise in the future. good luck!

[URehab]

@bilbo317

PART-I: Thanks, I really appreciate the compliment. This knowledge of under and overuse between muscle groups, tendons, etc., is invaluable and you will be able utilize it heavily in your practice. From the basic “Intake Form” to just asking people what they do for a living which will help you build a picture (body-map) of their work and recreational positions of what body parts are being overused and underused which can help you create a body-map showing the overused area(s)

[SSgtJohnT]

My aunt who is not a medical profesional said take a look at trigger thumb the first time I told her of the problem last week, I looked it up ant it most definitly sounds like it. I should have saked her first, 5 years ago! Trust your doctor but never completely trust them!, do as much research as you possibly can!!!.....Thanks for the video, you more than likely saved me from surgery that I didn't need! THANK YOU!!

[SSgtJohnT]

I have been telling my doctor of this burning pain deep in my thumb for almost 5 yrs, he sent me to a specialist for nerves to exam for carpel tunnel and they only told my that I do not have a text book case of carpel tunnel but they would give my the surgery, none of the medical professionals I have seen in the past 5 years ever mentioned or even hint of trigger thumb.

[asoberprep]

I cant' believe I have this from playing PLAYSTATION 3 Players beware.

[URehab]

@asoberprep

Believe it or not, these types of finger/hand injuries are very common in "gamers".

[irisr64]

Hi, I am massage therapist and ended up with tendonitis in my right thumb. A cortisone shot to the area helped for about 2 month but I feel it coming back again. Where can I get the glove? I really need to get rid of this!

Thanks,

Iris

[URehab]

@irisr64

Try your local DME / medical equipment supply store and have them order it from the manufacturer (BSI) at 888-274-5444 or try their site at flextend (.com). Or do a local Google search for "Flextend Orthotic Glove or "Flextend - Restore". Good Luck!

[jetmech150]

URehab. Just want to tell you, since using you routine in this video my trigger thumb is 100% gone!! Has not returned in 5 months. I started to get results after about 2 weeks and was able to start riding my bicycle once again. I think the riding (because of gripping the handle bar) helped it along also. I now do these exercises about once a day every other day and has not returned. Sure is better that a needle in the hand!!! Thanks so very much.

[URehab]

@jetmech150

You are very welcome and yes these exercises are certainly much better than injections or surgery. Keep us posted!

[princesspamela1959]

i have trigger thumb and want to avoid surgery, would this help?

[URehab]

@princesspamela1959

I just watched the cortisone injection on your site...hmmm fun stuff! Yes, Flextend works and can keep you from having surgery. People that buy it for Trigger Finger receive an automatic 120-day money back guarantee as it takes longer to correct than a muscle imbalance, and they are willing to give you adequate time for it to work. Good luck!

[eecotton]

Hi. Where can I get the thumb exerciser that you demonstrate on your video?

[URehab]

@eecotton

It's called Flextend-Restore and can be obtained at Painreliever, BannerTherapy, ErgoCanada, Flextend or Repetitive-strain.  (These are all .com's) Or you can do a Google search and find it elsewhere online. Good luck!

[exodous02]

My condition is the opposite, when I open my thumb it seems to painfully snap and then I have to close it fast to avoid pain. Is this trigger thumb and are there other exercises for it?

[URehab]

@exodous02

It just depends on where the adhesion on the tendon is located. There are classic" symptoms but then there are always variations of those symptoms but still the same disorder and treatment. Your symptoms are actually normal. The triggering can cause the finger to snap down into the palm of the hand, but it is usually the "opening" of the hand or extension of the finger that causes the most pain. The treatment for Trigger Thumb is the same for Trigger Finger.

[medic010]

Ring finger trigger finger---any exercises for this problem?.

[URehab]

@medic010

I would give you the direct link but they don't allow you to post any URL's. So, search on youtube for URehab Complete Trigger Finger Program. Good luck!

[Rayo000008]

Great exercises ! Thank you! I can't do them all though, because I have a lot of pain, and also the carpal tunnel syndrome (too much PC use) with a lot of other painful problems with the thumbs due to crutches & walking sticks (I'm using them since 2007!!! and for the rest of my life... ). I will try to improvise a glove with some office rings...

[URehab]

@Rayo000008

Good luck with that. I suggest if you cannot afford the real thing, buy the discontinue version for only $39.95 and do the exercises right so that you can experience the appropriate results. Either way, do what you need to do to address you injury!

[Rayo000008]

Great exercises ! Thank you! I can't do them all though, because I have a lot of pain, and also the carpal tunnel syndrome (too much PC use) with a lot of other painful problems with the thumbs due to crutches & walking sticks (I'm using them since 2007!!! and for the rest of my life... ).

[1karmabell]

glad I found your video. I had a cortisone injection for my very swollen trigger thumb last week. It took away the swelling and the pain, but it still pops. I will never get another injection. It was incredibly painful! I will follow these exercises. Thank you!!

[URehab]

@1karmabell

Good luck and let me know how you are doing. Since you had the injection, you might as well make the best of it and rehab it while the swelling is down!

[URehab]

Sounds like laxity in the joint which can usually be corrected by stretching the tight finger muscles, which are most often the flexors/adductors, and strengthening the muscles that are used with less frequency and duration, most often the extensors /abductors. Keeping the muscles surrounding any joint in balance keeps the joint from shifting, slipping, popping, etc.

[Luixmai]

Thank for this video. The only symptom I have similar of Trigger thumb is the poping sound which comes from Thumb distal, but not all the times I move my thumbs. I had the involuntary bad habbit to move my thumbs up and down until hearing a pop sound (I really regret that). Maybe I have trigger thumb syndrome, but I can move both thumbs perfectly. The only problems are the pooping and a little Stiffness feeling. Thanks

[mathieuceron]

I'm a rock climber and I have a little bump on my flexor tendon. The docters are saying that it's the beginning of a trigger finger. I was wondering if these exersises wil help decreasing the deformity on the tendon and will alow me to continue climbnig again? And where can I buy a glove like that?

[URehab]

@mathieuceron

The exercises can help break down the nodule/adhesion on the tendon as well as help relax and thin the flexor tendon/muscle through the activation of the extensors in a process called reciprocal inhibition. It takes 6-12 weeks of use to obtain high-level results, but only takes about 10-15 minutes a day. The device is called Flextend-Restore. Do a Google search for it.

[URehab]

Be careful when riding though, as forceful gripping can cause triggering and the pressure on the wrists can cause carpal tunnel syndrome and/or handlebar palsy. But, if you continue performing the stretches and exercises, you should be able to remain symptom-free!

[mathieuceron]

@URehab

I'm a rock climber and I have a little bump on my flexor tendon. The docters are saying that it's the beginning of a trigger finger. I was wondering if these exersises wil help decreasing the deformity on the tendon and will alow me to continue climbnig again? And where can I buy a glove like that?

[jetmech150]

The Exercises worked to a point for my trigger thumb where I can ride my bicycle again, and what a great thing that is. Since riding I have no more triggering at all and morning stiffness is minor. I am guessing the gripping of the handle bar is a massage, stretch and exercise all in one. I decided I would follow this video for two months before taking the shots, thank goodness URehab and exercise have pretty much resolved my problem!!!!!

[jetmech150]

How often should the massage and stretches be done?

[URehab]

@jetmech150

Not more than 2x daily, 4-5 days a week. People can get really obsessive about stretching and massaging and it can result in serious irritation of the soft-tissues. Make sure you follow up with exercises to the antagonist muscles. (The opposite muscles from those you are massaging and stretching)

[jetmech150]

@URehab Thanks so much. just following this video today has increased movement by 50% but I have doing it easy several times. Any my thumb has not "popped" once since.

What are your suggestions on splints? my thumb gets very stiff and if it hits anything while I'm sleeping I am awake due to being uncomfortable. Do you have any suggestions on relieving to stiffness in the morning.

Thank You

[URehab]

@jetmech150

Glad to hear it! You can wear a splint at night without any repercussions. Warm up your hands with either a heating pad or warm water for 5-minutes or so. This really helps decrease the morning stiffness that occurs with Trigger finger / Thumb.

[URehab]

You can look it up online as Flextend Orthotic or Flextend-Restore. Several places to buy are bannertherapy, painreliever, enablemart and repetitive-strain. These are all .com's. Look for discount coupons on the front page of repetitive-strain.

[shellymo54]

Where can I buy this exercise glove?

[TigersTango]

Thank you for making this video. Where can I get this glove? Also are you in NY or do you have any associates here that I can work with. I do better with literature or one on one instruction. I'm really bad at learning with videos although I must say this was extremely helpful.

thanks

Lex

[URehab]

@TigersTango

PM me and I will give you the manufacturers' email address so you can send an email to them, as they might know of someone in New York. I have to say though; this system is really easy to use. I'm quite sure you would be fine on your own!

[tajicentre]

Yep that was my experience! I am so grateful to you for this informed advice as everyone was saying surgery! Now...any chance of recuperating a suspected broken big toe? I have been sporadically doing forefoot curl unders x 100 x1 and then realised need to massage and increase the freq of the reps during the day. The toe has changed albeit small but there is definitely a rise action aton the large joint now. I will follow the ideas for the thumb to see if more improvements. Any comments?

[URehab]

@tajicentre

Most people just tape the broken toe to the one beside it for stability. Make sure that you have it looked at by a healthcare professional in order to avoid the possibility of a more serious condition.

[tajicentre]

@URehab Actually had been to a podiatrist who did not think there was a problem! even tho the toe remained dead straight when all the other curled tightly. I have hammer toes as well as over pronating syndrome. I don't think the bone itself broke , i think tendon tore. It was very painful for several days underneath the first joint. That was july 2010. I have had many tendon /ligament injuries :(

[tajicentre]

After 6 weeks weeks of trigger thumb worsening to constant painful triggering, i discovered these exercises. Within 2 days I had almost 80% normal function. After a few more weeks to only first and last thing of the day. Less than a couple of months of haphazard exercising it reduced to morning only, then the days between the trigger began to stretch out. Massaging the sore spot was equally good as it seemed to heal the soreness and the lump slowly disappeared and the pain in my hand. THANKS:)

[URehab]

@tajicentre

Glad I could help!

[knitwhits]

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I've had trigger thumb just over a month now and stumbled onto some similar exercises by just listening to my body and doing what felt OK but I knew what I was doing wasn't really enough.

Now just watching this and following along I have almost full extension back in my thumb!! I know of course it will stiffen up again but I really appreciate you posting this as now I feel as though I have some great additional tools to help me heal without surgery.

Tina

[URehab]

@knitwhits

Great, I'm glad you are getting some relief! Keep up the exercises!

[tajicentre]

So you do not recommend splinting, once the condition is established? 

[URehab]

@tajicentre

No, because the nodule has already formed. Limiting movement of the digit usually feels good at first, but then only adds to the problem down the road.