Trigger Finger Treatments....any success stories?

First off let me offer the disclaimer that I have accepted that I am an idiot and this is precisely why I am in my current situation. I tweaked a finger a couple of days before my annual Xmas trip to Hueco and instead of being smart and letting it rest I of course tried to climb when I got there. Everything was fine until I jumped on one of my projs and then it started hurting. I immediately got off and decided to rest it but let's be honest...10 days at Hueco, you're going to try and climb. Did a decent job of resting but the last day I got antsy and convinced myself it was better and then quickly received a nice pop and realization that I'm not that bright. I've been seeing a hand specialist in town, which although he's a good doctor, he has no clue when it comes to climbing and has admitted to such. He has diagnosed me as having trigger finger(stenosing tenosynivitis) in my right ring finger (can feel the nodules in my tendon pretty well with both flexion and extension if you apply pressure to the 1st joint)and after a couple of unsuccessful cortisone shots, we are both out of ideas. I have only climbed twice in the last 2 1/2 months and it is driving me crazy. I've looked all over and it doesn't seem that there are a lot of options re: treatment and I really don't want to have to resort to surgery. Anyone have any luck with treatment options or have any ideas?

i have busted a few tendons, not fun! If you can afford it, acupuncture has helped me recover quicker in the past. Good luck

Acupuncture has also worked well for me.

Matt,

I've had trigger finger in both ring fingers post other injuries.
To fix the first one I had the A1 pulley "released". Surgery.

I was very worried about the subsequent integrity for climbing and postphoned it, but finally relented and got cut.
Good news, it has been years now and has not affected my climbing at all (after initial recovery of course).

Recently, I developed trigger finger after a partial tear/rupture of my A2 pulley in my other ring finger! Physical therapy, ie. tendon glides, ice, rest, hand putty, etc. (and being a good boy in terms of giving it time) seems to have done the trick.

The first time it was so bad that my hand would stick shut and hurt like hell until I pried it open with my other hand. After trying other things, surgery seemed like the only option.

Good luck, injuries suck,
Mark

Thanks for the head's up guys.
@ Mark: How long was your recovery time on the most recent injury, it sounds like it was about the same severity as mine? I sat down with a friend yesterday that is a PT to get a rundown on all of the rehab stuff you mentioned and am starting a regimen today. Also, are the nodules with your most recent injury gone after doing the therapy/when did you start back with climbing? Thanks.

thread resurrect..

Mark Hammond wrote:Good news, it has been years now and has not affected my climbing at all (after initial recovery of course).

does the pulley become weaker after surgery? one doc told me it is "not noticible", but he is a non-climber.

does/did the pulley grow back together? things i have read online suggest that it does. the last thing i want is to get the surgery (leaving a "partial rupture" and then later have the pulley completely rupture from bowstringing.

had a cortisone injection in my ring finger to release the trigger a couple months ago, but i still have pain when grasping anything, especially a rope. I have less power in that finger than my pinky. perhaps the doc missed?

what the heck does acupuncture do?

10 year old thread resurrection . . .

Matt, curious to how long it took you to get back to climbing/how you were able to resolve it? I've been dealing with a mix of trigger finger and an A2 tear so I've been doing nothing but finger rehab for the last three months and yeah, it's a little crazy-inducing. Still haven't done the cortisone injections since so many people have said they got little/no benefit from it, but if someone has felt otherwise, may look into it soon. 

Hey Matt Hardin, mkclimb,

I wonder if  and how you got rid of the injury? I have a similar injury (tenosynovitis) in my right ring- and middle finger for over a year now and the doc says the only way to get rid of it is to cut open the A1 pulleys. I am seeking for another opinion on that because it feels kind of strange to climb with open A1 pulleys for the rest of my life...

All the best,

Chris

Chris K wrote:

Hey Matt Hardin, mkclimb,

I wonder if  and how you got rid of the injury? I have a similar injury (tenosynovitis) in my right ring- and middle finger for over a year now and the doc says the only way to get rid of it is to cut open the A1 pulleys. I am seeking for another opinion on that because it feels kind of strange to climb with open A1 pulleys for the rest of my life...

All the best,

Chris

Are you seeking another opinion from another doctor, or  just on Mountain Project?

Digging through mp trying to doctor myself and found something I can share about! 

I seemingly spontaneously developed trigger finger in my left ring finger as a six year old. Dealt with it as a moderate irk and inconvenience for 10 years. Received first cortisone shot at 15 or so after softball and violin had it pretty consistently inflamed. Got into climbing at 18, had second shot at 20 after a year of near constant social bouldering at my school gym. Was warned it likely wouldn’t last as long- when it wore off after just a few months I was recommended for surgery.

Tommy Caldwell’s hand surgeon did a release basically cutting out the palmar tendon sheath. Took 6 mins. They had me moving my hand and massaging to prevent scarring within the week, maybe 4-5 days. Was painful certainly, but using the hand I got back to life relatively quickly.

Can’t say timespan too confidently now but I’d estimate 2-3 months recovery. I have a scar under an inch long and it looks like it was about 8 stitches. Can still see the dots. Slight scar tissue tightness mostly but I’d say hand is back to >95% normal. Way better than the 15 years of tenosynovitis.

TLDR tried cortisone shots until half-life was too brief then got easy peasy helpful surgery  

Old thread, but might as well share. I had trigger thumb surgery 3 years ago. My right thumb would lock either closed or open. I'd have to force it closed so I could hold a pen, or open so I could climb. It would do a painful pop when I forced it open or closed. I could still climb...didn't seem to bother me there. But I like to draw, and that requires very fine motor control. The surgery was 5 minutes and it was totally fixed in the OR. I was playing ping pong and climbing a week later. No loss in strength. Now my left one is doing it a little...but so far I can live with it. As I remember, my hand surgeon made some tiny cuts in the pulley so the swollen tendon could pass through. Like chipping away at a low overpass on a freeway to let a high truck pass under. Plenty of strength left in the cement bridge.