Trigger Finger Information

October 20, 2006 (Updated at bottom)

I'm writing this page because I'm disturbed by the lack of information out there on trigger finger.

My daughter was about 20 months old when I noticed that there was something different about her thumb. I didn't give it much thought at the time but noticed it again and thought that may be there was something wrong with it. It was probably about 3 weeks from the time I first noticed it that I started trying to find out what was wrong.

I first took her to her pediatrician. She took x-rays and looked it over but not knowing what it was or what to do about it thought we should start with some physical therapy. That wasn't exactly what I expected so I took her to a naturopath/chiropractor who turned out to be a joke. He said he’d never seen anything like it, clicked around on it and charged us full price for treatment but didn't help at all. But he did mention that we might try taking her to an orthopedist. So I asked her pediatrician to recommend one and she did.

He asked me several questions about her health in general and after looking over her x-rays and popping her thumb back in place tells me it's trigger finger. He said something about a splint but didn't think it would work since she was so little.

It seemed to me that there was very little hope for a full recovery. We called the orthopedist and asked for a script to have a custom splint made for her at Advance Hand Therapy and were told that she would be wearing it for weeks. We were in for a long treatment. Splinting might or might not work. She was too little for steroid treatment (thank goodness) and there was no way I was going to give her anti-inflammatory drugs for the swelling and ruin her liver and who knows what else. The last option was surgery. My mind was made up. I would not put her through surgery if I could help it.

I looked around for natural advice. I called a naturopath doctor who asked me questions about her health in general. When I told him she had been diagnosed with failure to thrive and tended to have diarrhea a lot he asked me if she was gassy. I didn't know if she was or not (I hadn't thought about it before but realized later that yes, she tends to pass a lot of gas) but he told me she was suffering from malabsorption.

She was just under 6 months old when our family had the flu. We all went through a round of antibiotics and she went through antibiotics twice because she followed up with pneumonia. She also had a lot of Tylenol and Motrin at that time. He told me to put her on enzymes and acidophilus and try to get her colon worked on first then we would worry about her trigger finger. This is the first time anyone has made sense about her health in general. Her weight started a zigzag pattern after 6 months old and she was way under the charts for normal weight.

After treating her colon for a while her weight stabilized. She started her own curve. She will be 2 in 3 weeks and she might make it to 20 pounds by her second birthday. But the concern is gone because she is stable now. Her weight is climbing steadily now.

We've had it splinted for 2 months now and it is much better. When we first had it splinted, if we took the splint off for even 15-20 minutes we would have to pop her thumb back in place which hurt really bad. She would cry so hard. We knew it was really painful for her. Now we've had it off for a few days because the splint needed some work done and we've had to pop it back in place only a few times. It still hurts her but not near as much or anywhere near as often.

But we are still having a problem with it. So I devoted a great deal of time searching the internet (I did find some information in a book called Relieving Pain Naturally but it was limited information) for more natural options. You might find it helpful to read it too. I wanted to share with everyone the information I found so you could try it too.

The story is not over yet. I really think the items that I carefully selected will help her and heal her problem completely but I wanted to present all of the information so you would know of all of them. Not everyone’s problem can be cured using the same treatment.

Here is the information I found:

*Her body needs trace minerals.

*Athletes oil

I found this website through a tendonitis search I think. I was really impressed with the combination of herbs in this blend. I really think it would help.

Here is a breakdown of what each of the ingredients would be for:
Arnica - bruising, muscle soreness
Comfrey - swift healing of injured tissue
Linseed oil - anti-inflammatory, helps with arthritis
White willow - aspirin like/anti-inflammatory
Wintergreen oil - soothing for joint/muscle pain
Rescue remedy - great for stress but one of those ‘miracle herbs’ - good for everything

*Emu Oil

Update 01/24/07

Mikah has not been wearing the splint for weeks now. I don’t recall when I stopped using it on her but it has been at least 6 weeks now.

For a while after I quit using it on her she would wake up in the morning and after naps with it stuck a little and eventually she could even pop it back herself. I don’t remember the last time her thumb was stuck.

I really saw a change after I thought about the fact that if she had suffered malabsorption for over a year that her little body would be lacking in nutrients. So I started her on the following:

A multi w/trace minerals
Calcium/magnesium
Acidophilus
Vitamin C
MSM powder (in her juice)
Emu oil (rubbed on thumb and surrounding areas)

This did the trick (plus prayer and faith in healing) and although she still has a little trouble with diarrhea occasionally if she eats too much sugar she is trigger finger free!

Bottom line - if you are suffering with trigger finger there is something your body is lacking to heal itself. I know kids can heal more quickly but I also know with the nutrition your body needs it will be able to heal itself. I have always been convinced of this but I have now proved it.

Nourish yourself!