You rely on your fingers each time you compose an email, play a game on your smartphone, fix your hair, make pizza dough from scratch, or give someone a professional-like massage. So in other words, your fingers are pretty much involved in a lot of your everyday tasks and pursuits. It’s exactly for this reason why encountering finger pain can be a cause of great concern or alarm.
Because your fingers are composed of several different bones, joints and tissues — not to mention that you use them for a wide variety of reasons — there are many different things that can cause it to become painful. This article will get you introduced to some of the most common ones.
Prior to reading on, let’s get one very important thing straight: none of the things you will find below should be taken as professional medical advice, which is something that can only come from the mouth of a doctor.
Injury
Most especially if you’re someone who is into sports or the use of heavy tools or pieces of equipment, you are at high risk of injuring your fingers. Sometimes simply being a clumsy individual can also be the one to blame as you are prone to slipping, tripping or falling.
Some types of injuries to the fingers tend to heal on their own after a few days, especially if you provide the affected areas with plenty of rest and ice. In some instances, such as in the case of a dislocation or fracture, seeking medical attention is warranted.
Infection
Sometimes it is a cut or wound on the finger that can be held accountable for the pain. This is most especially true if the trauma to the skin is a massive one or infected as evidenced by redness, swelling, presence of pus and an overall feeling of being unwell.
Mild wound infections can be dealt with accordingly by your immune system. However, a severe infection may warrant a trip to the hospital to have the wound disinfected or stitched closed if necessary. It’s not unlikely for a doctor to also prescribe antibiotics to put the infection under control.
Trigger Finger
Does your finger snap straight each time you try to extend it? Then you may have what doctors refer to as stenosing tenosynovitis — everybody else calls it trigger finger. It’s caused by a problem with the tendon at the base of the affected finger.
Experts say that pain associated with trigger finger tends to be worse in the morning or after a long period of time of being inactive. The pain may be accompanied by other signs and symptoms such as stiffness, swelling, trouble with bending or straightening the finger, and a popping sensation.
Arthritis
There are more than a hundred types of arthritis, and one of the most common of them all is osteoarthritis. It’s something that can affect various joints in your body, including those of your fingers. Osteoarthritis of the fingers is often due to wear and tear, and it tends to worsen with the passing of time.
Rheumatoid arthritis is another form of arthritis that may leave your finger joints painful. Unlike osteoarthritis, the one responsible for it is your very own immune system — it attacks the perfectly-harmless lining of your joints.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Do you use your hands or fingers repeatedly? Are you pregnant or overweight? Do you suffer from diabetes? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, then there’s a possibility that carpal tunnel syndrome is the one responsible for your finger pain.
Having it may also leave you experiencing numbness and tingling especially in the thumb and the next two fingers. The cause of carpal tunnel syndrome is unnecessary pressure applied on the median nerve that passes through what’s referred to as the carpal tunnel or carpal canal in your wrist.
Have you figured out the cause of your finger pain based on the pieces of information stated above? Make sure that you consult a doctor if the pain refuses to go away, or it seems to worsen or is accompanied by other unusual signs and symptoms such as swelling, stiffness, tremors or fever.
