how to rehab tendonitis in the thumb

Home Treatment for Thumb Tendonitis or De Quervain’s Syndrome

• Wrist extension stretch – with the affected wrist straight in front of you facing palm down, place the unaffected hand...
• Wrist flexion stretch – with the affected wrist straight in front of you facing palm down, place the unaffected hand on...
• Wrist pronation/supination – while holding a can or small bottle,...

Full Answer

What is the best treatment for tendonitis?

May 06, 2019 · Home Treatment for Thumb Tendonitis or De Quervain’s Syndrome Wrist extension stretch – with the affected wrist straight in front of you facing palm down, place the unaffected hand... Wrist flexion stretch – with the affected wrist straight in front of you facing palm down, place the unaffected hand ...

How long does it take for dislocated thumb to heal?

You may be able to recover from De Quervain’s tenosynovitis with home treatment. Changing your activity, resting the sore thumb, and treating thumb tendonitis with anti-inflammatory medications and heat or ice can improve the pain in a few weeks. Depending on your injury, you may need additional treatment like:

How do you cure a tendon?

In such severe cases of thumb tendonitis, the doctors might prescribe the following higher level treatments. Corticosteroids: Corticosteroid injections may be administered to the tendon sheath to reduce the inflammation and swelling, and speed up the healing process.

What is the cure for a trigger thumb?

Aug 20, 2021 · Resting the hand by avoiding repetitive thumb motion and forceful gripping may reduce the irritation. Anti-inflammatory medications such as Ibuprofen, Naproxen, and Tylenol can reduce pain. Topical gels can reduce pain and inflammation. Hand therapists can teach stretching exercises and reduce pain with modalities such as iontophoresis treatment.

How do I get rid of tendonitis in my thumb?

Changing your activity, resting the sore thumb, and treating thumb tendonitis with anti-inflammatory medications and heat or ice can improve the pain in a few weeks.

How long does thumb tendonitis take to heal?

Treatment for de Quervain's tenosynovitis is aimed at reducing inflammation, preserving movement in the thumb and preventing recurrence. If you start treatment early, your symptoms should improve within four to six weeks.Jul 23, 2020

Can thumb tendonitis heal on its own?

Each of these non-operative treatments help reduce the swelling, which typically relieves pain over time. In some cases, simply stopping the aggravating activities may allow the symptoms to go away on their own. When symptoms are severe or do not improve, surgery may be recommended.

What is the main symptom of tendonitis of the thumb?

Pain near the base of your thumb. Swelling near the base of your thumb. Difficulty moving your thumb and wrist when you're doing something that involves grasping or pinching. A "sticking" or "stop-and-go" sensation in your thumb when moving it.Jul 23, 2020

Should I massage tendonitis?

Chronic tendonitis can lead to joints that “lock” up, which means they stop working at all. This happens when the sheath of tissue that surrounds your tendon becomes too narrow because of disease or scarring. No matter the cause of your tendonitis, massage can help prevent this irritating and painful problem.Jul 10, 2018

What is the best home remedy for tendonitis?

To treat tendinitis at home, R.I.C.E. is the acronym to remember — rest, ice, compression and elevation. This treatment can help speed your recovery and help prevent further problems. Rest. Avoid activities that increase the pain or swelling.Nov 3, 2020

Why does my thumb pop when I bend it?

Sometimes, a tendon gets inflamed and swollen. Long-term irritation of the tendon sheath can lead to scarring and thickening that affect the tendon's motion. When this happens, bending your finger or thumb pulls the inflamed tendon through a narrowed sheath and makes it snap or pop.Aug 24, 2020

How do you heal a trigger thumb?

TreatmentRest. Avoid activities that require repetitive gripping, repeated grasping or the prolonged use of vibrating hand-held machinery until your symptoms improve. ... A splint. Your doctor may have you wear a splint at night to keep the affected finger in an extended position for up to six weeks. ... Stretching exercises.Oct 20, 2020

What is basal thumb joint arthritis?

Basal joint arthritis is the result of the wearing away of cartilage in the joint at the base of the thumb. That's why it is also known as thumb arthritis. The basal joint allows your thumb to move around so you can perform small motor tasks.

How I cured my de Quervains syndrome?

Physical Therapy or Occupational Therapy are very effective in treating De Quervain's syndrome. To decrease the inflammation of the tendons, avoid repetitive movement of the thumb and gripping movements as much as possible. A splint can be used to rest the tendons. Apply ice to help reduce the inflammation faster.May 6, 2019

When should I see a doctor for thumb pain?

See your doctor if you have persistent swelling, stiffness or pain at the base of your thumb.Jun 18, 2020

How to get rid of tendinitis in thumb?

Bend your thumb down toward the base of your pinky finger. 2. Range of Motion. Range-of-motion exercises help prevent stiffness of the thumb joint that can develop with thumb tendinitis.

How to prevent thumb tendinitis?

Range of Motion. Range-of-motion exercises help prevent stiffness of the thumb joint that can develop with thumb tendinitis. For these exercises, move your thumb into each position as you are able without pain, as advised by Harvard Health Publishing. Bring your thumb back to the side of your hand between each movement.

What to do if your thumb is deformed?

Seek Medical Attention. See a medical professional before attempting thumb exercises if your pain is the result of a direct injury. Seek immediate attention if your thumb appears deformed, will not move or feels numb. Exercises may worsen some conditions, such as a broken bone.

How to strengthen thumb muscles?

These exercises help maintain thumb strength without further straining your inflamed tendons. Apply gentle pressure to the back of your thumb with the index and middle fingers of your uninjured hand. Slowly lift your thumb toward the ceiling while pressing down with your fingers to match the resistance of your thumb lifting.

How to stop thumb pain?

Stretching, range of motion and strengthening exercises can reduce pain and weakness caused by thumb tendinitis. Advertisement. If you suspect you have this condition or have thumb pain that interferes with your daily activities, see a doctor for an accurate diagnosis. In addition to tendinitis, thumb pain can be a result ...

How to help with tendinitis?

Stretch your thumb and hand to help with tendinitis. Image Credit: Moyo Studio/E+/GettyImages. Thumb tendinitis can make daily tasks that are normally taken for granted difficult. You may have pain while writing, typing or even develop texting tendinitis.

How to stretch your thumb?

Advertisement. Holding your thumb with the fingers of your uninjured hand, slowly move your painful thumb into position until you feel a gentle pulling sensation. Hold this position for five to 10 seconds; then relax.

What causes thumb tendonitis?

Most common causes of De Quervain’s Syndrome are: Overuse from texting, typing or gaming. Trauma to the area. Repetitive gripping such as work or sports. Rheumatoid Arthritis.

What does it mean when your thumb hurts?

Swelling on the thumb side of the wrist or base of the thumb. A catching or snapping sensation when moving the thumb.

How to stretch a swollen wrist?

Wrist flexion stretch – with the affected wrist straight in front of you facing palm down, place the unaffected hand on the back of the palm of the affected hand and gently push it down to stretch the wrist. Hold it for 20 seconds and repeat 3 times.

How to stretch your wrist?

Wrist extension stretch – with the affected wrist straight in front of you facing palm down, place the unaffected hand on the palm of the affected hand and push it gently upwards to stretch the wrist. Hold it for 20 seconds and repeat 3 times .

Why does my thumb feel numb?

Pain occurs when the tendons around the base of the thumb gets irritated and inflamed. The swelling that occurs with the inflammation can also cause numbness when it presses on the nerve that passes near it. It is found that it affects women more than men.

How to treat de Quervain's syndrome?

To decrease the inflammation of the tendons, avoid repetitive movement of the thumb and gripping movements as much as possible. A splint can be used to rest the tendons. Apply ice to help reduce the inflammation faster. Here are some exercises you can do. Videos of some of these exercises can be found at our website RestorePlusNY.com.

How to treat a thumb injury?

Depending on your injury, you may need additional treatment like: 1 Splints: A special splint called a thumb spica splint can support your wrist and thumb so they can heal. 2 Pain management: We use non-narcotic medications and integrative care like acupuncture to manage pain so you can heal. Find out more about orthopedic pain we treat. 3 Steroid (cortisone) injections: Injected medications can deliver pain relief or lubrication directly to the inflamed area. Learn more about injections for joint pain.

What is the best treatment for a thumb injury?

Depending on your injury, you may need additional treatment like: Splints: A special splint called a thumb spica splint can support your wrist and thumb so they can heal. Pain management: We use non-narcotic medications and integrative care like acupuncture to manage pain so you can heal.

What does it mean when your thumb is swollen?

Swelling on the thumb side of the wrist. A catching or snapping feeling when you move the thumb. Thumb and wrist stiffness. Thumb weakness and trouble lifting things – even a coffee cup. Eventually, you may notice a squeaking or snapping noise (called crepitus) as the tendons move through the narrowed tunnel.

What is the pain on the thumb side of the wrist?

De Quervain's tenosynovitis symptoms . The universal symptom of De Quervain’s tenosynovitis is pain on the thumb side of the wrist, which sometimes extends up the forearm. If you have thumb tendonitis from De Quervain’s, you may also notice: Swelling on the thumb side of the wrist. A catching or snapping feeling when you move the thumb.

How to heal de Quervain's tenosynovitis?

You may be able to recover from De Quervain’s tenosynovitis with home treatment. Changing your activity, resting the sore thumb, and treating thumb tendonitis with anti-inflammatory medications and heat or ice can improve the pain in a few weeks.

How long does it take for a thumb tunnel to heal?

When the tunnel heals, it will leave more room for the tendons. The surgery is brief, but full recovery takes several months . We’ll recommend hand therapy or occupational therapy after surgery to regain your thumb function and learn healthy ways of using your hand. Learn more about orthopedic physical therapy.

What is hand therapy?

Hand therapy: Some physical therapists and occupational therapists achieve certified hand therapist status. This means they’ve spent thousands of hours specializing in the hand. Hand therapy can improve your hand function and reduce pain.

How to test for tendonitis in thumb?

To confirm the presence of tendonitis in the thumb, a doctor generally conducts a Finkelstein’s test. In this test, the doctor will ask the patient to make a fist with his/her fingers over the thumb. Usually, thumb tendonitis causes swelling and tenderness and so the patient will find it painful and uncomfortable to assume this position. The doctor may also suggest getting an X-Ray or MRI done to better access the degree of the injury.

What is the treatment for tendonitis?

Since the basic reason behind the discomfort is inflammation of the tendon, medical treatment will typically include anti-inflammatory medication, which will probably need to be administered orally . The treatment will also probably require the patient to undertake physiotherapy.

What happens when you have a thumb tendon?

When this occurs repeatedly and in excess, or in an intense, forceful, or unnatural manner, it may result in damage to the tendon and associated mechanism. This subsequently leads to inflammation, degeneration and swelling to one or more of the tendons associated with the thumb – a condition known as thumb tendonitis.

How do you know if you have thumb tendonitis?

Symptoms. The following are the major symptoms caused by thumb tendonitis: The first and most easily identifiable symptom of thumb tendonitis is pain, which is mostly felt on the thumb side of the wrist. This pain generally appears gradually but in some cases is known to appear suddenly. If the tendonitis is severe, ...

What is the term for the tissue that connects the muscles and bones?

A tendon is the tissue that connects the muscles and the bones. The condition of an inflamed tendon is called tendonitis (also spelled as tendinitis). It most commonly occurs as a result of physical trauma, repetitive stress, or inflammatory rheumatic diseases like gout or reactive arthritis.

How to stop thumb pain?

Taking sufficient rest and medication is most important to relieve the pain, swelling and discomfort. One must try to avoid performing those movements frequently that hurt the thumb. Ignoring the symptoms and carrying on with such activities will cause the condition to aggravate further and delay the healing.

How long does it take for a thumb to heal?

protocol, which involves resting the thumb, regularly icing it, using compression bandage and keeping the arm elevate, in the initial stages of the injury (first 3-4 days), will help to significantly reduce the symptoms and facilitate the healing process. Since the basic reason behind the discomfort is inflammation ...

Treatment Options

Fortunately, most people improve with time and do not need surgery for DeQuervain’s tendonitis. Therefore, non-operative treatment is tried first. Treatment is focused on reducing pain, reducing inflammation, and improving hand function.

Cortisone Shot

Many people can be cured with a cortisone shot or two. Corticosteroid injections are very effective in reducing or eliminating symptoms in approximately 80% of patients. The risks of corticosteroid injection (also called a “cortisone shot”) are pain, infection, skin color change, and rarely thinning of the skin at the injection site.

Surgical Treatment

If these non-surgical treatments do not improve the symptoms, surgery may be recommended. DeQuervain’s release surgery is performed to improve the gliding of the tendons with the goal of reducing pain. During this procedure, the tight sheath (extensor retinaculum) is opened through a small incision on the thumb-side of the wrist.

What is the pain in the base of the thumb?

The main symptom of De Quervain’s tenosynovitis is swelling and pain at the base of the thumb. De Quervain’s tenosynovitis is the inflammation of the sheath, or synovium, that surrounds the two tendons that run between the wrist and the thumb. Tendons are strong bands of tissue that attach muscles to bone.

What is the condition where the thumb is painful?

De Quervain’s tenosynovitis refers to inflammation of the tendons in the thumb. The condition makes it painful when a person moves their thumb. There are some exercises that people can do at home to help alleviate the symptoms. This article describes what to do.

How to tell if your thumb is swollen?

swelling and tenderness on the side of the wrist. feeling or hearing creaking as the tendons slide through the sheath. Movements that involve the thumb and wrist, including pinching, grasping, or wringing will make the pain worse.

Why does my thumb hurt when I move it?

A sprain or overusing the tendons through repetitive movements of the thumb at work or during sport tend to make the swelling and pain worse.

How long do you have to wear a splint for de Quervain's teno

People with De Quervain’s tenosynovitis are usually recommended to wear a splint for 2 to 3 weeks. During this time, the splint can be removed to carry out the following exercises. 1) The individual places the affected hand palm down on a flat surface, such as a table.

What is the test for de Quervain's tenosynovitis?

The test for De Quervain’s tenosynovitis is positive if this makes the pain worse. The individual is usually referred to a physiotherapist or hand specialist for treatment, including exercises, such as those described above.

How long does it take for pain to go down after exercise?

Diagnosis and when to see a doctor. If the exercises make the pain worse, or if the pain does not reduce after 4 to 6 weeks, people are advised to speak to a doctor. The Finkelstein’s test is used for diagnosis of the condition.