Pain due to osteoarthritis of the thumb is most often described as a swelling of the joint and discomfort when using the thumb.

Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage of your thumb begins to wear away. Osteoarthritis - Osteoarthritis is the form of arthritis that most commonly affects the thumb or basal joint.To help you decipher which thumb condition you have read the most likely problems and their most common symptoms: However, there are conditions outside of trigger thumb that may occur to your thumb joint and be described in a similar way. People often describe the pain they are experiencing in their thumbs as: How do I know if the Pain at the Base of my Thumb is from Trigger Thumb? Stenosing tenosynovitis is the medical term for trigger thumb and is often used in the medical world. Stenosing tenosynovitis and trigger thumb or finger are the exact same condition. To better understand what’s happening if you have trigger thumb check out the graphic of your thumbs anatomy below:įUN FACT: Trigger Finger Thumb is Also Called Stenosing Tenosynovitisĭon’t freak out if your doctor told you have stenosing tenosynovitis but you thought you had trigger thumb.

This condition can happen to all of your fingers including your thumbs, index, middle, ring, and pinky. This has the potential to be a very painful and frustrating condition, as you lose the full function of your thumbs. Essentially, your fingers get stuck in a non-relaxed position. When this happens, the base of your fingers may lock up, click, or pop. Because of this inflammation or swelling, your tendons are no longer properly gliding through your sheaths. If you have trigger thumb, your tendons have become inflamed. The tendons in your thumb and fingers are covered in a tunnel-like structure of tissues that are called sheaths.

As you’ve just heard in the video, trigger thumb is a common and debilitating condition.

Why is your thumb not a finger