Thumbs don’t often receive a lot of our attention, despite being involved in more than 50% of all hand functions. It’s easy to take your thumbs for granted until something goes wrong and you realise just how crucial they are to everyday life activities!

Thumb pain is extremely common but often goes untreated unless it becomes extreme and debilitating. But ignoring minor or moderate thumb pain can lead to worse problems down the track such as degeneration, chronic stiffness, loss of mobility and weakening of grip strength. A weak grip strength is linked to risk for falls, fractures, contagious disease, chronic illness and more.

What is causing all this thumb pain?

Many modern aspects of life aggravate the thumb and can cause repetitive strain or inflammation –

• Thumb typing on a mobile phone and the small micromovements associated with using a computer mouse and typing.
• New parents also frequently develop thumb pain due to repeatedly lifting and holding a baby with their thumbs spread outward.
• Common culprits for repetitive overuse injuries also include include gardening, playing racquet sports or golf, and playing musical instruments
• The thumb is one of the most common joints to develop arthritis (also called basal joint arthritis). 

Reading all that it’s easy to imagine how common thumb pain issues are – pretty much everybody fits into one or more of those categories!

De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis

De Quervains tenosynovitis happens when the protective sheath around the thumb tendons becomes inflamed and swollen, restricting their smooth movement. It is commonly triggered by repetitive thumb or wrist motions. It’s more common than you think and treating it early rather then waiting can make a big difference.

A quick test of this tending is called the Finklestein Maneuvre (you can google this if you are a visual person and need images) which is performed by placing your thumb into the palm of your hand and closing your fingers around it to make a fist (with the thumb in the centre). Now stretch the wrist downwards towards the ground. If this produced pain or feels restricted then you may have inflammation here and could benefit from acupuncture treatment. 

Regular acupuncture is a great way to address minor issues before they become major problems, and joint issues such as thumb pain and arthritis respond very well to regular maintenance treatments. 

Give the clinic a call on 47593554 or book directly online.