I just came across two people who have suffered trigger finger recently. Luckily, I haven’t had it for the amount of use or abuse my fingers get from massaging and I don’t massage people like this. so I researched what you can do. This week I will show you what to do and what not to do for a trigger finger massage.
The trigger finger happens when a tendon is inflamed by the joint and it gets stuck by the tendon sheath and pops as you bend or stretch your finger. It’s also possible that the tendon sheath is inflamed and causes the stoppage. Eventually, the finger can become too painful to move and get stuck in a bent position. It can be caused by the overuse of fingers like from massage and I don’t massage people like this either, constant gripping of a tool such as a golf club, or from a change in hormone balance due to pregnancy or aging. The massage will help loosen the tendons and muscles while improving the circulation and elimination of the waste matter that may have accumulated around the inflammation.
If the finger is too inflamed and it’s hot and swollen, you should ice it. If it’s too painful to touch, just massage the forearm and wrist, not the fingers. If you have a locked finger but can still move with the aid of the other hand, do it as long as it doesn’t cause too much pain. It’s better to be moving the joints if you can and while you can to prevent it from more severe locking and possible drastic procedure such as surgery.
For the massage to treat the trigger finger, start with pinching the forearm muscles between the elbow and wrist. If your forearm is too tight for this, just pinch the skin. You don’t have to pinch very hard. Use a force that hurts good.
Why do you massage the forearm? Because you use the forearm muscles to move the fingers via tendons. To feel this you can hold the top and bottom of the forearm and move the fingers up and down. You will feel the movement both the top and bottom of the forearm. When you have a trigger finger it’s very possible that the forearm muscles attached to the tendon of the subject finger is tight too
After pinching the forearm, loosen the sore spot. Find a sore spot and loosen with closed finger or hooked thumb in both directions with the fiber or cross fiber. You can also just hold the sore spot and move the receiving arm instead to save the finger from getting too tired.
Do the same thing on the wrist too. With the direction of the tendons and perpendicular to the tendons.
Now the hands. If you have a trigger finger, you may have tight spots under the subject finger. Gently hold the tight spot with the other thumb and bend the subject finger and hold for at least one minute. And gently extend back. Here’s ring finger. Middle finger. Index finger. And thumb.
Next, hold the bone at the base of the subject finger on both sides of the palm and bend the finger 5 times on 3 locations. Here’s ring finger. Middle finger. Index finger. And thumb.
Bonus for a thumb and pinky since they are located at the end of the hand. Massage the base of the thumb by pinching, with a hooked thumb, this way is easier I think, or index finger joint. Massage the pinky with pinching and hooked thumb.
These massages are good to continue even after the trigger finger is healed because it helps to prevent it in the future. Also good is a simple exercise to just close hands and open hands as much as you can. Hold it for a count of two as you close and open. When you close your you can put the thumb inside or outside.
I’ve seen some people telling you to stretch the finger backward while others say don’t do it because it’s going to cause more damage to the inflammation. I would save the stretching for healthy non-trigger fingers only.
Even if I don’t have trigger fingers, I tend to have stiff joints and these massages do help with my finger movements.
Massage Monday #551 How to Massage Trigger Finger http://bit.ly/mm-551