Trigger finger tendonitis, please help!

[Haowen]

Hi,

I am feeling the beginnings of trigger finger tendonitis in my left hand middle finger. I expect it will resolve itself in a week or two of rest, but I am alarmed at the prospect of recurring tendonitis everytime I pick up a shinai.

Does anyone have any suggestions for prevention of trigger finger? Is there a way to slowly phase into training so that it will not happen, perhaps? Am I just gripping the shinai too hard? Any suggestions will be very deeply appreciated!

Thanks!!

[KhawMengLee]

er, is this the feeling where when you open or close your hands you get this clicking feeling like in the joints. Like the tendon is only pulling on one side?

I get this in the mornings or just after I wake up. But recently I have been relaxing my grip and only squeezing when hitting so I don't get this feeling anymore.

[Ares2907]

When they saw 'the left hand is used for power', that does not mean that you should be gripping super hard with your left hand (or your right for that matter). Your grip should be soft enough so that if someone was to pull your shinai along a vector pointed to by the kensen, it would slide out of your hands with no resistance.
It may be that you need to loosen up a bit.
As always, if pain persists, see your physician.

[Haowen]

Meng, 'Trigger Finger' is when one of your fingers' tendons has a 'nodule' in it (caused by inflammation of the tendon sheath) that prevents it from sliding smoothly through the surrounding tissue. When extending/curling the finger there is pain/resistance, then a painful feeling of popping through (though not audible).

Thanks Ares! Judging by what you say, I am indeed holding the shinai way too hard. I will try to correct myself the next time I go back to practice (which won't be a while, it seems). Yes, I am undergoing treatment with my chiropractor. Thank you for the advice and concern :)