Trigger Finger

[Kanoken]

Hi everyone,

I was diagnosed with a case of "Trigger Finger" in my middle finger, and as I was talking with the doctor, I was wondering, does Kendo has anything to do with that?

So, did anyone else experience or knows someone who experienced this case? Do you think there's something I am doing wrong in Kendo that might have caused this?

Also, for how long did the treatment affect Kendo practice?

Thanks.

[Neil Gendzwill]

I think kendo may have something to do with it. Is this the one where your finger can get stuck closed especially in the morning? Something to do with the sheath around the tendon? My sensei had that, minor surgery fixed it right up.

[Lloromannic]

It is relatively common in Kendo, I believe there was even a Clinic article in the magazine about it. I myself have a minor case of it (massage fixes it in a couple minutes when it surfaces) and know several others who suffer it. One friend had to eventually get surgery for it as well.

[Lloromannic]

Vol 4-3 (2008)

thanks to the Kindle search function and the Table of Contents on the last magazine

[Maple]

My dad used to have it, too. But he never even touched a shinai. So it's not only Kendo-related

[Tort-Speed]

'Got it within 3 years of daily Kendo, ring finger right hand (my guess is incorrect tenouchi as a relative beginner). 'Only slacks off if I don't use it much. Teacher in Japan called it a "spring finger." Playing lots of tennis, never got that though.

[DCPan]

http://www.kendo-world.com/forum/sho...er-finger-hlep

I got trigger finger twice.

First time I got the cortisone shot.

Second time, my mom just massaged it away.

[Dervish]

It is relatively common in Kendo

Are there exercises or precautions to minimize the risk of getting it?

[MikeW]

I have had trigger finger twice. Once in my thumb and I had that surgically fixed. The surgery wasn't bad (outpatient) and it took a few weeks to be able to use the left thumb normally again. I currently have trigger finger again in my left ring finger and it is pretty severe. I had a cortisone shot and exercises to help and they worked for a while but I will definitely have to go in and have surgery on it to get pain free and full use of my left hand.

[Kokoro777]

I have it in both my thumbs probably from practising Iai. Mine isn't really painful but the loud snapping noise the tendon makes is a disturbing at first! I just have to make sure I move my thumbs throw a full range of motion regularly to avoid it.

[Lloromannic]

Are there exercises or precautions to minimize the risk of getting it?

Well i uh, haven't actually bought that magazine yet :P

Just browsed it in a bogu shop once

[turboyoshi]

Is this another form of RSI or does it have a different cause?

[MikeW]

Yes it is considered by most as a form of RSI (repetitive strain injury). Here are some of the suggestions I was given for treatment (they seemed to help some but my TF is fairly painful and undoubtably I will end up have the release surgery done at some point):

Transverse Friction Massage – Perform across the nodule/adhesion on the affected finger to help break it down, reducing its size.
Stretches – Immediately follow Transverse Friction Massage with passive and active stretches to the affected finger to help thin the tendon.
Exercises – Immediately follow the stretches with active strengthening exercises for the OPPOSING MUSCLE GROUP, in this case the extensor muscles that extend the fingers and wrist, in order to hold and maintain the length to the tendon that you just stretched
Hydrotherapy – Ice the affected tendon in a stretched position to maintain the length of the tendon that was just created through the stretches and exercises. Icing the tendon also removes swelling and toxins created through the use of massage, stretches and exercises. Ice the tendon no longer than 1-2 minutes. Take a break for 3-minutes and repeat the ice cycle two more times.

[Roberto]

Hi Kanoken, hello everyone!

I'm Lloromaniac's friend who had surgery in his trigger finger's hand. And probably some of you already know my hands from the KW article.

Well, I'd like to talk about this injury and how I was treated. But first I'd like to add some background of what it might be involved as a chain of events that contributed in the development of trigger finger, apart of genetics that usually are involved and make a predisposition for some cases.

I had begun with the trigger finger's sympthoms during my adolescence, before I began my kendo life. My exercises routine during my early adolescence where basically isometrics and variations with my body weight (including chin ups and pull ups), soon after I began kendo I also started to practice karatedo shotokan and a couple of yers later I had goten into weight lifting routines.

The common pattern in this different sports/exercises is the gripping technique, which was consistent, especially compared in kendo and karate (for the tsuki hits, closing harder the hand from the midle finger, ring finger and the little finger. With that idea I was also holding the shinai for a long time.

Also, after my weight lifting sessions, the trigger fingers didn't get stock for a while, being capable of closing and opening my hand without the disturbing sensation. After my hand cool down, the stocking process began again.

The thing is I had had the trigger fingers in both hands (now just in one). While I was living in Japan, my fingers of the left hand had begun to hurt while gripping my shinai and during keiko practice, making it almost imposible for my to hold my shinai. Especifically happened during gasshuku time (so I had to skip my last day of practice).

I went to the clinic in Katsuura city and the doctor prescribed me some ice therapy and explained to me how I should put an anti inflamatory solution and massage, after the icing for about 20´, my forearms and hands. He wanted to do this before recomending a cortisone shot and/or surgery. My situation improved, but not so much. So, after moving back to Mexico, in 2010 I had an outpatient surgery in my left hand.

The orthopedist who treat me explained to me, after he made the recognision of the injury, and explained how we grip in kendo, and the other sports I've done, that actually what was inflamated were the ligaments that surrounds the fingers' tendons.
The when the finger gets stock and can't come back to its extended position, is because the diameter of the ligament is reduced due the inflamation process. So the doctor first made a transversal incision, got into the area where he could handle the ligaments and made a cut of the circumference of them. Those ligaments on both fingers (the middle and the ring finger) had drastically reduced the space for letting the free motion of the tendons. So, after the surgery I had about a three or four weeks before I could start doing some strenght exercises, but the doctor recomended to move by time to time my fingers by opening and closing my hand... I had to go to rehabilitation, but due some academic troubles I couldn't. SO it took me more time than I was expected to recover my almost full motion of the fingers and to recover the strenght of the hand.

Btw, if I had had a cortisone shot, it could get inflamated my ligaments after some time, so I also just went for the surgery, since my insurance covered it.

Hope it helps!