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Posts: 208
Location: North East PA , 20 mins from Chautauqua | I have had trouble lately with my little finger locking up on me . It s the little finger on my reel hand thats getting jammed against the trigger of the rod that I'm using for jerkbaits !. It's not just happing while I'm fishing it's all day now and it's getting to be a bit anoying to me . Anyone else have this trouble before ?
THE FERD
Edited by THE FERD 7/31/2008 11:13 AM
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Posts: 621
Location: Seymour, WI | Hold your rod by gripping the forehandle instead of palming the reel. It's a much stronger grip, better hooksets and much more comfortable once you get used to it. |
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Posts: 462
Location: Antioch, IL | It's called trigger finger. The main tendon that pulls your finger into a fist has a tear in it. This gets inflamed and swells up. There are anchor tendons that it runs under to keep it from bow stringing out when you make a fist. When the swollen tear goes under the anchors you can probably feel a pop. When you go to open your hand it gets stuck under these anchors. Can really start to hurt. Not much you can do for it other than stop fishing (HA!) To correct this they don't actually fix the bad tendon (they don't heal), they cut out the anchor that it is catching on. I've had three of these surgeries already and can see 2 more down the line. (fingers are nothing, wait till it happens in your wrist. I've had both of them cut as well. After I got back from LOTW 2 years ago I couldn't carry a bowl of cereal without crumbling to my knees. Ate my Capt. Crunch on the floor  |
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Posts: 198
| You could get a cortizone shot. Sometimes that helps. I have it too and the Dr told me to also rub Vitamin E oil on it. |
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Posts: 4266
| Use many hand tools in your life? I see it on lots of people who use their hands to grip things for a living. You see it happen to men way more than women  must be because of the physical nature of our lifestyle.
I can't believe that nobody has said that it's from fishing too much. |
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Posts: 706
Location: Richland Center, WI. | Yep, trigger finger. I actually had a problem with the thumb on my right hand. Doc said he could do a simple procedure that involved cutting the sheath that surrounds the tendon to release/relieve the pain and it would not lock up. I chose instead to try the cortizone shot which helped greatly. Thumb will still get a little sore but I have not had it lock up in a while.
Ken |
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Posts: 208
Location: North East PA , 20 mins from Chautauqua | Thanks for all the replys , it looks like if it gets any worse I'll have to see my doctor or fish less NOT !
THE FERD |
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Posts: 551
Location: Columbus, Georgia | The condition is commonly found among those who suffer from some form of arthritis. I have had a trigger-finger release procedure done twice on fingers and once on a thumb. In my case, the condition seems to be moving around, and every season I have a different joint that is affected.
Fish and Whistle describes the procedure exactly. The recovery time for me has been three to four weeks. There will still be some stiffness and pain for up to 9 months (per the doc) after the operation, but it did go away in my case.
It's a curse ... no doubt about it.
Craig
Edited by cjrich 8/1/2008 8:42 AM
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Posts: 670
Location: Minnetonka , MN. | I wish it was only one finger . I have 3 doing the same thing. It's fun getting old. Don't worry it all down hill. |
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Posts: 101
Location: mn | Ive had 9 releases on 7 fingers in the last 10 years. Diabetes contributes to my problem. Recovery from the procedure takes me about a month before i can cast plugs again but the pain and stiffness seems to last a little longer. My method is to load it with cortizone til the hard water comes back. |
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Posts: 80
Location: Northwoods | Boys, boys, boys -- get a grip (or not)!! Try holding the rod using the forehandle (in front of the reel like Grass said) BUT try glucosamine with chondroitin, MSM, and vitamin E. Should help hands/fingers but all the other joints in your body as well. However, they do not work for everyone, so a trial of 2 to 3 weeks can tell you if it can help or not. Also warm water therapy is very helpful together with flexing the muscles of the hand (like a warm up before baseball) by grasping a tennis ball.
Good luck! |
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Posts: 203
| Lets see, if cortisone helps then the problem is not with the sheaths (interoseus sheath)spelling? - that hold the tendon. Most likely some inflammation of some sort in the joint itself due to osteoarthritis, overuse injury, joint mice, etc... and make sure you don't have diabetes or infection before you go inject cortisone or you could possibly be in a world of hurt. If it were me I would ice, exercise, rest, and fish some more! Maybe a chiropractor!
good luck bret |
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Posts: 95
Location: LOTW every chance I get | johnson - 8/1/2008 10:30 PM Lets see, if cortisone helps then the problem is not with the sheaths (interoseus sheath)spelling? - that hold the tendon. Most likely some inflammation of some sort in the joint itself due to osteoarthritis, overuse injury, joint mice, etc Wrong, the cortisone goes into the sheath around the tendon where the problem is. It can be related to other arthritic conditions as stated above or to overuse ie. fishing too much. There, you happy, somebody finally said it! The injections work best if done in the first few weeks of the problem, the sooner the better. The release procedure is pretty simple and effective. Dave |
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Posts: 80
Location: Northwoods | Sawbones would it not be better to go with a 'conventional non-aggressive' treatment first, like NSAIDs (aspirin, ibuprofen, Mobic, Arthrotec), vitamin E, flaxseed, glucosamine, etc. rather than jumping into the cortisone treatment? Cortisone injections do work, but destroy cartilage and sometimes bone strength, plus masks the issue so many people hooked on cortisone end up doing more damage. Then going further to more extensive nerve shots like cervical epidural injections, which also trickle down or up to more aggressive anesthesia, and almost guaranteeing the need for surgery, which has a high failure rate as well...like smellslikebass. Sometimes a physical trainer and/or physical therapist can have great ideas to help condition the hands for such vigorous workout such as muskie fishing! |
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Posts: 101
Location: mn | The hard stuff like shots and surgery should be you last resort for relief. I would recommend a physical therapist. Exercises. Hot wax, stretching, and ultrasound treatment has helped me alot. I have had 5 cort shots in my life and they have helped alot. Failure rate zero. Its not a cure but it can make your hand feel better for 4-6 months til your ready for the doc to work it out. Ive only had the shot when i couldn't release the finger for days. Make sure you bring the rod and reel with you to the pt.
Edited by smellslikebass 8/2/2008 1:42 PM
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Posts: 95
Location: LOTW every chance I get | Yeah, sure, try the anti-inflammatories and what-not first, but don't sit on it for too long. I found the pills helped but never got rid of the problem. One shot and it was history for me, ymmv. I wouldn't try the injection more than once, maybe twice, before heading for surgery. Cortisone can weaken the tendon and cause a rupture. Cartilage damage and getting hooked an the injections are non-issues. |
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Posts: 462
Location: Antioch, IL | Once a tendon or cartilage is damaged that is it, It's damaged. No amount of therapy can fix it. They don't heal. Anti-inflammatories do very little, if anything, for this condition. They can help with the irritation in the surrounding tissue, but do nothing for the damaged tendons. Vitamin E, Omega-3 fatty acids are worth a shot. I've been using both for a while and they can take the edge off. I did the cortisone once. It's a quick fix and I only did it so I could fish a tournament:) As stated several times above, it's nasty stuff. My approach has been to deal with it until I can't stand the pain then get the release surgery. Your career as a hand model will be over, but you will be able to fish. Find a good hand/sports injury specialist. They do this stuff all the time. The last surgery I had took all of 20 minutes (2 hours total in the hospital), I popped a couple vico's and was off the the Cardinals game a couple hours later. For sure go to a specialist. A general surgeon will gladly do it for you, but it is your hands we are talking about. Face, brain, prostate...who cares, but take care of the hands.
Edited by Fish and Whistle 8/3/2008 2:36 PM
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Finger locking up !