I woke up one morning unable to bend my left thumb. It was locked and caused much pain when I tried to. Once I succeeded in doing so, it was as stiff and painful when I tried to straighten it back. As a right handed person, I counted myself fortunate that it was my left thumb. Nevertheless, I soon realized that no part of our body is dispensable.
Dr. Google diagnosed it as stenosing tenosynovitis or trigger finger. Inflammation of the tendon sheath causes the affected finger to lock in a bent position. The pain ranges from mildly annoying to very painful, depending on the severity. My family doctor asked me to give it time or have a steroid shot if unresolved. I read that medical intervention is often necessary for immediate relief, including surgery for more severe cases. I also learnt that occupations that require repetitive motions such as typing or gripping exacerbate the condition. Trigger finger is also common among people with diabetes, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis. But I have none of the above.
I immediately thought of consulting another person … Dr. M. She’s a dear friend who has no formal medical training other in laboratory science. She is however intelligent and a voracious reader of anything medical. More importantly, she has suffered and learned from her own assortment of medical ailments over the years. The idiom ‘prolonged illness makes a doctor of a patient’ describes her well. As such, her many friends bestowed the honourary doctorate on her.
Dr. M recommended that I apply the RUB-A535 cream. Failing to improve, I was to get a prescription of Glucosamine CR-5% Diclofenac 2% Cyclobenzaprine from my real doctor. She also suggested that I do a number of finger exercises regularly. Perhaps most importantly, Dr. M. cautioned me to become aware of and cease from doing any repetitive movements that involve my left thumb. Remember that Dr. M is also a seasoned patient? She went on to illustrate not only how she successfully treated her trigger finger, but also what she believed triggered her trigger finger in the first place.
The morning that I woke up in pain with my trigger thumb, I already knew what triggered it. I told Dr. M. that the only consistent and weight bearing motion involving my left hand and thumb of late was in lifting my mother. Given what happened, I changed my approach in lifting her. Despite that, the pain persisted and my thumb was still locked … at least for sometime. However, over time and persevering with Dr. M’s remedy, I was finally relieved. I straightened it to give Dr. M a thumbs up.
Then I noticed something intriguing. It could have easily gone off my radar were I not mindful. While I have adopted a new approach in lifting my mother, an old habit of mine involving my left thumb quietly slipped back. I found myself tugging at my facial hair with my left hand when it was idling. Further, I noticed this maneuver always involves my left thumb and one of the other fingers. On the contrary, my right hand is often occupied, thus spared from being conscripted into this unconscious bad habit. When my left thumb was locked, it naturally ceased to tug on its own. But when the pain is gone, the old habit returns.
I believe that tugging my facial hair repetitively over time is the true culprit to my trigger finger, rather than lifting my mother. After all, I typically use both hands in lifting her and while the motion bears weight, it is not repetitive, at least not enough. Yet, it was the first thing that came to mind when I couldn’t bend my thumb, because it stood out as recent, strenuous and labor intensive, in comparison to the mild tugging that usually happens without my being aware of doing it. If I did not put one and one together , I’m quite sure my thumb will lock again in time and I’ll be looking for another obvious trigger to blame.
Isn’t that analogous to so many things in our lives? When something bad happens, we look for an immediate and obvious trigger, overlooking the real reason that contributes to it over time. It can be said of our health, our finance and our relationship, amongst other things. For example, it’s usually our lack of regular exercises and not the incidental fall that cripples us. And our living on our credit cards for years and not the unexpected house repair bill that breaks us. Needless to say, it is not our last bitter argument, but our lack of communication over the years that finally ends our marriage. As the Chinese idiom puts it ‘ice a meter deep is not frozen in one day’. Yet when it happens, we blame it on the slippery ice patch, the untimely repair and whoever started the last argument.
Habits stay for a long time and some never go away. Bad habits survive even longer as they insidiously slip into our lives without much fanfare. They only take a breather when we are confronted with the damage they create. But when our pain is gone, bad habits usually find their way back through the rear door.
I’m not tugging my facial hair any more … at least not yet.
vinaxios 