Tendonitis Characteristics
Tendonitis is the medical termsignifying inflammation of a certain tendon. Tendons, on the otherhand, are tissues which connect our bones to our muscles. This tissuemay easily get damaged due to the overstraining or, simply, overuse.Additionally, different inflammations caused by diseases like gout orarthritis as well as many others, all may be possible reasons behindtendonitis. Therefore, you need to know how to recognize the symptomsbehind this condition, be aware of the factors causing it and beinformed about the best possible treatment for it. This article willfocus on a specific tendon, the one in our thumb, since it is alsoone of the most commonly injured ones.
Manifestations of Tendonitis
As it is the case with manyinflammations, pain in the thumb area is often the first indicator.Discomfort and irritation, as well as tenderness to movement andtouching all add on to the list of possible symptoms. Additionally,you might experience swelling around the thumb area. In cases ofadvancing inflammation, the symptoms may spread throughout your armaffecting the mobility of your finger, making you incapable ofholding things or moving the finger freely.
Reasons Behind Tendonitis
Apart the above mentioned, physicalinjury caused by a direct blow to the thumb may easily lead to thiskind of inflammation. Also, pregnant women tend to suffer from thiskind of tendonitis due to their improper thumb position while theybreastfeed their babies, or because of all the extreme hormonalchanges their body endures during the pregnancy period.
Possible Treatment for Thumb Tendonitis
If you visit a doctor while youexperience pain and swelling above and around the thumb area, he orshe will probably make you do a certain physical test for thumbtendonitis. Namely, you will be asked to clench your fist whilekeeping the troublesome thumb in it. Upon experiencing pain anddiscomfort by performing this action, you will be diagnosed with thisconditions and suggested some of the following treatments.
The treatment suggests resting thethumb as much as possible and avoiding its physical activation at allcosts. This might include immobilizing the finger with a splint.Also, taking into consideration that this is an inflammation, youwill be probably prescribed with some anti-inflammatory medicationsand over-the-counter painkillers. Alternatively, you can apply ice orheat compresses in order to remove swelling and pain. Soaking yourthumb into epsom salt for 5 minutes is also known to provide greatrelief. Finally, if all else fails, and the symptoms remain present,let alone escalate, you are highly advised to seek further medicaladvice. Then, your doctor may suggest a surgical intervention or someother, alternative approaches to solving your thumb tendonitisproblem.
Your thoughts on this
Loading...