Trigger finger or thumb

Trigger finger or thumb, is a common disorder in which one of your fingers or thumb gets stuck in a bent position and when you vigorously straighten your finger it suddenly and painfully snaps free.

Normally when you bend and straighten your fingers the tendon slides freely through a covering called a sheath. They get stuck because of a localised thickening or nodule in the tendon and/or narrowing of its sheath usually near the joint at the end of your finger/thumb.

Over time osteo-arthritis may develop in the associated joint(s).