Joshua L. Sho - Trigger Finger Cure

A Comprehensive Guide and Toolkitfor Treatmentof Trigger Finger, Locking Finger, Video Game Thumb Pain, iPad andSmartphone Finger Pain

By

Joshua L. Sho

Foreword by ProfessorRana K. Williamson

Smashwords Edition

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Published by:

LasGEORGES Publicationson Smashwords

Trigger Finger Cure

Copyright 2013 byJoshua L. Sho

This eBook islicensed for your personal use only. This eBook may not be re-soldor given away to other people. If you would like to share this bookwith another person, please purchase an additional copy for eachrecipient. If youre reading this book and did not purchase it, orit was not purchased for your use only, then please return toSmashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respectingthe hard work of this author

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This book is availablein print at most online retailers

I hope the informationin this book helps you as much as it helped me.

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What do you do?Your friend says, "I'm going to write a book about trigger finger."In my case, my eyes glazed over a bit, and I murmured somethingalong the lines of, "That's great, Joshua!" At the same time, Isuspect I was praying I didn't get asked to read the book. Myprayers weren't answered. I did get asked to read the book. To saythat I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. I foundmyself not only interested, but intrigued by the fact that so manydiverse conditions can manifest in locked joints.

It's clear that"classic" trigger finger is a predictable mechanical malfunction,but there are so many other reasons the problem can surface, someeven tied to diet. That's an area of particular interest to me as avegan, and what I read here makes absolute sense. The modern diet,especially in America is a disaster. If our bodies can't get ourattention one way, they'll get it another. This is an easilyaccessible overview of what can be a medically dense subject. Eventhe proper name for trigger finger, "stenosing tenosynovitis" is atongue twister.

Without gettinginto intricate fine points of anatomy, Joshua explains classictrigger finger in Part I, before expanding that examination in PartII to consider diffuse causes of the condition. Both standard andcutting edge therapies are explained and explored. The point iswell made that we take our hands for granted until they don't work.I found the case studies especially compelling, and agree that theanecdotal evidence suggesting a link to vocation or avocation isstrong. Given the heavy use of smartphones in our society, I foundmyself wondering if instances of trigger thumb will continue torise, with a direct link to texting.

Joshuaexperienced two episodes of trigger finger, and used thatexperience to write a well-conceived and executed examination ofthe condition. That's a "take away" I can genuinely applaud. Mostpeople would just complain about the problem. Joshua researched thesyndrome, found an answer, and then shared the information. Theresult is a thoughtful and useful compendium of practical data on a"simple" condition that isn't "simple" at all. I'm sorry I glazedover when I first heard about this book, but I'm not sorry that Iread it, and you won't be either. Thorough, readable, andinteresting, Joshua L Sho shows that by having the rightinformation, you can make the right choices

The "standard"treatment for trigger finger is, in theory, surgery. When you'redone reading this book, I think you'll agree that surgery should bethe option of last resort. The best medical decisions are based oninformed consent, another point strongly made in this text. Joshuasets out to accomplish just that, inform the reader. The result isa resounding success.

In the springof 2007, while I was working on the computer, something strangehappened with my right hand. I could make a fist, but when Ireleased my fingers, the ring finger remained bent. I couldnt makeit go up, or down. When it finally returned to an upright positionon its own, it snapped upwards suddenly and painfully.

I had no ideawhat was going on, and frankly, I was scared. For 30 years, Istretched my small hands to play classical music at the piano. Formore than 20 years, I taught piano and used the computer as anonline entrepreneur. Now, I was working online. It was anunderstatement to say that I needed my hands to functionnormally!

For severaldays, I did nothing, hoping the condition would go away. I noticeda lot of clicking in the finger when it moved, and the incidents oflocking up continued. I tried a splint from the drugstore, but itdidnt help. I did notice a slight bump at the base of my ringfinger and wondered if it was related to the problem. In the end, Igave in and went to our family orthopedist. He told me I hadtrigger finger. Id never heard of the condition until thatday.

The doctordiscussed a potential steroid injection, but said the effect mightonly be temporary, and that it could return. Surgery was the bestoption. Using a wall chart, he explained that the issue was at thebase of the finger where an incision would be made and therestricting elements released. The procedure would be performed ina hospital setting, but it would require just 15 minutes, and onlya local anesthetic would be used.

Not knowing anymore about the condition, and trusting his advice, I scheduled theprocedure. Then I went home and started thinking about it. For me,personally, going straight to hand surgery didnt feel like theright option. There had to be another way. I started researchingtrigger finger.

One of thethings that most interested me from the beginning was the possibleconnection between trigger finger and gout. I had also beenexperiencing pain in my large right toe, and I understood that goutstemmed from an excess of uric acid in the body. I knew enoughabout nutrition to realize my diet contained far too much sugar andfat for my own good.

Over the nextfew weeks, I repeatedly submerged my hand in warm water andmassaged the area where the doctor had explained the incision wouldbe made. I forced myself to do hand exercises, even if it wasnothing more than wiggling my fingers to increase the range ofmotion. As the days passed, the clicking stopped, and the fingerreturned to normal.

One monthlater, however, the same thing happened to the ring finger on myleft hand. Rather than go to the doctor again, I repeated the sameheat, massage, and exercise techniques, and once again,successfully healed the condition. By then, I had learned thattrigger finger happens most often in postmenopausal women. There issome controversy about whether or not certain jobs or activitiesincrease the risk of developing the condition. I knew Id abused myhands for years to master complicated musical passages, and Iwondered if unknowingly Id done this to myself.

Throughout myexperience, I wanted to understand the cause of my trigger finger,and not to opt for a treatment that would either make mesusceptible to a recurrence of the condition or worsen my existingsymptoms.

I wanted tounderstand why this was happening to me. As a result, I discoveredthat there was nothing perplexing about this condition, which canbe linked to numerous causal factors. Some are purely mechanical,but trigger finger can also present as a symptom of a largerdisease, or it can even be a consequence of diet.

Although mytrigger finger has not returned, I have compiled and updated myresearch to help others dealing not only with alleviating theconditions, but truly understanding why it happened in the firstplace.

Joshua LSho

To Yourhealth

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In the simplestterms, a trigger finger occurs when one or more fingers of the hand"stick" or become permanently bent toward the palm. To understandthis more clearly, hold out your hand and extend your thumb andforefinger the way you may have done when you were a childpretending to shoot an imaginary gun. Pull the trigger, andyou'll immediately understand what this condition looks like.