Trigger Finger Causes:

Most clinicians believe that the disorder is caused by the tendon sheath because it becomes thickened or swollen and pinches the tendon and prevents it from gliding smoothly. But common sense reveals that the history of patients suffering with Trigger Finger have one common denominator, overuse, excessive use and/or abuse of the hands from work and recreational activities.

Trigger Finger is usually (not always) the result of direct injury to the tendon via micro-tears resulting from direct and sudden trauma or tasks that required repetitive use of the hands over long periods of time. And as the body attempts to heal itself causes the formation of scar tissue / fibrotic adhesion, and the swelling of the tendon sheath is a secondary injury caused by friction between the adhesion and the tendon sheath as the finger is flexed and extended. This friction causes irritation, swelling, and inflammation to both the adhesion on the tendon and to the tendon sheath, thus resulting in a perpetual cyclic injury, starting with the adhesion on the tendon, then the adhesion irritates the sheath, then the sheath swells and pinches down more so it irritates the adhesion even more, and continuing to go back and forth again and again with both the tendon and its sheath contributing to the cause-effect of Trigger Finger.

*Other contributors/factors of Trigger Finger are Rheumatoid Arthritis, partial tendon lacerations, repeated trauma from pistol gripped power tools, or long hours grasping a steering wheel.

Trigger Finger may also be caused by an infection of the synovium, resulting in the scarring and formation of a nodule on the tendon. Trigger Finger can also be caused by a congenital defect that forms a nodule inside of the tendon. The condition is not usually noticeable until the infant begins to use its hands.