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Clicking and pain in my left ring finger. NOT trigger finger?

Posted , 3 users are following.

cmonahan5
cmonahan5

Hi all! So I have been having a problem with my hand since May and two doctors have told me they don't know what is wrong.

So real quick I will give you a background of me and what happened. I am 18 and back in May I guess I "jammed" my finger. I say I guess because I really don't know WHAT exactly happened. My two dogs got into a little fit and when I was separating the two of them I don't know what I did, but I really messed up my finger. After it all happened my hand hurt REALLY REALLY bad. It also started swelling pretty much immediately. I waited a couple days and then went to the ER because I figured maybe I dislocated my finger or something. They did an X-ray and came back and said there was nothing wrong, and probably a sprain so they sent me home with an ace bandage and some ibuprofen. Fast forward to now.

The swelling in my hand has gone away after about two months of not moving it a lot and keeping it wrapped up. But each time I completely straighten (like I am stretching my hand) out, my ring finger makes a clicking noise and kind of pops up. Moving it certain ways, making a fist, putting pressure, pulling, or grasping something wrong hurts extremely bad. I can feel it move down at the base of my finger (like my last knuckle). It has caused a problem for me because it hurts with most normal things that I do. Even typing this is irritating.

So I finally went to an orthopedic and he looked at my hand and X-rays and said he isn't sure what it is and he recommends me to see a hand surgeon.

I did. I drove almost 2 hours each way to see this doctor and heres what happened in a span of 3 different visits.

He suspected trigger finger even though he said certain symptoms were odd. He gave me a cortisone injection into my left ring finger and OMG that was painful. But to be honest that pain from the swelling of the injection was about as bad as my hand felt right after it happened. But sadly that didn't help. So my doctor sent me to get an MRI. With the results of the MRI, he told me that he saw swelling in my finger and that he thinks is in the sheath but said he doesn't know what is causing that. So he told me he was stumped and should see someone who is more of a specialist and gave me a few names. None of them take my insurance.

So I decided to put all of my info out here and see if someone has had something similar happen or knows what might be going on with my finger.

I will also post below the "findings" on my MRI report.

"There is a focus of marrow edema involving the dorsal aspect at the base of proximal phalanx fourth digit and adjacent dorsal aspect head of fourth metacarpal with a focal small cortical invagination of the metacarpal which may be post traumatic in etiology from previous impaction. No discrete fracture or dislocation is appreciated at the fourth digit IP joints pr MCP joint. The flexor and extensor mechanisms and tendons appear intact. No significant sized joint effusions. No significant degenerative or arthritic bony changes are appreciated. Visualized musculature has normal signal. Subcutaneous tissues are intact."

Thanks!!

Casey

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • Labrum2015
    Labrum2015 cmonahan5

    Posted

    You have your age on your side.  If the x-ray showed nothing and the MRI showed nothing...and you have had a direct injection in the metacarpel joint, then aside from going specifically to a hand specialist, you may benefit from just some physical therapy.  If you continue to see specialists and surgeons, eventually someone will decide to operate on you.  I would be very cautious about getting to that point.  If you don't really need it, you may end up being a hand patient the rest of your life.
    • cmonahan5
      cmonahan5 Labrum2015

      Posted

      Thank you for your reply.

      Hand specialist said my mri shows swelling but doesn't know what is causing it. I suppose PT could help although it hurts just moving it. I was told to try going to a hand specialist with more experience or to just kind of deal with it. Trying one last doctor and hoping he can at least figure out what is wrong.

      Thanks again

  • 79Stark
    79Stark cmonahan5

    Posted

    Well I'm not a Dr however you may have some of the same problems I have had.... A few years ago I suddenly developed severe pain in my right hand where my middle finger attaches to my hand... It swelled up and hurt like hell... Dr claimed it was tendonitis and trigger finger... I had gone through many months of physical therapy and eventually had the trigger finger release surgery..followed by more P.T... Sadly nothing worked other than rest therefore I now have a permanent 5on repetitive grasp restriction which ultimately resulted in me lossing my job. I also suffure from excruciating neck pain which they claim I'm stuck with for life.. I have had a disc replacement and have arthritis and bone spurs and suffure with the pain and uncontrollable finger twitches that sometimes last for days or weeks at a time. I also seen to have strange pelvic calcification.. It seems no one can help me... Maybe you can shed some light on my medical mysteries...at the very least you can feel a bit better knowing you are not alone...

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