What Is Trigger Finger? Why Your Finger Catches, Clicks, or Locks

Transcript

Does a finger catch, click, or lock up on you and then pop straight? That is trigger finger. The tendons that bend your fingers slide through snug little tunnels called pulleys. In trigger finger, the tendon thickens or its tunnel narrows, so it catches and then snaps through. That snap is the trigger. You feel the catching or locking when you bend or straighten the finger. There is often a tender lump right at the base of the finger in your palm, and it is usually worst first thing in the morning. Two things surprise people. It has nothing to do with guns. The name comes from the way the finger snaps, like the pull of a trigger, and the trouble spot is down in your palm, not the knuckle that is catching. Most of the time, trigger finger just happens with no clear cause. It is common, it is well understood, and you did not do anything wrong.