Finger Injuries and Disorders

You use your fingers and thumbs to do everything from grasping objects to playing musical instruments to typing on a keyboard. When there is something wrong with them, it can make life difficult. Common problems include

• Injuries that result in fractures, ruptured ligaments and dislocations
• Osteoarthritis - wear-and-tear arthritis, which can also cause deformity
• Tendinitis - irritation of the tendons
• Dupuytren's contracture - a hereditary thickening of the tough tissue that lies just below the skin of your palm, which causes the fingers to stiffen and bend
• Trigger finger - an irritation of the sheath that surrounds the flexor tendons, sometimes causing the tendon to catch and release like a trigger