Stiff and painful thumb

[strawberryfair]

I had carpal tunnel surgery in December 07 which appeared to have gone well. Since then my wrist has become weak and more recently I developed a trigger thumb in same hand, my right hand. I have had cortisone injection into base of thumb but find now that my thumb will not bend at all and is still quite uncomfortable

[lynn201377]

I'm 37 yrs old and I too have a stiff thumb that won't bend.  I never had surgery. What can I do?  If I force it to bend using my other hand, it hurts bad and takes awhile to straighten out again (it basically pops back straight).

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

Surgery may have a few complications. The granulation tissue that grows after the surgery can produce these symptoms due to pressure effects. The trigger thumb will take some more time to heal. You should take opinion of the physical therapist for some light exercises of the hand. Make sure the carpal tunnel syndrome does not recur.

REgards