@A MyBCTeam Member, it does sound like trigger finger. I was told by my physical therapist that it can be caused by radiation because there is a tendon that goes from the hand all the way up the arm and the radiation can cause this tendon to shrink. He said if it shrinks just a fraction (like an 1/8 of an inch) it can cause this. He is having me do these stretching exercises where I put gentle pressure on my hand to pull the fingers backward and then turn the arm down and pull the fingers gently back toward your body. Both these exercises are done with the arm extended straight out. He gave me another one to do with my hand against a wall and twisting the trunk of my body away from the wall while keeping my hand pointed backwards and flat against the wall. You really need a diagram to visualize it. Another one he gave me was to hold both my hands like I was praying and to push away from them to stretch the hands and fingers. These are suppose to be done about three times a day. He said it would not happen overnight, but the idea is to gradually stretch this ligament. It seems to feel somewhat better after I stretch it. I already had a shot of cortisone in my index finger on my operative side. It has really helped. The thing is I had two fingers bothering me and sticking, but the doctor said he would only do one at a time. I had him give the shot to the index finger. I thought my middle finger might get better on it's own, but it still hurts and is stiff so I'm going back on the 9th of Sept. to have a cortisone shot in that finger also, but I will still continue to do the exercises because I don't want it to come back. I was told the cortisone shot doesn't always hold. So I thought if I continued the exercises I would stand a better chance of it not returning. I hope you find help for your problem also. My hand surgeon told me that if this cortisone did not work he could do a simple operation and cut the tendon in his office which would relieve the problem. I'm hoping I don't need to do that. I was told by another doctor that the Anastrazole I'm taking to stop the estrogen can also cause hand problems. Are you taking Arimidex or any other AI?

Mentioned Users

A MyBCTea...

Yes,I did. It was my thumb. After a while, it did go away.

I had it in two fingers before bc and radiation, but since then I got it in both thumbs and three other fingers. I've had to have surgery on three total, with three still triggering... I never made a connection of it worsening after radiation, but now you have me wondering!

The hand that is bothering me is the surgery side. The other one is fine at this point.

Hi @A MyBCTeam Member yeah, I figured it was a combo of overuse and I have lupus as well, so joint issues are a problem, but post radiation it does seem like things worsened a lot - even though I've reduced use tremendously. No, my doc didn't attribute radiation to it, but now that I think about it I only had radiation on one side, and both hands have triggering fingers...

Mentioned Users

A MyBCTea...