Effective Natural Remedies for Trigger Finger Relief

I took the suggestion to try bromelain for my trigger finger. It has been 2 months. I am very pleased and the healing continues. I ran out about 10 days ago and my finger locked for the first time in weeks....only once. The flexibility and stiffness and inflammation are much improved. It takes a little time...but it works.

My advice is DO NOT GET SURGERY. This was the biggest mistake of my life as my left hand is my only usable hand. They don't tell you of the possible serious ramifications afterwards. It's been almost 3 months now and although the trigger finger I believe has subsided, the pain has increased and now I have different pain issue's and swelling that hampers it's use. I was better off with the trigger finger. Now my other finger on the opposite hand is beginning the same symptoms. But I can tell you for sure, no more trigger finger surgeries for me. My advice folks, do your research before committing to surgery.

Yes, surgery does work each time for the current problem . My spouse has had multiple fingers operated on and had the ulnar nerve from the elbow moved over. Now many years later those same fingers are starting to trigger again. He won't try any natural cures to get to the root of the problem, so now he will need more surgery. As his wife, I hate to see him keep getting cut instead of looking for the cause of the problem. I call this the tip of the iceberg and it is stressful that the medical community is scratching the surface and not finding any permanent solutions. I guess it makes a lot of jobs for the medical community.

DMSO mixed with Milk of Magnesia put on tendons of fingers works fast. Mix about 15 drops of dmso and 5 drops MOM in a glass cup. The use cotton ball to apply to area (s), include wrist and back of hand. In less than 5 minutes, the pain was gone. I also drank 2 tbsp of MOM to get magnesium internally. I hope it helps someone else.

Re the finger pain from trigger finger.

I've had two episodes with cyst formation in joint area at base of hand and finger and I diluted DMSO fifty-fifty with purified water (May have used colloidal silver)...and wrapped with white paper towel. Left as a poultice for thirty minutes. Cyst (or whatever it was disappeared). Also have used DMSO (capful) many times over twenty years if hands begin to get "tight" and a bit hard to grip. Works every time.

I do this capful on fingers and joints once every three or four months now just as precaution.

Trying massaging with magnesium oil. That will not give you diarrhea.

Margaret, with regard to the ACV I have two sharings: first, in spite of the efficacy of ACV, Blood Type A people do not do well on Vinegar, including ACV [see Eat Right for Your Type by D'Adamo].

However, w/ regard to acidity please remember that its not the acidity of what goes into the body but what happens when the body processes it [burns, oxidizes, or whatever you wish to call it] and the sah it deposits. Many acidic things like Lemons create strong alkalinity, thus negating acidity.

Finally, many parasites [Candida for example] generate acid systems.

Best, Nutricon Wm, Colorado

Bromelain IS THE CURE for trigger finger. I have had considerable pain in my left thumb for over a year, could not bend it at all, and was postponing an opperation, since none of the numerous steroid pills I was given was of any help. I read about Bromelain, and took 3 pills a day, for about one month, almost completely cured my finger, no pain, I can almost bend fully. I will keep taking it.

Months ago had Trigger Finger problem in my right thumb. I followed Ted's remedies from Earth Clinic and other remedies from the same website. I really improved when I started taking Fish oil and sometimes Cod liver oil, as well as eating more salmon, fish, fruits, and vegetables, and tried not to do much work with that hand with the injured thumb. Also, the exercises with a small ball that I got at the Academy store did help me. The ball is similar to the ones used to release stress. My thumb is a 90% better since the problem started. Now can move it very well..

I do not recommend surgery, found out that surgery is not the best option. I encourage you to be patient.

I thank God for you all who shared the information on the Trigger finger at Earth Clinic.

I went to a chiropractor in Astoria NY. The ganglion cyst was on my right hand between the wrist and the hand. All he did was massage the wrist part and said he was going to make my body parts talking to each other. In one day the cyst diminished by 50 percent. In one week it was gone. He said there is a disconnect due to overuse of the wrist and hand. Now I am developing trigger finger in my pinky on right hand and finger in left hand next to ring finger. I am taping them and ill start taking magnesium malate and vitamin c. Hopefully I'll see results.

Pamela:

Have you tried anything from this site's Arthritis section here?:

https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/arthritis.html

Not mentioned under that section is Niacinamide, the amide form of Vitamin B3. (I'm assuming it's arthritis you have, since trigger finger is almost never accompanied by many swollen painful knuckle joints! )

Once again, to one of Dr. Pauling's legacy sites:
http://www.orthomolecular.org/

Click on "Search" in the molecule picture there. Type in "Niacinamide Kaufman arthritis" into the search query box.

This first one looks to be the best info and detail:
The Pioneering Work of William Kaufman: Arthritis and ADHD
http://www.orthomolecular.org/library/jom/2003/pdf/2003-v18n01-p029.pdf

From Page 3:
"The (more frequent) 250 mg dose of niacinamide is 40 to 50% more effective in the treatment of arthritis than the (less frequent) 500 mg. Dose. In my 1955 paper (The use of vitamin therapy to reverse certain concomitants of aging. J Amer Geriatric Soc. 3:927-936) I noted that niacinamide (alone or combined with other vitamins) in a thousand patient-years of use has caused no adverse side effects. Please keep in mind niacinamide is a systemic therapeutic agent. It measurably improves joint mobility, muscle strength, decreases fatiguability. It increases maximal muscle working capacity, reduces or completely eliminates arthritic joint pain. Some joints are so injured by the arthritic process that no amount of niacinamide therapy will cause improvement in joint mobility, ...

Interesting tidbit here:
http://www.orthomolecular.org/library/jom/1997/articles/1997-v12n04-p195.shtml

Kaufmann was a very careful observer and showed clearly the significant therapeutic value of niacinamide. But 1949 was not the right year for such reports, for the wonder drug, cortisone, had just been found to rapidly relieve the symptoms of arthritis. Dr. Hench, who had done the basic work, received a Nobel prize and Merck and Company held the patents. There was a tremendous display of publicity about these wonder drugs and they became the standard for all the arthritides. The fact that cortisones do not help very much was discovered later in England when they were compared with aspirin in the first ever double blind experiments. Aspirin proved equally as effective. Also cortisone and ACTH made many patients psychotic. Dr. Kaufman's 1949 published book 'The Common Form of Joint Dysfunction' is even now still available in places on the net.

http://www.doctoryourself.com/JOM1.html

DOSAGE:Niacinamide is water soluble and has a half-life of 90 minutes I. E. The amount left unmetabolized in the body drops in half every 90 minutes. This explains the divided doses. That daily dosage is divided into equal doses for ingestion every 2-3 waking hours waking.

DOSAGE:
http://www.doctoryourself.com/kaufman5.html

Usually adequate in moderate joint dysfunction was the continuous ingestion of 150 mg niacinamide administered every 3 hours for 6 daily doses (900 mg/24 hours). In extremely severe and severe grades of joint dysfunction, 100-150 mg niacinamide were prescribed every hour (1500-2250 mg/24 hours), every hour and a half (1110-1650 mg./24 hours), or every two hours (800-1200 mg/24 hours), depending on the severity of the joint dysfunction, the more frequent schedule being used in more severe cases (97) (51). It has been found in the treatment of joint dysfunction that the manner in which the daily dosage of niacinamide is divided has an important bearing on the the therapeutic results achieved; e. G. , 300 mg niacinamide given three times daily (900 mg/24 hours) is inferior in its therapeutic action to 150 mg niacinamide administered every 3 hours for 6 daily doses (900 mg/24 hours).

I have been having a problem this winter from Trigger finger & pain. I wondered one day if it was the orange I was having each evening to try & stay out of junk food. Your post confimred I am not the only one. I never could take Vit.C either until I came across a type that is made from Sago palm. I used to work in a health food store & many people have the same sensitivity as you & I. Thanks again

Dear Ted, I am so thrilled on the response for lecithin. I have been taking two T of lecithin each morning and evining mixed in eight ounces of water. The results for trigger finger have been impressive. I had this affliction for over a year now and no matter what I tried it was anathema. Since I began the lecithin the snapping on my ring finger is 95 percent healed. I am positive that it must have been the tap water and eating food cooked in aluminum ware. I had to eat at restaurants for a couple of months since my house was in the proccess of renovations. I have now cleaned up my act and I do all the cooking at home. I also bring my brown bag of salads and casseroles to work. I also began adding ground up chia seeds to all my foods on Jan 24 2009 and I have seen a tremendous change in my overall health.

I am grateful to earthclinic and you for all the wonderful remedies we are sharing. This is sharing agape (love).

Well here we go again. I found my 2012 post about trigger of the thumb I did finally go for the cortisone shot and it worked like a dream no new problems except now it is in the third finger from too much mouse and tool gripping (floral design) lots of pain more afraid of a shot there..trying the tape method.. dehydration probably causes all of these problems.. I am trying B-6, taping with blue tape splint at night, more water. I am grateful for all the posts here because each one is helpful thank you Earth Clinic anything to avoid surgery and shots but the cortisone shot at the base of the thumb really did the trick.. this is so common and painful my diet is even better than ever but something caused this..wonder if it's too much calcium? By the way the very best magnesium imo is Derma-Mag a topical liquid form that is absorbed thru the skin Highly recommended..These fish oils have vitamin E (soybean oil) as a preservative and very very allergic and dont want hormone disrupters which soy is

Yesterday after a nap my right 3rd finger was stuck closed. Helped it open with my other hand; it hurt like crazy, even when rubbing it. Came to EC, read about the bromelain. Took 1 capsule and an hour later, I realized the symptoms were gone. This is the 3rd time this has happened in about 3 months. I applied castor oil with frankincense which helped a bit – the pain and stiffness lasted about 3 days – but the bromelain was amazing!

Hi, I'm so glad I saw your note. I have trigger finger on and off lately, I'm 53 and it started a couple years ago. I haven't had trigger finger in a long time but it came back today and I had 2 small oranges yesterday, for the first time in weeks. Thanks so much, I would have never made the connection myself.

How many mg did you take of the bromelain for the trigger finger?

I put a large band aid around my finger at night as a splint and my finger seems to be healing. I sleep with it on all night to prevent my finger from being stuck in the morning thanks for the tip.

I wanted to respond to this because I was the one that used the oregano oil and sesame oil. Since the recovery of the trigger finger, I try to keep an alkalinizing diet too and it is not uncommon for me to take MSM. rheumatoid arthritis runs in the family and I start feeling my joints start to hurt. When I direct my diet towards alkalinizing and take good oils and MSM...the joint pain goes away.

Gayle You are so clever. I have trigger thumb as well and all in splints and driving me crazy. Did the band aid method and it feel so much better now. Thank you Gayle.

People with trigger thumbs try it, it works.

I started getting the pain and 'clicking' in my thumb 2 years ago. Doctor recommended surgery.

My thumb was to the point that I could no longer move it without excruciating pain.

I started taking a couple of teaspoons of sesame oil each day orally for another issue I was battling and started noticing the pain going away on my thumb and getting mobility back. It felt 100% cured. A few weeks ago, it started to stiffen again, I took the sesame oil again, and it stopped again. Never read about this, it just happened.

P.S.

I was taking some oral oregano also at the time, but not for as long as the sesame, but wanted to mention in case it had helped a little also.

Be sure to eat a little something before if you use the oregano oil mix. It can be hard on some people's stomachs...and start with one drop and work your way up. Never take pure oregano oil straight, it will burn like crazy.

I did 5 drops pure oregano oil and 2 teaspoons sesame oil in 1/4 cup warm water. I was doing this for a while and then switched to just the sesame oil.

From personal experience, I am also a huge advocate for raw foods for any ailments, staying alkaline and MSM and turmeric for arthritic symptoms.

I strongly encourage you to not seek out surgery. Seek wisdom. Your body was created to heal, you just have to feed it with the things it needs to do its job and cleanse from things you shouldn't have fed it. It is a wonderful machine that was created to run on certain things. Provide it the right tools to do it's job.

I know B-6 helps trigger finger and this is interesting by Eric Berg on Trigger finger:

How to Get Rid of Trigger Finger Pain | Dr.Berg - YouTube

This is for Dave who recommended the DMSO.. here I am again from floral design clipper use with the nasty trigger finger! Got a cortisone shot because I couldn't stand it.. worked for two months .. back again.. I just applied magnesium Derma Mag (the best) topical and DMSO! In dark glass bottle only! And my pain is GONE I know it will return but for now GONE I am also taking serrate, Turmeric, someone suggested evening Primrose Oil and I will try essential oil which I don't know yet. I also tape the base of the thumb. Possibly too much calcium does cause this or two much protein from Protein drinks I am doing lately think also big thing is dehydration.. the Book The Water Cure states all disease is from lack of sufficient water.. No one is talking about having had the surgery and if it worked. If it works and you're done with this condition after wouldn't that make sense? However I always try natural methods and most work..

Thank you Dave for reminding me to use DMSO and magnesium Must do all the rest too and reduce acidity by taking PH balancers..

Hello Toourlady89;

Thank you so much for your break down of various magnesiums. You define four of them; the one I take orally is Mag citrate. I have another that is Mag carbonate. Epsom Salts is Mag sulfate. You discuss the last one as a laxative but I use that for Mag/Salts baths too. Is that your understanding? That one is the best to use for baths... Sulfate (Epsom salts) and the Mag Oil (so called) best for topical application is Mag chloride, and you mention chelated Mag Glycinate for oral and say to avoid the one in stores which you say is Mag Oxide.

OK. Now is Mag Oxide Epsom salts? Isn't that Mag Sulfate which is Epsom salts? That's what's in the stores or do you equate Oxide with Sulfate.

And is the kind you orally take .... Glycinate... Is that close to Mag Citrate?

Your break out helped. I do need to get clarified some more... Not your fault... Mine. I need a list; something like:

Mag a .... does x

Mag b .....does y

Mag c .... Does z

Mag d .... What ever you do don't take Mag d, cause it's been known to cause third generation mice to lose their tails!!!!

I've thought that Mag in its various forms are basically the same thing; formulated or compounded differently but with the same chemical effect. And the point is if you take or ingest in any way (baths with Sulfate or swallow in citrate) you're still getting the magnesium.

If someone would disabuse me of the above idea; is that previous paragraph a misconception?

It's just that we see in the discussions of Magnesium particular Mags are mentioned and I'm always wondering if they are actually specialty or are they in essence fungible? (I mean interchangable and really the same for all practical purposes.)

Thanks for helping,

Dave

(You know I really should be more careful; inserting bits of humor ... Next thing you know... All over social media and suddenly on the national news: Flash: Magnesium causes tail loss... Take with caution... FDA begins investigation.)

Try magnesium without calcium for awhile and see if it helps.

I cured a middle finger trigger by limiting movement of the digit, icing for 10 - 15 minutes several times a day and doing deep massage of the muscles in the forearm that work the fingers. When I focused on the muscles for the middle finger they were very tight and painful, perhaps from spasm. I broke the spasm with pressure and massaged the muscle further. In a month or two pain, swelling and locking were gone in this instance. I am careful now to use a padded bicycling glove to protect the tendons in the palm when I garden, rake and do repairs at my house. I am careful to not make repetitive grips that tax the fingers.

Bull, I take anti-inflammatories daily for arthritis and am currently dealing with trigger finger on the pointer & middle fingers of both hands. I take Cod/Borage/Flax oil supplement 2x daily for years, take a vitamin B complex every other day and am in horrible pain right now at age 49. I have already had Carpal Tunnel surgeries on both hands years ago, that was a "Godsend" and trigger thumb release years ago on the right hand. Started B6 for left trigger thumb which helped immenensly, but the switched to B complex & it is not helping with the fingers at all. Tried Tumeric and got a nice two weeks of constant constipation and nice hemmorioids for it. BTW, Tumeric is a great anti-diarrhea med. Use it now instead of Immodium in our house. I have had cortisone epidural injections that helped Sciatica in both legs for 100% relief, yet it never helped my Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Think I'll try the Cortisone for the trigger fingers. I hardly eat Citrus and recently discovered that drinking unsweetened Ice Tea with real lemon gives me nighttime leg cramps, I've been expermenting occasionally with limited exposure to Iced Tea w/without lemon and am not having leg cramps. I beileve it may be the lemon? Tired of my body being out of whack, need a Chemical Exorcist!!

I have had my second bout with trigger thumb. The first time I had a cortisone shot which after two weeks resolved the problem. My doctor didn't seem to think it would work and thought that I would probably have to have surgery to resolve it, but I was also taking MSM which I think helped tremendously. However, this second time around, the MSM has not worked. I really didn't want another cortisone treatment and have tried both exercises and other herbal treatments without success. Two weeks ago, I got an intestinal virus which I took colloidal silver for and noticed that my thumb was doing better, but I thought that it was finally starting to go away on it's own until yesterday morning. I woke up in a lot of pain, my thumb was swollen and red and hot to the touch. That's when I realized that it was an infection of some sort. Since I hadn't cut my thumb I was pretty sure that the infection was not bacterial, and had a strong suspicion that it was a yeast infection. Which explains why it had reoccured and why some people are having success with garlic as it has antifungul properties.

So I started taking colloidal silver, a tablespoon every few hours, letting it sit under my tongue as long as possible for quicker absorption. I also rubbed horipito extract on the swollen area before going to bed and kept a hotpack on it through the night. This morning, the swelling and redness, and most of the pain had subsided. Through the last two days, I have also rubbed in an arnica cream. By this evening, I was able to bend my thumb without a lot of pain or snapping, and I haven't been able to do this for the last six weeks. I plan on continuing the same treatment using the horipito and silver in the same amounts for at least the next two to three days. Then I will reduce the amount of colloidal silver to a tablespoon in the morning and one in the evening until I am absolutely sure that the infection is gone. In all honesty, I am absolutely amazed how quickly this is working for me.

Hi Pam, If I were you I would research Turmeric and Boron. I can't explain why, or how they work, but there are some excellent articles on here re Turmeric, and on the web re Boron. They are both working for me. I used to wake in the morning feeling like someone had slammed my hand in a door... It is truly amazing to awaken to no pain in my hands. I literally lay in bed first thing in the morning just making fists in disbelief - it is still shocking. I take 1/4 tsp of turmeric a day in my tea with VCO (virgin coconut oil) and one 3mg boron (chelated - dont know if that matters or not) a day. I hope you find your answer! Carly

I also had carpal tunnel release 3 mos. ago and I have developed trigger finger in multiple fingers on both hands. The problem seems to be predominately in my thumbs and varies in severity in my ring and pointer fingers. This is the worst in the morning upon waking, to the point of very limited use of my hands. I had lived with carpal tunnel for 18 years before getting the surgery which helped with the major nerve burning and vascular restriction. It's frustrating to now have a new problem arise. I'm going to try Ted's recommendations and follow up soon. Thanks, it helps to know I'm not alone.

TRIGGER FINGER - PINKY

I just came across this website and I am glad to read that there are people out there exploring other options than injections and surgery. I just got TF about a week ago from playing golf. My doctor thinks that playing golf (strong grip/hand position) might have triggered the TF but I believe it was years of typing on the laptop's keyboard.

It is definitely annoying feeling the clicking in my pinky everytime i grab something with any pressure. Nonetheless, I completed one session of acupuncture and the pain has subsided quite a bit. The clicking is still there but with less pain.

So far, its been about a week w/o any golf and looking forward to another acupuncture treatment.

Bandaids cured my trigger finger. I kept a bandaid wrapped where my thumb bends, keeping it straight and unable to bend for (2 to 3) months and I was cured. I believe trigger finger flares up by using the flex motion too much and letting it heal and not being used (such as carpal tunnell) lets the joint relax.

I agree with Gayle's bandaid method. I wore a splint on my finger for a long time to keep it from bending and it has cured my trigger finger in the past. When I have not been able to wear it though because it got in the way, I noticed a significant increase in the swelling and pain when my finger was able to bend. Gayle's idea of a bandaid is much better than a splint because it is a lot less cumbersome and can virtually be worn at all times.

I have been doing this for about 1 week and my finger feel much better. I have been using 2 inch blue tape and only change it a few times a day due to water.

Correlation does not imply causation. I highly recommend distilled water. Please do not go back to your municipal supply. I've provided a few links that will hopefully clarify some of the misnomers behind distilled water and reasons why people should be drinking it.

Tap water analysis- Three reason why I drink distilled water https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7d2Q4ONZJM

Distilled water - What doctors and people say https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27Xqfz5wZY8&t=696s

"Fluoride: Poison on tap" https://www.vissestormdds.com/news/44-fluoride-poison-on-tap-full-documentary

People should get their minerals from food, not water.