This month, Claire over at her Alive & Knitting blog challenged her fellow yarn addicts to do some good for charity during the post-holiday letdown. I felt obliged to jump at the challenge, as I have several dozen afghan squares that members of RWA Online have sent to me that needed to be joined for Warm Up America afghans.
Instead, I find myself on the injured reserved list this month. According to a highly reliable diagnostician (my sister – the woman with enough medical initials behind her name to start her own alphabet) and validated with a few internet searches, I DO NOT have arthritis in my right hand ring finger.
I have a trigger finger. Which, based on the name, you’d think should only be applicable to fingers that are used to pull a trigger like, say, for a weapon. But alas, this is not so and trigger finger can occur in any finger.
For the similarly uneducated (as I was) the esteemed Mayo Clinic website writes:
Trigger finger is a condition in which one of your fingers or your thumb catches in a bent position. Your finger or thumb may straighten with a snap — like a trigger being pulled and released. If trigger finger is severe, your finger may become locked in a bent position.
Often painful, trigger finger is caused by a narrowing of the sheath that surrounds the tendon in the affected finger. People whose work or hobbies require repetitive gripping actions are more susceptible. Trigger finger is also more common in women than in men, and in anyone with diabetes.
Let’s take a look at those last sentences again. ”People whose work or hobbies require repetitve gripping actions are more suseptible. Trigger finger is more common in women than men, and in anyone with diabetes.”
Gee, I suppose gripping a crochet hook or knitting needle would count. Another website mentioned keyboarding as a further irritant, and since I sit in front of a computer all day and half the night, I can see why. And yes, last time I checked, I’m a woman and sigh, also diabetic.
The good news is that it can be fixed. I don’t think I’ll give up my yarns and hooks and needles permanently, but rest a little and see if the inflammation goes down. It’s possible that the misdiagnosis of arthritis means I’ve permanently damaged the tendon, which can cause scarring and require surgery to fix. But, from the number of people who’ve piped up since I’ve figured this out and said either they or someone they know have had it, I’m thinking it’s not going to be forever before I pick up my yarns again.
“Put me in, coach…I’m ready to play today…”
Dan Fogerty, Centerfield
