Trigger finger — advice for adults
Why your finger or thumb clicks and locks, and what you can do to help it settle.
You have trigger finger. A tendon that bends your finger or thumb catches as it moves through a tight tunnel, so the finger clicks, locks or feels stiff — often worse in the morning. It is not dangerous and often settles on its own.
Your care details
To be completed by the team before you leave.
An infection in the tendon sheath of a finger spreads quickly and needs treating within hours, not days.
- The finger becomes red, hot, swollen and very painful, especially along the whole finger
- It hurts sharply when someone gently straightens the finger
- You feel feverish or unwell with it
- New numbness or pins and needles in the finger
- The pain or locking is getting quickly worse
Trigger finger itself is not an emergency. These need reviewing, but not urgently.
- The finger is stuck bent and will not straighten at all
- It is not improving after several weeks of the advice below
- It is stopping you doing your job or everyday tasks
- You want to discuss a splint, a steroid injection, or surgery
Helping it
- Rest from things that bring it on, such as repeated gripping.
- Wear a splint at night to keep the finger straight.
- Do gentle stretches and massage the area.
- Take paracetamol or ibuprofen for a short time if you can take them.
- Most mild cases ease over a few weeks.
If it does not settle
If the clicking, locking or pain carries on or gets worse, see your GP. In many areas you can also refer yourself to a hand or physiotherapy service. Treatments that often help include a steroid injection, or a small operation to release the tight tunnel the tendon runs through. Many people get full relief once treated.