Question
I went to a orthepedic dr today because my thumb is locking on me and he told me I have trigger finger release. He said the only thing that would help is surgery. I've been doing some research on this. The surgery doesn't sound bad but it says to keep the hand dry 8-10 days and easy on the hand 6-10 weeks. I clean for a living so I can't do this and I can't afford to take off work as I just came back from a hysterectory. Will a chiropractor be able to help with this problem? Also my research mentioned cortosine shot. Any information would be greatly appreciated  Margie

Answer
It is possible that some chiropractic manipulation of the hand and wrist and neck could help---maybe one chance in 3 or 4---but given the alternatives it might be worth a try.  If it does help, you should feel some change within the first couple of visits, although more treatment would probably be needed if it is helping.

Possibly an aggressive anti-inflammatory diet and supplements might help---eating mostly fresh fruit and vegetables and coldwater fish and avoiding all refined foods (sugar, white flour) and keeping even whole carbohydrates to a minimum, plus taking fish oil, flax seed oil, Vit E, and glucosamine sulfate.  See www.stopinflammation.com for more info.

A cortisone shot, if it helps, would be better than surgery, but cortisone works by suppressing inflammation so the above could be a safer and more lasting approach with many other positive side effects.