I don't do much manual labor, but I developed trigger finger syndrome in my left thumb. One day, I woke up and the area where my thumb meets my palm was incredibly painful. I thought I'd hit something wrong in my sleep and thought it would get better with time, but the pain got worse as the days went by, so I decided this wasn't working and went to an orthopedic surgeon. I thought it was something wrong with my joints. The hospital asked me a question and said it looked like trigger finger syndrome. They also said that with severe pain, they recommend injections to relieve the pain quickly rather than physical therapy. So I got a steroid injection in my palm. It was a very unfamiliar area for injections, so I was a little scared, but the pain was so intense that I closed my eyes and got the shot. For more than half a day after the injection, the injection site felt numb, as if it had been anesthetized. The doctor warned me not to move my hand too much during that time because of the numbness. A day after the injection, the pain was almost completely gone. The stiffness remained, so it took a few days for the sensation to fully return. But I learned that it's better to get the injection than to drag the pain out. If you experience these symptoms, don't just endure them; be sure to go to an orthopedic surgeon and get an injection.
