Introduction
The disease of a rapid thumb (medical: Tendovaginosis stenosans) describes a pathological, inflammatory change of a certain tendon of the hand. It falls under the clinical picture of a tendosynovitis and is usually caused by overloading the flexor tendon of the thumb. Overloading causes the tendon to thicken and so-called tendon nodules to form.
These are responsible for a kind of “hanging” of the tendon on a certain ring-shaped ligament. When the thumb is moved, the tendon nodules must be moved through the ligament. Due to the thickened tendon, this can only be achieved with increased force. As soon as the nodules have been moved through the ligament, the phenomenon of the thumb moving quickly occurs.
Causes
Although the cause of a rapid thumb is an inflammation of the tendons, neither bacteria nor viruses are responsible for the occurrence of the disease. Rather, it is an overloading of the flexor tendon of the thumb. A multitude of different activities can trigger such an overload.
These include manual activities as well as playing certain musical instruments. The overloading of the tendon leads to small injuries of the structure and thus triggers an inflammatory reaction of the body. As a result, small nodes form on the tendon, which can increase in size as the disease progresses.
When the thumb is moved, the flexor tendon must be moved through the so-called ligamentum anulare, a ring-shaped ligament. The knots prevent the tendon from moving fluidly through this ligament, resulting in a rapid thumb movement. The thickening of the flexor tendon, which is responsible for a rapid thumb, is usually caused by an inflammatory process.
This can be triggered by overloading, for example. Often, however, autoimmune diseases from the rheumatic group of forms underlie the development of the quickening thumb. The immune system attacks the body’s own cells and thus produces countless centres of inflammation throughout the body.
If the thumb is also affected, the flexor tendon can thicken in an inflammatory way and cause the clinical picture of the accelerating thumb. More about this:
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Rheumatism
A quick thumb is usually not triggered by pregnancy alone. Nevertheless, the symptoms can become noticeable after pregnancy.
In this case there is already damage to the flexor tendon of the thumb. However, these are not necessarily noticeable before pregnancy. During pregnancy, the hormonal balance in the body changes.
Especially towards the end of the pregnancy, the connective tissue in the body becomes somewhat softer and therefore more elastic. Thus a narrowing of the ring ligament at the flexor tendon of the thumb can become looser again. After the birth, the condition of the connective tissue returns to normal, so that the thumb can suddenly become painful.
