what is the muscle between your thumb and pointer finger

Swelling in my index and long fingers-my swiping fingers-is affecting my ability to fully close my fist. And yes, my dominant hand has taken a beating.

I swiped up, highlighted, bolded, copied, pasted, collated-all of it on a mobile device that fits in one hand, albeit awkwardly. I followed top scientists on Twitter, pored over COVID-19 literature, ordered goods and services, caught up with breaking news, messaged friends, wrote e-mails, composed longer notes and full letters, and of course produced those long reports. Then came the pandemic, which ratcheted up my phone game to staggering new levels. For now, let me just say that this is a patient I know quite well-so well, in fact, that I’m not sure how I didn’t see this coming.įor a decade, I have used my smartphone to hammer out voluminous emergency medicine reports that highlight various medical conditions, which I then share with a broad array of doctors each week, the better to stay on top of important trends and topics in our field. I’ll get to the diagnosis in just a moment. The second and third fingers are slightly swollen. Her middle finger intermittently has a new “catch” to it when bent. Her grip is slightly weakened, and her palm aches. The patient’s right thumb knuckle is inflamed, swollen and often painful, especially toward the end of the day, and the inside part is a little numb. As a longtime emergency department physician, I have a case study I’d like to share with you.

What is the muscle between your thumb and pointer finger