Hello all,

I haven't been back here in a long time, so sorry for my delayed response. Trigger thumb is inflammation of the synovial lining of the tendon (tenosynovitis). Often times, "idiopathic" (of unknown cause) inflammatory conditions are multifactorial. The question is: Why is this happening? Most doctors give a textbook answer, but the truth is most don't truly understand it and will attack it with surgery, as a hammer unfortunately only sees nails. Often times surgery works, but is it addressing the root cause?

Stress can trigger an inflammatory response, as can diet, posture, repetitive activities, and allergies. Trigger points often are a good way of attacking the problem starting near the cervical spine and working your way down. Trigger points near the neck and shoulders often cause impingement on nerves and circulation, which can surface much farther away in the body (such as in the fingers, wrists and elbows). With my clients, I had much success using ETPS and massage, and infact I helped a client avoid surgery on bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and bilateral dequervain's. But it is my belief that trigger points are caused by the above factors, such as posture, diet, stress, etc., and without addressing these issues, you are putting out the smoke and not the flame. Ever hear someone talk about how many "knots" they have because they had a rough week?

I would recommend you try to isolate as many variables as you can to see what might affect the problem. You can also search amazon for books on anti-inflammatory diets so that you can avoid certain foods that may or may not trigger your inflammation. What I find interesting is that for many individuals with Rheumatoid Arthritis, they seem to be tremendously helped by dietary changes. Just search on amazon for books on rheumatoid arthritis cure, and then read the reviews.

If your stress levels are high, and even if they aren't, try meditating once per day for fifteen minutes either before you go to bed if you have sleep issues, or when you wake up. Search on Youtube for Vispassana (Mindfulness) Meditation. One of the videos has an outline of an individual sitting in lotus position that I use with all of my clients, as her voice is very calm and serene.

Mindfulness meditation has been studied as being extremely beneficial, and can lead to structural changes in the brain after daily practice for just eight weeks. Qi Gong, as I mentioned before, has helped MANY of my clients with their pain and I would recommend it wholeheartedly. Look for Lee Holden's beginner's guide to Qi Gong DVD, as that is what I recommended to all of my clients.

If none of that helps, then you can try neurofeedback and biofeedback to help with systemic regulation. After having more experience with neurofeedback, I see it as a type of mindfulness meditation that allows a client to hone in on one particular type of brain activity.

The other issue that can be a cause is genetic, which might be the case with you, since you have been diagnosed with poryphia. I don't know anything about porphyria or how it affects the physiology, so unfortunately I can't help you there.

The internet is a great resource for information, but unfortunately there is so much of it that it is hard to sort out the good from the bad. My suggestion for you would be to start by searching on PubMed for peer-reviewed evidence. You can also try to find a forum that specializes in porphyria, as many of the users share what does and what does not work for them. I wish you the best of luck with your condition and will try to check back here more often.

-Jonathan