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Category

Tenosynovitis

Tenosynovitis is an inflammation of the protective sleeve of tissue surrounding your tendons. Tendons are the cords of tissue that connect muscle to bone. They let your bones move when you move your muscles.

What Is Tenosynovitis?

Tenosynovitis is an inflammation of the protective sleeve of tissue surrounding your tendons. Tendons are the cords of tissue that connect muscle to bone. They let your bones move when you move your muscles. Your tendons are surrounded by a sleeve of tissue called the synovial membrane. This membrane protects your tendons. Tenosynovitis can cause pain and make it hard for you to move your joints.

Tenosynovitis is quite common, but people with certain conditions are much more likely to have it. As much as 20% of people with diabetes and 55% of people with rheumatoid arthritis have it.

Stenosing tenosynovitis

This is the formal term for a condition commonly known as trigger finger or trigger thumb. It's a more severe form of tenosynovitis. The tendons in your finger or thumb get inflamed and lock, preventing you from bending or straightening your digits. You might feel pain or stiffness in your fingers or a lump at the base of the fingers or thumb. The ring finger and thumb are the digits most likely to get stenosing tenosynovitis.

Tenosynovitis Symptoms

Symptoms of tenosynovitis include:

  • Pain, especially when moving the affected body part in a repeated motion, like swinging a hammer or a tennis racquet
  • Swelling at the joint
  • Difficulty moving the affected body part
  • Discoloration along the line of the tendon

When the synovial membrane gets inflamed, fluid can build up and make your symptoms worse. You may feel swelling and in some cases, see it too. The area can get so tender that it hurts even to touch it.

Where It Shows Up

Tenosynovitis can show up in any part of the body that has tendons but is mostly seen in the wrists, hands, and feet.

Tenosynovitis of the wrist

This is a specific type of tenosynovitis called De Quervain’s tenosynovitis. It results from an inflamed tendon at the base of your thumb. You might feel:

  • Pain along the thumb side of the wrist
  • Catching or clicking when you use it
  • Your symptoms typically worsen when you try to squeeze or grab something or turn your wrist