P. Sze 
Trigger finger is a situation no one prays for because it hurts badly. But if you work with your fingers for a long time, you have to expect trigger finger. The good news is, you don’t need to see a doctor once it comes if you know the two vital acupressure points for trigger finger that you can massage.
Trigger Finger is a situation where one or more fingers is/are locked in either the flex or open position. Clinically, it is referred to as stenosing tenosynovitis and is caused by the inflammation of the tendons of the flexor muscles of the fingers or the muscles that enable the finger to bend into a fist.
It happens mostly to writers, pianists, and farmers, but it is generally one of the most common causes of hand pain. Trigger finger is prevalent with 2% of the general population, and research shows that the situation rises to 17% in patients with diabetes.
You can treat trigger finger with modern medicine, which involves corticosteroid injection (with a 57% success rate), percutaneous needle release (with a 100% success rate), and open surgical release (with a 100% success rate).
Acupressure for trigger finger also has a high success rate and is cost and time effective than modern medicine. I’ll show you in this article the trigger finger acupuncture points to massage at home to relieve you of the situation and save you cost.
Does Acupuncture Work For Trigger Finger?
Yes, acupuncture works for trigger finger. Research by Pubmed shows that acupuncture can reduce inflammation or swelling of the synovial membrane of the tendon sheath and be an effective treatment for trigger finger. In this research, acupuncture was performed on 19 fingers of 15 patients, and treatments were given to these patients five times daily. Before and after each treatment, the researchers evaluated pain during snapping and the severity of snapping using a visual analog scale (VAS).
The results showed that VAS scores for pain and snapping severity were significantly improved immediately after the first treatment (p<0.001). Also, pain during snapping, which was assessed before each treatment, improved over time and reached a statistical significance from the second treatment onwards (p<0.001). This shows that acupuncture is indeed as reliable as modern medicine when it comes to the treatment of trigger finger, and massaging the acupressure points for trigger finger will relieve you of this medical condition without having to see a doctor.
Acupressure Points For Trigger Finger
Now that you know that acupuncture can work for trigger finger, let me show you the trigger finger acupressure points to pay attention to.
1. Acupoint: PC-7 (Other Names: Pericardium-7/Da Ling/Great Mound)
Acupoint PC-7 in traditional Chinese medicine is called Daling, which translates to Great Hill in English. It is located in the center of the transverse crease of the wrist. You’ll find it between two tendons – m.palmaris longus and m.flexor carpi radialis.
The Great Hill is the Yuan-Source point of the Pericardium Meridian, which implies that it is one of the sites where the Yuan (Primary) qi of the Zang-Fu organs passes and stays. Therefore, applying acupuncture on this trigger finger acupressure point will stimulate the vital energy of the regular meridians, regulate the functional activities of the internal organs, strengthen antipathogenic factors, and get rid of pathogenic factors.
While PC-7 is an acupressure point for trigger finger, it is also clinically used to treat cardiac pain, palpitation, pain in the chest and hypochondrium, Gastric pain, and Pain of the heel. PC-7 acupuncture point can also reduce bad breath and insomnia.
2. Acupoint: TE-3 (Other Names: Triple Energizer-3/Zhong Zhu/Central Islet)
TE-3 is another acupressure point that serves as a treatment for trigger finger. In Chinese, it is referred to as Zhong Zhu, which translates to Central Islet in English. It is located in the groove that the tendons of the 4th and 5th fingers form, at the back of the knuckles.
This acupressure point for trigger finger is also used in the clinic to treat temporal headaches, shoulder and neck tension, and upper back pain. Research even shows that the stimulation of acupuncture point TE-3, as shown in a functional MRI scan, can be used to excite the frontal and temporal lobes and even the occipital lobe and the cerebellum.
TE-3 is also one of the eustachian tube pressure points that you can use to treat congested ears.
To activate this acupressure point for trigger finger, first locate the point in the groove, then use deep, firm pressure to massage and stimulate the area. Do this for 4-5 seconds.
Is Hot Or Cold Better For Trigger Finger?
You can apply either heat or ice to reduce the swelling of trigger finger. However, placing your hand in warm water several times throughout the day will relax the tendons and muscles in your fingers and hand. So, you can soak both hands and/or legs into the warm water and gently move and stretch the affected area until the water cools off. Do this every day before you sleep.
Should You Rest Or Exercise Trigger Finger?
Trigger finger gets better when you rest, splint the finger, or use OTC medications. However, you can apply gentle stretching exercises to ease the stiffness of the finger and increase the range of motion in the affected hand.
