Quincy Reporter

Peggy House recently made a discovery.

“You don’t realize how much you use your thumb,” she said.

It was a painful discovery for this independent and active 67-year-old.

“The thumb on my right hand, my dominant hand, just wasn’t working right. It was snapping out of place, then snapping back into place. It was getting more and more difficult to move.”

“I could not get dressed, open a bottle, turn on a faucet or sew without pain. It interfered with everything.”

Peggy researched her symptoms online, and thought she might be suffering from “Trigger Finger.” It occurs when inflammation narrows the space that surrounds the tendon in the affected finger, leading to the finger getting stuck in a bent position or bending and straightening with a “snapping” sensation — like a trigger being pulled and released.

Her research indicated exercise of the affected finger was the first action to take. If that delivered no relief, a steroid injection was the next commonly suggested step in treatment. If that didn’t work, surgery may be required.

Peggy exercised her thumb. It did not help. She went to a provider near her home in northeast Kansas who suggested surgery as the next option. Based on her research, Peggy declined and asked for a steroid injection. While convinced it would not work, the provider agreed. The injection did not work and Peggy feared surgery was in her future.

A phone call to her daughter changed the future.

One of Peggy’s daughters, Stephanie, worked for Blessing Health at the time. She told her mom about Dr. Matthew Winterton of the Blessing Orthopedics team.

Dr. Winterton completed a fellowship at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago in Hand/Upper Extremity & Microvascular Surgery.

“I truly love helping people get back to living their life,” he said. “I love hand orthopedics because of its complexity. There are so many muscles, nerves, arteries, and veins in the hand, and I love the challenge.”

Stephanie told her mother, “I think getting a second opinion is probably smart.”

Peggy drove the 230 miles to Quincy to see Dr. Winterton.

She found that his advice matched what she had learned during her research.

“He said, ‘In my experience, rarely do you need surgery for Trigger Thumb. You almost always need just a steroid injection,’” Peggy recalled.

She told him the steroid injection she had received in Kansas did not work.

“He said, ‘I think the steroid shot was probably not given in the right location.’”

Dr. Winterton described what Peggy would feel with a proper steroid shot, including an immediate “popping” sensation at the injection site, something she did not feel with her first shot.

He asked if Peggy wanted to try a second steroid shot. She said yes. Immediately she felt the popping sensation Dr. Winterton had described and a level of relief she did not expect so soon.

“Within two days, my thumb was fully functioning and it has never gone back. I have a fully functioning thumb.”

“Truly, Dr. Winterton knew what he was talking about 100%. I am back to active.”

For more information on the care provided by Dr. Winterton and the other members of the Blessing Orthopedics team, go to blessinghealth.org/ortho.

Original source can be found here.