My mother is a cancer patient and was recently diagnosed with trigger finger and hypertrophic osteoarthropathy. For the trigger finger ortho said she has only two options cortisone injection or surgery and prescribed her collagen/glucosamine supplements. Are these said options that ortho suggested waste of time?
For hypertrophic osteoarthropathy rheumatologist basically said she has to live with the pain in the fingers and there is no therapy and is potentially a result of cancer/normal aging.
I made couple of appointments with other orthos/rheumatologist to get a second opinion on her conditions to see where we’ll end up.
Trigger finger can often be managed more conservatively via occupational therapy and occasional local corticosteroid injections, but does occasionally require surgery.
Hypertrophic osteoarthropathy is a complex phenomenon that can be caused by a variety of underlying medical factors, in this case potentially related to cancer. However, typical clubbing of the distal fingers is NOT usually painful, so I’d be curious to know a bit more about her symptoms & exam. Management would depend on whether there is a modifiable inflammatory component to the condition (which a rheumatologist would be able to determine), and likely include occupational therapy regardless. Analgesics (including topical meds like diclofenac gel) can often be helpful in the management of arthritic hand pain.