how to recover from ligament or cartilage problem?

[A M Jackson]

I am 60 years old. I am a right hand person.

Around 6 months ago, my left middle finger’s middle joint and bottom joint
around the knuckle areas got painful, particularly in the morning. When I
tried to flex my middle finger, I can feel the joint is bouncing back and
fore like a toggle switch.

In particular, my middle finger cannot fold back to touch my palm, when I am
trying to hold a fist. When I try, it is painful and unable to curl back
much.

My doctor has X ray and blood test for Rheumatoid Arthritis. Everything
tested normal.

I have tried many different physicians, physical therapist, orthopedic
specialist, none offer much. Except one athletic person suggest I have the
“soft bone” problem. This is part of the ligament and cartilage problem.
But he did not offer much for my problem. Can anyone out there offer any
suggestions? Thank you so much.

After 6 months, now my left thumb is start having the same kind of pain too.

[Ed]

Hi,

I'm noone with professional knowledge or skills in medicine (and as
such can
give no warranty for accuracy of the information provided), but
I just happen to know a very similar problem: my father (about your
age) has
the same thing for his pointing finger, and a doctor here in Germany
says it's
a very common thing for people using their hands/fingers intensively,
e.g.
writing a lot, or working on a computer. Here it's called "rapid
finger", just
matching your description of a toggle switch.

The surgeon we talked to said it's caused by a piece of ligament that
has
got a "head" on it, which is getting stuck when you bend your finger.
He
also said it's a trivial operation, takes 20 minutes, is done
ambulatorily and
with a local anaesthesia.

Hope this helps!

Ed