The treatments available for trigger finger depend on how long you have had symptoms, how severe your symptoms are, and what other treatments you have tried. Treatment is most effective when trigger finger is identified and addressed early.

Time and rest

Resting your hand with trigger finger will often help symptoms of mild to moderate trigger finger get better. To rest your hand, your healthcare provider may ask you to avoid certain activities that may make trigger finger worse.

It can take up to 3 months of resting your hand and avoiding certain activities for symptoms to get better.

Steroid injection

Your healthcare provider may refer you for steroid injections.

Steroid injections are very effective at treating trigger finger and can relieve your symptoms permanently. For many people, trigger finger symptoms get better after their first steroid injection. The steroids used to treat trigger finger are very safe and cause minimal side effects.

It may take up to 2 weeks after a steroid injection to notice improvements in your symptoms.

If the first steroid injection is not effective, your healthcare provider may suggest up to 2 more steroid injections per finger or thumb. It is recommended to wait 3 months between steroid injections. You should have no more than 3 steroid injections per finger during your lifetime.

If you have diabetes or more than 1 trigger finger, you are less likely to experience symptom relief from steroid injections.

Splinting

Wearing a splint that supports your fingers or thumbs with trigger finger may improve your symptoms. Talk with your healthcare provider about what type of splint to use and how to wear the splint (while sleeping). You should wear your splint for up to 2 months while sleeping. You can buy trigger finger splints without a prescription at pharmacies or medical supply stores.