Two somewhat allied conditions involving the hand and the foot are the so-called lock or trigger-finger and hammer-toe.
LOCK OR TRIGGER-FINGER.
Lock or trigger-finger implies a peculiar obstruction to free movement of the finger, which requires extra effort and then is overcome quickly, as if a knot had been slipped through a small opening. It is supposed to be due to a thickening of the tendon at some point, as by a small fibroma, which becomes entangled along the course of the sheath, through which it is moved with difficulty. It is probably due to a local irritation, as in the case of Dupuytren’s contraction. Injury to the tendon sheath may also produce a similar condition.
Treatment.
—Should it fail to respond to rest and massage the sheath should be opened and the cause of the difficulty sought out and removed.
HAMMER-TOE.
Hammer-toe produces deformity with more or less ankylosis. An angle is formed between the first and second phalanges, and the tip of the toe is made to bear more than its proportion of weight. This deformity is in large degree due to the use of shoes which are too short. In consequence there will develop over the protruding joint a corn or bunion.
Treatment.
—Should the trouble come on in childhood the toes should be fastened to a straight splint and shoes for a time abandoned, while later they should be properly adapted to the needs of the case. In troublesome cases complete excision of the involved joint gives satisfactory results.