• Alan has completed the new Pain Recovery Program. To read or share it, use this updated link: https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/painrecovery/
  • Welcome to the new TMS Wiki server! Things aren't finished yet: email is not set up, so notification and password-reset emails don't go out, and new registrations are paused until email is installed. Details and updates are in this thread (click here). Locked out? Email tmswikisignups@gmail.com from the address where you receive TMS Wiki notifications.

Clicking in thumb IP joint

B

benjsteger

Peer Supporter
My thumb joint (IP joint-- the middle one after your knuckle) clicks, grinds, and pops whenever I bend it down. This is my last TMS symptom!! It goes away if I rub below it, or if I rest long enough, but always comes back. I've had tension and cracking in my neck that has gone away with doing the work. This last one is my most elusive. I just have a hard time believing it's TMS! Though a part of me knows it is. I even had surgery on the A1 pulley because the MD diagnosed it as 'trigger thumb' bc of the clicking noise. Well, the surgery didn't work, and it's still clicking in the IP joint the same way as before. My theory, if it is TMS, is that my forearm and hand muscles are unconsciously clenched or tense, which somehow is causing friction on the tendon. The friction then causes the clicking in that joint as a point of least resistance. Now I'm healing from the surgery ( 7 weeks out) + the original TMS symptom. Have other people worked through this symptom and actually gotten it to go away fully? That would give me the greatest of confidence!

My evidence list

  1. Came on without an injury

  2. Steroid injections and surgery did not fix the issue, if its structural then it would have been fixed. Since its TMS, and caused by my brain no physical treatment will help it.

  3. It came on during a very stressful time. I remember being on the couch, after freaking out after withdrawal from buspar and my foot pain. Only then did it start clicking.

  4. I have had other tension-based issues, especially on my right side, like jaw pain, neck tightness, cracking, and pain. I was able to get them to go away without any physical treatment just by relaxing, not testing, and trusting my body and having BELIEF in TMS.

  5. The more worried and testing I do around it, the worse the clicking and pain gets

  6. When I did get the steroid injection and told myself, “Im going to just let this do whatever, while I live my life.” That is the only time I really saw improvement before surgery. Then once i started monitoring and testing, paying attention ETC, thats when it started clicking more again, even though nothing changed physically.

  7. I still was able to do everything I wanted, like gaming, etc.

  8. When my thumb cracks, the grinding completely goes away. If it was structural and not stress-induced, it would be more consistent and not come and go.

  9. After the surgery and rest, I stopped experiencing the symptoms (not cracking anymore after use, less grinding) for some time, even though now I still am experiencing it the same way. The swelling has gone down, and my symptoms have actually gotten worse because my muscles are tightening back up again, as the placebo wears off.
 
Hi @benjsteger,

It's understandable to want to hear from someone with the exact same symptom who's recovered—it can feel reassuring. But needing to find an exact match before you can fully believe it's TMS can also keep your attention locked onto the symptom itself and perpetuate the TMS cycle.

The bigger question is: why couldn't your thumb issue be TMS? You've already seen your brain create other symptoms that improved without physical treatment, and your own evidence list points in the same direction. If you accept that the brain can produce a wide range of symptoms in different parts of the body, then you don't actually need to find someone whose thumb used to be painful and click in the same way.

Since you're probably not planning on more surgery right now (and having followed any post surgery instructions you have been given by your surgeon regarding the care of your thumb) you can choose the mindset of living your life as fully as possible despite the discomfort. Instead of asking, "Why does it still click?" try asking yourself, "What if this is just my brain's last stubborn protection pattern—or even its last hurrah before it lets go—and the clicking is simply how it shows up while I'm paying attention to it?"

Whether it clicks a little, a lot, or not at all on any given day doesn't have to determine what you do. You've already seen with your neck and jaw that things improved (I surmise probably gradually and not in a linear fashion) when you generally stopped monitoring and got back to living your life. Your thumb doesn't necessarily need a different approach or come under a different set of rules.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top