27 Causes of Finger Pain and How to Get Relief

Finger pain has many possible causes. The most common are accidental injuries, overuse injuries, and arthritis. However, numerous hand-related and body-wide health conditions can lead to finger pain, including Dupuytren’s contracture, trigger finger, ganglion cysts, infections, autoimmune diseases, and peripheral neuropathy.

Acute Injuries

The fingers are vulnerable to acute (sudden) injuries, whether due to a fall or during athletic and work injuries.

Some of the more common injuries include:

• Finger fractures: Broken finger bones may result from a crush injury, fall, or striking a hard object.
• Dislocation: The joint is dislocated when one of the bones is pushed out of place.
• Sprains: Sprains occur when ligaments are overstretched, partially torn, or ruptured (completely torn).
• Strains: Strains are when muscles and tendons are overstretched, partially torn, or ruptured.
• Acute compartment syndrome: Though rare in fingers, severe swelling and pressure may develop after a crush injury or severe fracture. Compartment syndrome is a medical emergency needing immediate attention.

Icing an injury several times daily for the first day or two helps reduce inflammation. Minor injuries may heal with activity changes, splinting, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and physical therapy. Severe cases may require surgery.

Overuse Injuries

Overuse injuries (repetitive strain injuries) are one of the top causes of finger pain. These injuries develop gradually as you frequently repeat the same movements.

The ongoing stress causes small tears and inflammation in the soft tissues. Without treatment, a minor overuse injury can turn into a full-blown tissue tear.

The conditions listed below can also be caused by an acute injury and diseases like diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and infections. However, they're most often the result of an overuse injury.

• Tendonitis: Your tendons may become inflamed through overstretching (a strain) and overuse. Pain primarily occurs when moving or putting pressure on the affected finger. You may also have swelling and a lump at the base of the finger.
• De Quervain’s tenosynovitis: This condition causes swelling in the sheath surrounding the tendons that move the thumb. You'll have tenderness at the base of the thumb and pain when moving the thumb, gripping items, or forming a fist.
• Carpal tunnel syndrome: Carpal tunnel develops when repetitive movements (typically due to sports like tennis and activities like typing or manual labor) cause inflamed tendons,. The tendons then push against the median nerve. The pinched nerve causes pain, tingling, burning, and numbness in certain fingers.
• Bursitis: Fluid-filled sacs (bursa) are cushions between bones and soft tissues. They may become inflamed as the tissues repeatedly rub together.

Treatments for overuse injuries include rest, activity modification, NSAIDs, immobilization (bracing and splinting), steroid injections, and physical therapy. You may need surgery to repair a ruptured tendon or to release tendons carpal tunnel syndrome and De Quervain's tenosynovitis.

Arthritis

Several types of arthritis can develop in your fingers, including:

• Osteoarthritis (OA): OA is a common cause of finger pain, particularly in older adults. Also known as "wear-and-tear arthritis," OA is an age-related condition in which joint cartilage gradually deteriorates. As a result, you have joint pain, stiffness, and swelling.
• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA): RA typically begins in the small joints in your fingers and hands. This type of arthritis develops when the immune system attacks healthy tissues, causing joint inflammation and pain. Without treatment, the inflammation erodes bones, leading to deformities.
• Gout: This is an inflammatory arthritis that usually affects the big toe but can also develop in the finger joints and wrist. Gout is caused by high uric acid levels in the blood, leading to uric acid crystals in the joint. Gout attacks occur suddenly, causing extreme pain, swelling, and redness.

While there aren't medications targeting osteoarthritis, prescription medicines are the first line of treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARD) can put RA into remission, preventing bone deformities.

The primary treatments for OA include exercise (physical therapy), heat therapy, NSAIDs, and cortisone injections. Advanced arthritis may require joint replacement surgery. RA also benefits from the same therapies.

Gout is managed by eating a low-purine diet. Purines are compounds used to build DNA and RNA. High purine levels increase blood levels of uric acid. Gout attacks can be eased with NSAIDs, cortisone injections, or an anti-inflammatory drug called Colcrys (colchicine). Colcrys can also be prescribed to prevent gout in people with a history of frequent recurrence.

Other Health Conditions

Beyond injuries and arthritis, several health conditions cause finger pain:

Cysts

A cyst is a small pocket of tissue filled with fluid or pus that can develop as a result of an injury, infection, or other issues. There are two types that can affect the hands and fingers, causing pain either directly or indirectly:

• Synovial cysts develop in the fluid-filled space between joints, causing the compression of nerves, joint stiffness, and pain.
• Ganglion cysts develop in the wrist or hand and cause radiating pain to the fingers.

Some cysts may resolve on their own or be manageable with NSAIDS or cortisone injections. Others may require cyst aspiration (the removal of fluid with a needle) or surgical removal of the cyst.

Dupuytren's Contracture

Dupuytren's contracture is a condition of unknown origin in which one or more fingers become permanently bent. It develops when the fascia (fibrous tissue below the skin and above the tendons, nerves, and bones) thickens and shortens.

Dupuytren's causes bumps (nodules) at the base of the fingers and visible cords of tissue in the palm. The nodules can become painful and swollen.

Contracture occurs when the tightened fascia forces one or more fingers to bend toward the palm. As the disease progresses, it becomes hard or impossible to straighten the fingers.

Cortisone injections and collagenase injections may provide relief in the early stages. However, you may eventually need surgery—a fasciotomy (in which thickened tissues are split) or fasciectomy (in which thickened tissues are removed)—to improve hand function.

Trigger Finger

When tendons move your fingers, they glide through a protective sheath. Tissues called pulleys firmly attach the sheath to bones. Trigger finger begins when the tendon, sheath, or pulley becomes inflamed.

The first symptoms include finger pain (especially when trying to bend or straighten the finger) and catching or popping when bending the finger. You may also have a tender lump at the base of the affected finger or thumb. As the condition progresses, the finger can get locked in a bent position.

Trigger finger has several possible causes, including medical conditions (diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis) and forceful hand activities. Though it’s more common in adults, children may be born with a trigger thumb.

Treatments include rest, exercises, splinting at night, and NSAIDs. If conservative care doesn’t help or you have severe pain, you may need surgery to release the tissues.

Infections

Many different bacterial and viral infections can cause finger pain along with swelling, redness, and stiffness. Some of the more common include:

• Felon infection: A painful infection inside the fingertip that occurs when bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) enter a wound
• Paronychia: An infection that begins when bacteria like S. aureus enter a break in the nail cuticle, resulting in pain and swelling under the nail and around the tip of the finger
• Flexor sheath infection: A bacterial infection affecting the membrane covering the tendon of the fingers, most common due to a deeper cut or animal bite
• Cellulitis: A common skin infection caused by Staphylococcus and Streptococcus. It can cause serious complications if it spreads through the bloodstream.
• Herpetic whitlow: A viral infection involving the herpes simplex virus that causes an outbreak of a blistering rash on the finger

Bacterial infections may benefit from a short course of antibiotics while viral ones like herpetic whitlow can be treated with antiviral drugs.

Autoimmune Diseases

Autoimmune diseases are those in which the body's immune system targets and attacks healthy tissues. As a result, inflammation and many possible symptoms appear (depending on which tissues are affected).

Several autoimmune diseases can directly or collaterally affect the joints of the fingers, including:

• Lupus: Often affects joints, including those in your fingers, causing swelling, pain, stiffness and deformity
• Sarcoidosis or psoriatic arthritis: Both conditions may cause dactylitis (severe finger swelling)
• Scleroderma (causes thick, tight skin on the fingers)

The treatment of these autoimmune disorders often begins with NSAIDs. However, there are many specialized medications for treating autoimmune diseases, such as drugs to replace hormones or suppress the immune response.

Peripheral Neuropathy

Peripheral neuropathy happens when the nerves that are located outside of the brain and spinal cord (called the peripheral nerves) are damaged. The damage may be due to many possible causes, including:

• Injuries
• Diabetes
• Kidney disease
• Thyroid disease
• Infections
• Vitamin B12 deficiency
• Substance use disorder (alcohol and drugs)
• Autoimmune diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and celiac disease)
• Certain medications

When a damaged nerve disrupts signals to the hands and fingers, you may have finger pain, tingling, burning, or numbness. In severe cases, you can develop muscle weakness.

The treatment of peripheral neuropathy varies. Your healthcare provider diagnoses and treats the underlying cause while also recommending medications and other therapies to improve your symptoms.

Raynaud's Syndrome

Raynaud’s syndrome is a condition in which the fingers become pale, painful, tingly, or swollen in response to cold temperatures and stress. These symptoms occur when small blood vessels tighten.

Raynaud's syndrome can occur on its own for no known reason (referred to as primary Raynaud's syndrome). It may also be a symptom of another disease (secondary Raynaud's syndrome).

Causes of secondary Raynaud's include scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus (connective tissue diseases), vascular diseases, and medications, such as beta-blockers, chemotherapy, some migraine drugs, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder medicines.

When to See a Healthcare Provider

Contact your healthcare provider if you have any of the following symptoms in your fingers:

• Pain that doesn't improve within one week
• Pain caused by an injury
• Finger deformity (bent or displaced bones)
• Swelling, bruising, or redness
• Can't straighten or move your fingers (or movement causes severe pain)
• Tingling (pins and needles) or numbness (loss of sensation)
• Pain that affects your ability to perform fine motor movements
• Fever or fatigue (symptoms of an infection)

Summary

Many conditions can cause finger pain, including acute and overuse injuries, arthritis, autoimmune diseases, infections, cysts, carpal tunnel syndrome, Dupuytren's contracture, De Quervain’s tenosynovitis, peripheral neuropathy, and Raynaud's syndrome.

Many can be managed with rest, NSAIDs, cortisone injections, and splinting. Others may require surgery to repair injuries or correct problems in the finger's bones, joints, tendons, or connective tissues.