Conversation: The conversation between human and AI assistant.
[|Human|] My thumb joint has developed a pain and gets locked up at night when I sleep. When I apply pressure to the joint for a few minutes then it loosens up but then to poop when I bend and unbend the joint. I usually apply pressure to the joint and then flex the joint for a bit before the poop goes away but the pain still stays.
[|AI|]  Thank you for your question. Locking of the fingers and pain located over the base is commonly symptoms of trigger finger, or in your case trigger thumb. In my consultation I would usually assess the pinpoint area of tenderness to confirm the diagnosis. There is also higher risk of getting the condition if you are female and diabetic. I would also exclude other possibilities such as arthritis which causes pain on movement but not typically locking. The pain would also be more diffuse. Once the diagnosis is confirmed, I would refer to a hand therapist for focused range of movement and some heat therapy. I would also prescribe some anti inflammatory if not contraindicated. Most of my patients would respond well to this. However, in cases where the pain and locking persists, we can either attempt an injection to reduce the pain and inflammation or a release of the culprit tendon with a mini surgical incision. This usually will ad Chat Doctor.  However, please be wary that this condition can also affect the other fingers as well.