Finger Disorders

There are several different problems that can occur with the fingers. While an injury or a trauma may cause these, most often they are secondary to several of the degenerative diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. These diseases affect the joints and eventually the tendons of the fingers, resulting in various deformities. For this reason, if you already have one or some of these conditions, it is important to begin to take steps to prevent further complications and additional finger deformities. Your health professional can educate you on ways to protect your hand and fingers.

To understand the deformities, some basic terminology is needed. The tendons of the the fingers are actually quite complicated and sometimes do several things, but for the sake of understanding, the information will be simplified.

The tendons that control and support the fingers are called the extensor tendons and the flexor tendons. The extensor tendons are located on the back of the fingers and work to straighten the fingers. The flexor tendons are located on the palm side of the fingers and work to bend the fingers. There are three joints in the fingers. The joint closest to the palm or hand is the metacarpal phalangeal joint, or MCP. The middle joint is the proximal interphalangeal joint, or PIP. The end joint is the distal interphalangeal joint, or DIP.

Swan Neck Deformity

This condition can be a result of rheumatoid arthritis. In this situation, the flexor tendon of the PIP slips to the side and up to the back of the finger and the extensor tendon of the DIP slips to the side and to the palm surface of the finger. This results in the middle of the fingers bending up and the ends of the fingers bending down.

Boutonniere Deformity

This condition occurs when the extensor tendon at the PIP breaks or becomes detached at that joint. The result is that the finger stays bent at the PIP joint.

Mallet Finger

This usually occurs from an injury. The extensor tendon becomes torn or breaks at the DIP joint. The result is the very tip of the finger stays bent.

Ulnar Deviated Fingers

This condition is quite common with the arthritis conditions. In this situation, usually both the flexor and extensor tendons slide to the sides of the fingers. They usually slide to the little-finger side of the fingers. The result is some or all of the fingers tend to bend a bit, as well as bend toward the direction of the little finger.

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