Why You’re Swollen Instead Of Swell

I woke up about a year ago with my finger stuck to the palm of my right hand and could not bend it back into place. Quickly controlling my panic, I took the fingers of my left hand and straightened the digit to its normal position.

I’d seen this phenomenon in others before, and after reading the symptoms, my suspicions of having a trigger finger were confirmed. Also known by its complex name, stenosing flexor tenosynovitis, trigger finger is a form of swelling in the pully system of the tendon. (1)

Really? A pully system to raise the fingers up and down? God’s design never ceases to amaze me. You and I are fearfully and wonderfully made.

Anyway, I was definitely swollen that morning instead of swell. It was a clear sign for me to take care of the stiffness in my hands and its underlying cause of inflammation for good.

GOOD, BAD AND UGLY INFLAMMATION

As you may already know, inflammation is either short-term and beneficial or it is long-term and causes problems. Being a nurse for over twenty years, and seeing inflammation’s profound effects on people, I suspected my body was responding to the long-term kind.

However, I wanted to understand the root cause rather than begin medications, get injections, or have surgery. Even though the condition can be due to carpal tunnel syndrome or arthritis, I’ve been trained to see there is some type of invader triggering this response.

Let me explain what I mean more clearly.

God gives you and I the inherent ability to fight when attacked. This system of protection includes hormones to respond to danger and chemical pathways to fight infection. The body’s amazing power and authority to respond to invasion results in helpful, restorative measures causing short-term inflammation.

The battle begins when temporary invasions of bacteria and viruses stimulate white blood cells (WBC). They come in all their armor to defeat the enemy. Neutrophils and macrophages are the WBCs arriving to dismantle the invader and sweep up debris. They are followed by helper T cells and B cells who develop special skills to recognize and remember the intruders’ characteristics in preparation for a future invasion.

The resulting inflammation is appropriate and serves a purpose.

SNEAKY INVADER IS TEMPTING AND DELICIOUS

However, when the invasion is persistent from food sensitivities or junk food, chronic inflammation can result. Damage occurs in different bodily places at the cellular level. Common results of this slow building storm are disorders like arthritis, autoimmune disease, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, fatty liver, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer. (2)

I’m not surprised to read 50% of all deaths are related to these chronic inflammatory conditions. (2) But what does alarm me is the way this enemy gets past my defenses.

He came in stealthily disguised as tempting and delicious. I fell for the holiday cookies, brownies, and cheesy dips like many others do. Studies show sugar is known to trigger inflammation throughout the body. (3)

Since the occurrence of this finger condition came alongside indulgences, I decided to do a little experiment.

What if I cut out all the excess sugar consumption and dairy for a few weeks and see what happens? Following an eating pattern filled with antioxidants and nutrients became key to returning my cells to normal. You can learn more about how to do this too in my blog post “15 Strategies to Begin Intentional Eating: Living the Life God Calls us to Live.”

Four weeks later, with no sugar and no dairy consumed, my trigger finger resolved on its own. Here are the four steps that helped me get past the swelling in my tendons:

1. Prayer to understand the cause and guide me to find answers to the root of the problem.
2. Limiting sugary foods with more than three ingredients to 1-2 times a week.
3. Enjoy more fruits and vegetables from the produce section of the grocery store.
4. Pickleball, walking, and a dance class are fun ways to help blood flow well to all extremities.

The steps were easy to implement and well worth the effort!

How about you? What steps do you take to help transform your body from swollen to swell? POST YOUR TIPS AND COMMENTS BELOW.

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References:

Furman D, Campisi J, Verdin E, Carrera-Bastos P, Targ S, Franceschi C, Ferrucci L, Gilroy DW, Fasano A, Miller GW, Miller AH, Mantovani A, Weyand CM, Barzilai N, Goronzy JJ, Rando TA, Effros RB, Lucia A, Kleinstreuer N, Slavich GM. Chronic inflammation in the etiology of disease across the life span. Nat Med. 2019 Dec;25(12):1822-1832. Doi: 10.1038/s41591-019-0675-0. Epub 2019 Dec 5. PMID: 31806905; PMCID: PMC7147972.

Ma X, Nan F, Liang H, Shu P, Fan X, Song X, Hou Y, Zhang D. Excessive intake of sugar: An accomplice of inflammation. Front Immunol. 2022 Aug 31; 13:988481. Doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.988481. PMID: 36119103; PMCID: PMC9471313.

Merry SP, O’Grady JS, Boswell CL. Trigger Finger? Just Shoot! J Prim Care Community Health. 2020 Jan-Dec; 11:2150132720943345. Doi: 10.1177/2150132720943345. PMID: 32686570; PMCID: PMC7372603.