Possible thumb capsulitis after a extreme forced movement

Dear Ask The Doctor: Last night my thumb got really cramped up and felt like it needked to be cracked so i moved it to try to get it loosened up and while i did that it popped and cracked and hurt like a son of a gun, now i woke up and its swollen and i cant move it without it hurting really bad, i have been icing it and tylenol, and nothing is helping it, what can i do and what do you think happened to it?

Dear Amanda: Most likely the symptoms that you are experiencing in your thumb are caused by an inflammation of the tendon, the tendon sheath and possibly the capsule of the MTC joint due to the extreme forced movement: called Tenosynovitis. The healing time depends on each particular case, the improvement does not come overnight, sometimes takes longer, so be patient. The conservative treatment include the following: avoid activities that reproduce the pain (activities modification), apply an ice pack to the MTC joint 15 to 20 minutes, 2-3 times a day for the frst 2 days; use of anti-inflammatory drugs (i.e: “Aleve”, “Advil”), and splinting of the affected finger (if needed). If there is poor or no improvement the local corticosteroid injection may be considered.