Expert: Dr. Paul Newhart - 1/12/2009

Question
A couple of weeks ago I woke up with a pain in my thumb. When I moved it, I could feel it clicking but the pain wasn't that bad, so I just ignored it. Then last week, it started to get really painful and now if I move it upwards too sharply I get a pain that goes down my thumb and into my wrist and the clicking is back. Have I damaged something? Should I go to my doctor about this? I have an appointment on friday anyway, but should I wait or go to another professional?

Answer
It could be a variety of things:  most like is a repetitive motion injury to the thumb.  These come about when you do something over and over, causing strain, and then pain.  There may be misalignment with it, as evidenced by the clicking.  I would suggest mentioning it to your family physician, but I would also seek out a good chiropractor that also deals with extremities.