Muscle Detective: Adductor Pollicis
The adductor pollicis (AP) is a small, but powerful thumb muscle. The bulk of the muscle can be found by squeezing the tissue in the webbing between the thumb and the index finger. This muscle helps bring the thumb (pollicis) toward the fingers by an action called adduction.
Adducting the thumb allows us to enjoy our opposable thumb status. Because of the AP you can use utensils to eat and tools to build. You use this muscle to open jars and doors, throw a Frisbee, text your friends, and hold a brush to paint the house. Overusing, underusing, or injuring the AP can set up trigger points in the muscle.
Trigger points in the AP can refer pain to the base of the thumb, complicating or intensifying pain associated with arthritis. Deactivating the trigger points can reduce the “pain load” carried in the thumb.
Tags: Muscle Detective, muscles, Therapeutic Massage, Trigger Points