Patients with nerve related muscle pain leading to neck pain/discomfort often complain of pain in the region of the thumb.
Thumb pain can be due to pain and spasm in muscles that perform movements of the thumb.
If the thumb is held at right angles to the plane of the palm with the palm facing up, adduction is the movement of the thumb down toward the plane of the palm.
Muscles that perform adduction of the thumb are:
- adductor pollicis supplied by the ulnar nerve (C8, T1)
This adduction movement has to be assisted by the following muscles:
- extensor pollicis longus supplied by the posterior interosseous nerve of the radial nerve (C7, C8)
- opponens pollicis supplied by the median nerve (C8, T1)
- flexor pollicis longus supplied by the anterior interosseous branch of the median nerve (C8, T1)
- flexor pollicis brevis supplied by the median nerve to the superficial head and the ulnar nerve to the deep head. Both the superficial and deep heads of the flexor pollicis brevis is supplied by the C8 and T1 nerve roots.