My hands and wrists have been having an increasingly difficult time recovering from wrenching on stuff- this is extremely annoying, because I use them for everything and when they're overly sore/numb/generally berkeleyed up I can't work on vehicles (which I do for work sometimes and for racing all the times), play instruments, ride a motorcycle or bicycle for very long, etc, without having a bad time. I've been working on cars consistently for about 15 years and this lack of effective recovery (ongoing soreness/numbness), even after a week or more of taking it pretty easy, is new.
Known issues:
- Formerly broken left wrist (plus arm in multiple places), one of the little football shaped bones in the wrist healed back together wrong and makes a clicking noise
- Arthritis, this is an ongoing thing and may be aggravating whatever else is going on
Things I'm already doing:
- Treating the arthritis. Have been on the same stuff for about a decade, which has been consistent for the rest of my body at least
- Wearing gloves for activities that gloves help with, so I'm not having to death grip anything
- Ordered carpal tunnel braces for my wrists, those aren't here yet
- CBD oil. Helps a little, although mostly just seems to help me sleep better
- Various stretches, which seem to provide a little temporary help
Anybody have other suggestions? I'm going to go to my rheumatologist and maybe a sports medicine type place to see what they say as well, but I feel like this crowd is probably familiar with "too much wrenching for too long" and might have some input. If I could opt for Star Wars grade robotic hands I'd ask which side they want to do first and when I can get an appointment.
Mndsm
MegaDork
4/27/21 6:48 a.m.
I lost feeling in 3 out of my 5 fingers in both hands for a while. Heat+ultrasonic from a hand therapist+ stretches did me good. Also limited use of small movements, like.....typing things on the internet on my phone.
Duke
MegaDork
4/27/21 7:06 a.m.
What do you for a living?
If you have significant computer time throughout the day, buy Evoluent vertical mice for all your computers. They really reduce wrist strain.
I suffered from chronic pain in my right arm and shoulder. My wife bought me one for my drafting computer and within weeks I felt better.
In reply to Duke :
Design engineer- roughly 11hrs a day, 4 days a week, are mostly CAD time or test fitting car stuff or assembling prototypes. I'll look at that mouse solution, and the plan is to wear the carpal tunnel braces at the computer.
would one of the heated foot massage tubs help ?
is it both hands ?
How I sleep is the largest factor. When I'm sloppy and fall asleep with my hands/wrists under me things go bad. When I sleep with my hands out they get a chance to rest and they're better. The CT braces helped me learn that.
gumby
Dork
4/27/21 7:25 a.m.
This is relevant to my interests.
Wish I had more input to share. Stopped MTBing when the ibuprofen regimen got crazy just to remain daily functional. Started wearing braces while sleeping to give everything a nightly chance to relax and heal.
My issues seem less carpal tunnel and more likely osteoarthritis related, but I need to have some indepth discussions with the doc vs self-medicating to really know.
In reply to californiamilleghia :
Both hands almost perfectly equally, but I have been using tools ambidextrously for a long time since I switch hands when one is too sore while working on stuff.
In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :
I have been wedging my hands under pillows, out flat palms up, to keep them from curling into a fist while I sleep. This used to help but seems not to make a difference right now, hoping the braces are better.
You already have my "solutions" on there. The hands flat under the pillow thing, and stretches - I have found that yoga helps my wrists, and a bunch of other joint related soreness. For whatever reason, it has been a lot more effective for me than just doing random stretches, I think because the loads are higher. Strangely, more difficult/intense yoga is more effective than just relaxing yoga, but ymmv.
Only other thing I can say is that I tend to rest my wrists or forearms on my desk while I type at work, or lean on an elbow on one of the chair's arms, and that pressure can cause some weird numbness. Just something I have had to be conscius of, and try to sit up straighter with the chair set higher so my wrists and arms aren't touching anything.
Duke
MegaDork
4/27/21 8:09 a.m.
In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :
https://evoluent.com
They also make a keyboard with the number pad on the left so you can use your left hand to enter numbers. This shares the load and it lets you hold your right arm closer to centerline.
When I wrenched for a living I used my hands as hammers a lot. Don't do that.
Having a vertical mouse makes a huge difference for my buddy, but don't throw away that old mouse. The vertical mouse reduces wrist strain but continued use can still be fatiguing. He rotates between a mouse, a vertical mouse, and a trackball whenever his wrist starts to click.
I'll echo Duke on the vertical mouse. I bought a cheap Anker verical mouse and it changed the constant pain in my right wrist from constant mild pain to an occasional dull ache. I broke my right wrist in college and rushed the healing on it, engineering desk job and wrenching didn't help my case either.
Your issues sound directly related to grip and repetition. I was in a similar situation (CAD 10h a day, mountain biking, working with tools, etc..), and what really helped was extension exercises to relieve some of the imbalance. A couple of years ago I began using something like pictured below to relieve my symptoms and it seems to keep me from balling into a fist while sleeping as well.
Both hands equally? Numbness? Check your neck! I have a severely messed up neck from the military and have nerve damage that goes down both arms. I have a traction machine at home that gives a lot of relief.
I'll echo sobe_death and Javelin, and add that switching from a normal mouse to a trackball (design engineer, lots of CAD) helped me tremendously. I use the logitech MX Ergo all day every day and haven't had an issue is several years.
Oh, if you want to try some extensor exercise really easily without buying anything, grab a couple of normal rubber bands and put them around the last section of your fingers and open your hand as far as you can, 10-15 times, then switch hands and repeat 3-4 times. Its definitely not as good as the dedicated tool that sobe_death posted, but its free and will give you an idea before you buy something else.
Going to see your doctor is the most important thing...any advice given online is worth exactly what you paid for it.
Having said that, what's worked for me is to change things up frequently - I vary the height of my chair, move the keyboard around, and I'm semi-ambidextrous so I'll periodically switch the mouse back and forth from my right to left hand.
Are you using a left hand mouse like a 3DConnexion Space Mouse? If you don't have one they can really help to reduce the amount of clickling and movement of your right hand for CAD work.
Duke
MegaDork
4/27/21 9:28 a.m.
In reply to RacetruckRon :
If you can work left handed, Evoluent makes both righty and lefty versions.
A couple years ago I was noticing similar lingering pain several days after a weekend wrench fest. I was still using manual tools, so I invested in a variety of air impacts and ratchets, and a small cordless impact driver. With a good selection of extensions and wobble joints it's amazing how much you can get to on most cars with power tools. It made a huge difference in how I felt after wrenching.
You've probably already moved from manual to power, but if not, look into it. But make sure and buy the small/compact stuff too, not just the big ones. They are the ones that you use most.
I do have the left hand 3d mouse as well as a sit/stand desk platform. Those were "enough" until recently, going to try the braces and exerciser thing first and then explore the fancy mouse options.
The neck is an interesting thought, mine actually seems to have been doing better lately but it is shaped funny so who knows. That's a good one for me to ask the doctor about.
I have also gone the power tool route for the heavy stuff, the smaller versions may be worth looking into. I was used to having a few days of lingering pain, but this is going on weeks now even with relatively light (by my standards) weekends so something is wrong.
I had same symptoms, including hands curling up at night. Carpal tunnel release surgery got me fixed right up.
I'm an engineer/desk jockey. I have a torn TFCC in my left wrist. I prefer the split "ergonomic" keyboard, but honestly I broke the last one and haven't replaced it. On the right I use a decent Logitech wired mouse. The vertical mice feel very uncomfortable and slow to me. Standard 3D Connexion spaceball on the left side.
I use these wrist wraps when I am lifting or doing most workouts, and when I remember to wear them while biking. Ergon grips are absolutely key for me. My wrist had healed pretty good to the point where I didn't notice any pain almost 10 years ago and I was fine - no special care needed. I mountain biked for two days last August on rentals (standard grips) out at Pisgah and my left wrist was totally berkeleyed by the end. It has almost recovered, but I am cautions not to do anything that will inflame it again.
Maybe we're all the same person. My right wrist is berked. I'm on a fresh cortisone injection and it's 90% normal.
Doctors are under the impression that my case is worse because of a neck injury right where the nerves are for my upper appendages(?)
Ibuprofen and rest, speak with an expert. That's all I got.
