Apexcarver said:
In reply to SkinnyG :
X rays don't tend to show nerve issues, usually that takes an MRI.
100% this.
What do you mean by "physio"? Physical therapist as in not a doctor? And you've been seeing him for 15 years and you aren't improving? You need a different guy and I'd suggest a neurologist. I went to an orthopedic first and got a very confident PA that was sure I had carpal tunnel issues and something wrong with my shoulder. He also "didn't see anything" on my X-rays. The delay caused by this "expert" nearly cost me the use of my right arm. When I insisted he look at my neck via an MRI, he said "Oh, well we don't do necks here". When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. No offense to physical therapist, those I saw post-op really helped, but they aren't trained to fix neurological disorders. They might help some symptoms or like chiropractors, make them way worse.
This thread is super timely for me as well. Spent about a year dealing with tennis elbow on my right arm. FINALLY got that sorted then a few months later developed golfers elbow on the same arm which has lasted another 8 months with very little sign of improvement. Today helping some family move I am feeling the start of tennis elbow on the left arm. WTF?
Just about ready to cut my arms off at this point so it's PT time I think. Monday I'm going to schedule with the same place that helped me rehab a2 finger pulley partial rupture. I've tried all sorts of different exercises, stretches, braces, sleeves, bands, etc. with mixed results. I dread garage tinkering in fear of worsening the situation, and it's making it difficult to continue climbing as a "good" form of workout. Two hobbies that I'm not ready to ditch yet.
SkinnyG
PowerDork
7/14/24 5:54 a.m.
Apis Mellifera said:
What do you mean by "physio"? Physical therapist as in not a doctor? And you've been seeing him for 15 years and you aren't improving? You need a different guy and I'd suggest a neurologist.
Totally improving, I started back in '09 after spending my summer building an Allan Block wall and steps and destroyed my arms. I could not pick ANYTHING up palm down, I had to pick up things palm up only. Constant pain. I was get better by myself at all. This was not a slow deterioration, it was a total "over-worked it on a job, and my body said "screw you."
The very nature of my day job (shop teacher) and my hobby (building cars) require continued use of my hands, which makes it hard for the body to heal. I no longer demo blacksmithing to the kiddies because the hammering destroys my arms. I still have the kiddies do it, but I explain how to blacksmith so you don't end up with arms like mine.
Doing the metalwork on my '61 Chevy pickup I would bash tin until my hands went numb and then took three days off of working on it to rest my hands. The impacts kill me.
The physio was every week (sometimes twice a week) for a couple years, and I've been able to stretch it out to every four weeks. Beyond that, my forearms start to get tight and hurt again. Sooner, the more I hammer.
I am once again doing an Allan Block patio at the back of the house. It looks great. My arms are dying.
The slow deterioration of the feeling in my hands is something I've begun chasing in earnest. I believe it is Carpal-Tunnel, but y'all need to know that I'm up here in beautiful Canada, and there is a due process to access this free medicare system we have. I'm doing the process. The process is happening. Relax. But I appreciate the feedback - it helps me steer the ship.
As someone who suffered from bad wrist issues (big hands, Popeye forearms, 4L60 wrists) they started to get better, oddly enough, when my knees said to stop mountain biking.
Watch your posture when at the computer. Change up your elbow positions, keyboard angles. Sitting ONE way leads to RSI from using your joints the same way all the time. Obviously if it's uncomfortable, don't do it, but keeping yourself in a "comfort range" instead of a fixed position is good.
When wrenching, and using power tools, use the lightest strongest ones you can. Switching from an IR231 impact gun to a titanium IR2135 was a game changer. Less shock loading and less finger force needed to hold and control.
Finger force is really important. Your finger muscles are in your forearms so the harder you grab onto things, the more compression you put on the gravel that are your wrist bones. It's easy to death-grip tools when you don't really need to, and this stresses the hell out of the mess going on inside your wrists. Stop every now and then to flex your fingers to reduce tension. (The "fingers together and bend them backwards" stretch is a good one) Use hammers instead of just beating on things with the palm of your hand (still guilty of this)
I'll do an update too I guess.
Most of my issues were traced to my neck/shoulder area, and I went to PT, and still do the exercises and stretches they taught me daily. It has helped immensely and I'm glad I didn't jump straight to carpal tunnel surgery.
