Carpal tunnel & trigger finger -- where to get treatment?

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by GalleyWenchTale

Seaworthy Lass -- I did try some splints which didn't help. Not sure if they were the right kind.

In any case, the last doc said if it's tendonitis, the splints won't help. Stretching -- arcing my fingers and wrist up rather than down -- will though. Doing that now.

if what you have is dequervains tendonitis, you are in some problem..make sure you do your exercises and the splint wil lonly make it feel worse, and not do any good..i have already devloped the atrophy and dysfnction you hopefully willnot see in yours.....it does NOT stop hurting
it does NOT get better
it does |NOT make you happy.
it DOES make for interesting repair jobs, as tools fly out of hand and stuff falls into bilges easier than normal.


let me know how you are doing. i can tell ye what NOT to do ....lol

IFF you can tolerate the injections, go for it. i couldnt --but i have an underlying inflammatory condition which makes life funner....lol

what i DID and DO as we write--is to rest em and take a lot of antiinflammatory stuff---make sure your guts are ready--eat real food with the ibuprofin if you wish to keep a gut intact....

good luck....we can compare notes later....

[bluewater]

I can absolutely recommend acupuncture.

The community acupuncture model is international and keeps prices low. It's available in many populated areas of the world. In the US, it's typically $30/session. In the USVI, I really can't say. Though a quick search shows an option in St. Croix.

My experience with acupuncture has always been positive and I'd recommend giving it a try if you can. If it cannot fix your problem, it most certainly can provide relief until you can get whatever Western medical solution you need.

[Suijin]

Another plug for the wrist splints. The proper ones have a metal bar that runs along the underside, bent to follow the contour of the hollow of your hand, and velcro straps to immobilize your wrist against it. I had very bad carpel tunnel after finishing a renovation to my house and the hand specialist I went to in Washington DC handed them to me and said "Try these for a month, wearing them EVERY night, and call me back." They worked. I've had a few occasional flare ups (in fact I'm going to start wearing them again tonight after 10 days of boat repair days) and if I catch it right at the beginning these feel better in a few days.

It IS important to do something about it or else you risk nerve damage. That is one reason why older folks have the surgery after putting it off (like my mother) and then complain that it's didn't help...the damage is already done.

My sister had the surgery with good results (she's a professional chef) quite a few years ago, so it certainly works and people whose livelihood depend on their hands have it quite often. But it's worth trying more non-invasive options first and giving them a chance to work.

[Nicholson58]

I had both wrists done by a hand specialist in Grand Rapids, Michigan (Dr. DeHann). He used a scope and was done in minutes. No pain & 2 stitches per wrist. THat was 8 years ago & no re-occurance. He also did my trigger thumb outpatient about 4 years ago. The tendon in my case got lumps along it so the method is to open the sheath through which it must travel. The lumps act like detents so the tenden is either fully extended or retracted - the trigger. No problems. I wish he did backs.

[RUSTYNAIL]

According to my doctor, it's better to get the operation sooner than later. If the nerves are pinched, eventually they lose the blood flow, or something, and the nerves can have permanent irreversible damage. I did my left hand two months ago, with little problem because the left hand fingers were going numb when I did a lot of electrical drawings. Tuesday (4 days ago) I had the right hand done that was worse than the left, and I have zero pain already. The test is easy because there are nine nerves and a ligament or tendon, and the doctor knows exactly what fingers use the carpal tunnel path. I don't know about the trigger finger. I believe only half of that finger uses the carpal tunnel. Good luck.