hand surgery?

[jimrothstein]

Know carpal tunnel is fairly common problem. I am scheduled to see a hand surgeon for problem in tip of my thumb (wrist synovectomy and or thumb CMC surgery)

Want to ask here first if anything specific I should surgeon ask about. Is his experience with indoor rowers relevant?

This is my short background....

-- Symptoms DO NOT exactly match Carpal Tunnel, for example, the *ONLY* time I have discomfort in my thumb is when I ROW, but NO OTHER time. I fall into 'grey' area according to last doctor I saw.

-- NERVE CONDUCTION showed 'mild carpal tunnel'

-- Had 2 injections of CORTICOSTEROID which improved several issues with wrist and hand, but thumb tip problem remains.

-- Situation does NOT improve with REST (weeks, months ...) Problem always reappears after just a few minutes of very moderate rowing, without or without wrist braces, gloves, position changes etc Hold handle as lightly as possible (as hook). No problem with UNDERhand rowing!

-- The referral is hand surgeon is to evaluate me for:
wrist synovectomy and or thumb CMC surgery.

Anyone been down similar road?

Thanks.
jim

[jackarabit]

Had carpal tunnel release left hand and ulnar nerve release left elbow in January '16. Won't detail the precipitating circumstances and progression of my problems except to note that I had long term vibration-induced neuropathy (whitehand) in both hands over many years before an OTW training injury in July '15 led to severe swelling and ultimately muscle atrophy of the affected left hand. Loss of signal conduction in medial/ulnar nerve was evaluated as severe. Operation was successful in eliminating neuropathy symptoms and I regained muscle and grip strength in the ring and pinky fingers of left hand in 8-12 wks.

My orthopedic surgeon has extensive experience with sports injuries in NCAA athletic programs but not specifically in OTW rowers. I opine that broad experience is preferable to narrow experience, but note that the architecture and mechanics of skeletal and neuromuscular systems are the same no matter what ball, bat, racket, typewriter or power tool is present at the creation of the damage. Successful "full use" outcomes routinely accompany these procedures and the incidence of surgical "revision" (surgeons recognizing mistakes by making them again) is very low. One question you should ask is if there is detectable loss of muscle tissue in the web between your thumb and forefinger. If there is, it's time to put a stop to its progress.

[jimrothstein]

Thanks for the thoughts. Will see what happens!

[jackarabit]

Jim, I leaped in with my opinion about common procedures which I find, after a bit of exploration, are not at all related to your problem or the corrective surgery mentioned, which the pertinent literature pictures as more serious than carpal tunnel release. I apologize and cede the white space to those with relevant experience.