Surgery For Carpal Tunnel

[[old] aerial]

Hi <br>I'm an escapee from UK as our forum is down. Have any of you guys had surgery for bilateral carpal tunnel of the wrists. I am seeing a surgeon on 17th Jan to discuss whether surgery would help. I think it was brought on by water rowing rather than indoor but the electro nerve conduction tests suggest it is severe and the muscles at the base of the thumb are starting to waste. <br>I'm wondering how long I would be out of rowing for if I went ahead with it. I am desperate not to lose fitness as at my age it doesnt come easy and I lose it rather quickly. Also dont want to regain any of the 40kgs I've lost courtesy of the erg!

[[old] tow rope]

A friend of mine was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome and had surgery on both wrists with no relief. A year, and several doctors later they found he had rheumatoid arthritis.<br><br>Good luck.<br><br>Bert

[[old] aerial]

Tow rope<br>That is NOT what I wanted to hear!

[[old] John Rupp]

I would most definitely NOT HAVE SURGERY for your wrists.<br><br>That's a dead end street.<br><br>Get a plastic bucket and soak your hands in cold water to a few inches above your wrists. Keep adding ice cubes to the point where you can still stand it for 5 or 10 minutes.<br><br>When your wrists get numb (cold), then move them around and hold them in different positions. Keep doing this 3 to 4 times a day till they're healed.<br><br>Your wrists being injured is an indication that you've been putting way too much stress on them, probably with TOO LOW OF A STROKE RATE. <br><br>Use a normal stroke rate and take good care of yourself.

[[old] aerial]

Thanks John<br>Why would a low stroke rate do it and are you talking indoor or outdoor?<br>My stroke rate on the erg is variable depending on what training I am doing, but I did not develope this until I went on the water and even then it wasnt until several months later. The weather is too bad for the outdoor stuff at present and I am able to sleep now without splints.<br>I had presumed clenching the oar too tight and cocking the wrists may be an issue as I dont do either of these on the erg.<br>Why are you so anti surgery? I am fearful that if I dont get it done my hands will get progressively weaker.

[[old] John Rupp]

Low rates put a LOT of pressure on your tendons, especially the small ones in your wrists. I've practiced at 10, 12, 15, and 20 spm and all of these put more pressure on my wrists than normal rates. At times my wrists were hurting quite a bit. At very low rates, depending on height and reach, you are basically starting from an almost stopped position each stroke. Very short hard sprints can do this too.<br><br>Hmmmm your hands would definitely get weaker with surgery.<br><br>Why would they without it? .... I don't follow your reasoning.<br><br>As long as you're not doing anything to injure and/or reinjure your wrists, then they should keep getting stronger.<br><br>#1- Allow your wrists to heal, keep soaking them etc;<br><br>#2- After they heal, "then" do normal rate training, that your wrists will be able to handle.

[[old] ebolton]

"Hmmmm your hands would definitely get weaker with surgery.<br><br>Why would they without it? .... I don't follow your reasoning."<br><br>I worked with a guy who fell while running at night, and landed on his left wrist crushing his carpal tunnel. There was no question about the diagnosis. He resisted the surgery at first, and his hand wasted away very quickly. He then needed the carpal tunnel surgery plus additional reconstructive surgery on the hand to keep it from becoming completely useless. He was never as good as new, but at least he had two useable hands after that.<br><br>Ed<br>

[[old] John Rupp]

She didn't fall on her wrist, nor crush it.

[[old] Yoda1]

Aerial,<br><br>I have arthritis in both wrists and it's gradually working it's way into my hands. I have been to 3 different hand and wrist specialists asking if there is something that can be done. All three told me the absolute last thing to do was surgery. <br><br>I also have a relative that has had both of her wrists replaced. She told me it was over a year before the pain dropped low enough for her to be able to do the most basic tasks. There are a lot of nerves in them there wrists.<br><br>I would look for any other means of lessing the pain, before even considering surgery.<br><br>Good Luck.<br><br>Yoda

[[old] bw1099]

A friend of mine had surgery for carpal tunnel in one wrist and was very happy with it. He plans to have the other wrist done, but hasn't yet found a surgeon in the area that suits him.<br><br>His surgery was by an orthoscopic method, which avoids severe damage to the hand. As he described it, there is an "extra" tendon going through the carpal tunnel that can be severed without losing any (or much) function in the hand. The surgery severs this tendon, which opens up some extra space for the other tendons.<br><br>I know very little of this myself, and would be very hesitant to have surgery on my hands. From talking to my friend, I would recommend talking to more than one surgeon, and finding one who has done the procedure many, many times. And someone who will perform the procedure himself. My friend recently rejected a very promising surgeon at one of the leading hospitals in the world. This guy had even developed an aparatus for the procedure. But because he was at a teaching hospital, and it was likey that a resident would actually perform the surgery. So my friend is looking elsewhere.<br><br><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td class='genmed'><span class='genmed'><b>QUOTE</b></span> </td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I did not develope this until I went on the water and even then it wasnt until several months later.<!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><br><br>Shouldn't it take longer than several months to develop carpal tunnel? I'm no expert, but it seems like it is more of a problem that develops over years of repeated motion.<br><br>bw<br><br>bw

[[old] aerial]

Thanx for all your replies. I have no pain during the day and since not rowing on water have had none at night. But I do have muscle wasting which concerns me. I wont be rushing in to anything I can assure you and will ask said surgeon many questions. My rowing coach will be coming with me and also a dear friend who is a haematology consultant (not the same I know but she,s pretty clever!) Will let you know what happens

[[old] John Rupp]

Another thought is to check with a climbing venue, and see what experience and thoughts they have about strengthening and healing injuries to the wrists.

[[old] Steve_R]

Of course muscle wasting is an issue but if inflammed ligaments are putting pressure on the median nerve, you could get numbness that is only temporary. It usually takes people a while to build up the inflamation to cause an issue, it will take a while to recover. Surgery may seem like a quick fix and sometimes it is. A heavy grip, large rotations of the wrist and cold (water rowing in the fall and winter?) can help cause the inflamation. Reducing wrist rotation and loosening your grip and wearing wrist gloves to keep them warm may help relieve the pressure. Also temporary use of steroids or NSAIDs could help with the inflamation for you as you recover. This may not be possible in some cases that have built up scarring that will not go away with time.<br><br>Cutting the transverse carpal tunnel ligament can relieve the pressure as well and may be indicated in your case, only a doctor would know. Yoga has also shown to be effective in treating some cases. Hydrotherapy and manual manipulation have also worked on some cases. Using wrist supports when the wrists are not in use can help speed healing. Some research suggests supplements are said to be effective in helping with CTS. Arthritis based complications might be helped with EPA/DHA (fish oil) and Vitamin E while other research has shown that use of Vitamin B6 can help. Due to the possibility of toxic overdose of Vitamin B6, this therapy should only be used under the supervision of a doctor.<br><br>Steve

[[old] jimjayhawk]

I had bilateral carpal tunnel surgery done in 1993... <br><br>I explored local surgery options - there are arthroscopic techniques as well as the old fashion slash and dash<br><br>Although the arthro looked promising, at the time the slash approach had fewer complications/repeat surgeries and the local ortho that did the slash had a stronger history with positive results. <br><br>It did take several months to get back on the rower... and at first my hands really didn't want me to do it... but now 11 years later I have very few problems - none from rowing (household repairs - using a hammer, screwdriver... marathon sessions on a keyboard). I visit my favorite chiropractor every 4-6 weeks... after the adjustment he works on my wrists, elbows, and shoulders... and I'm good for another 4-6 weeks... <br><br>I suffered with cp for 15 years before I got the surgery... by the time I finally went in I couldn't hold a phone or carry a briefcase... If I had known how effective the surgery was going to be I would have had it 15 years earlier. <br><br>Jim

[[old] grams]

Here is a completely unscientific suggestion. Well, sort of. Sorry, no calculations. Just my back doctor's theory that the body is like a sausage and you have to have strong muscles all around it to stay in good shape. Front and back.<br><br>I have had a mild case of carpel tunnel for several years now, due to my web page design business. I've tweaked my computer setup as best I could, but still have the problem.<br><br>This summer I also injured my tendons at the elbow, cycling (golfers elbow). So when I erged they would twinge and send shooting pains along my arm from both the wrist and the elbow. Not good.<br><br>In addition to wearing elbow straps and scaling back on my erging intensity, I did one more thing that has made quite a difference.<br><br>Now I (gently) turn the handle on my Model D over and erg underhanded for several minutes several times during my hour session. The theory is the same as for strengthening one's back-that building up the muscles on both sides of my arms and wrists will make the whole arm 'system' stronger.<br><br>I do it gently, and do the first few strokes after the change at about 1/5 the strength as usual, till my arms adjust. I am also very careful not to pull with my wrist at an angle at all.<br><br>It seems to have made a difference in both my computing sessions (now no pain) and my erging (the whole tendon healing much faster now so I only have an occasional twinge.<br><br>grams