Wrist

[talon]

I resisted getting an MRI for my wrist for months, positive the problem would heal on its own. It was just a sprain, after all. The X-ray and bone scan didn't show any breaks, so it was all soft tissue damage, and that heals over time.

The doctor convinced me to go ahead and get the MRI because he felt there was something it could show us, if only to provide a firm diagnosis instead of a "well, maybe it's this" or "maybe it's that", so I allowed it.

It turns out I have some small breaks in the small bones of the wrist that don't show on the X-rays, breaks that are making the bones flex and impinge on the nerves and tendons, which accounts for the fact that I have a decent (but not near as good as it was) grip but if I exert any pressure or add weight, I lose my grip. It also explains why vibration makes my wrist so very much worse for hours afterwards.

He did say that surgery would not only not fix the problem, it would probably make matters worse because my wrist is so small and the bones are so tiny and delicate that they had too high a chance of damaging other parts of the wrist and I'd end up with less use.

The verdict? Make my work-arounds permanent, no more driving a manual transmission car (shifting gears is agony), no lifting anything with my right hand that exceeds 2 pounds, no leaning or weight-bearing on it, avoiding everything that vibrates or wear vibration-reducing gloves when I must use vibrating equipment like the lawn mower or when I drive.

We discussed braces and splints, and the decision was that the rigid devices made matters worse, a cast to allow the bones to heal would be a full shoulder to fingertip type of cast because even wiggling my fingers causes the breaks to flex and not join for healing and the length of time I'd have to wear that would allow the arm to atrophy enough that I might not recover from it at my age, but a snug elastic band (not a full on ACE bandage, just a compression elastic glove like the compression elastic stockings some people have to wear for circulation issues) would allow flexibility while keeping the broken bones in place. They might or might not ever heal.

Essentially, what I need is a corset for my wrist. This will give support and movement and keep strength in the arm while limiting the movement of the breaks enough to prevent further damage. If I'm going to have to wear what will look like a half glove for pretty much ever, I am going to make a variety of pretty ones, office-worthy, steampunky, SF-y, fantasy, and more.

He believes the injury will not make me prone to future injuries or arthritis. Since I currently don't have arthritis in any joint, or even any hint I will have arthritis, this makes me happy. He was surprised I didn't have even any indicators that I might have arthritis developing at my age. Another plus - the nerves and tendons that go through the carpal tunnel are small enough they have plenty of room so I'm not likely to ever have carpal issues.

Just this weakness caused by the tiny broken bones impinging on nerves and tendons. And those may (or may not) heal over time.