First published in Crow’s Feet in Medium on 01/15/2024
Or in case the reader resides in the US, Skier’s Thumb. In plain English, I’ve damaged the ligament that runs up my thumb so I can’t pick up a pinch of salt anymore left-handed! I can’t do much of anything left-handed because of it, which makes working in my kitchen a pain in the thumb.
I also have a bit of carpel tunnel in that hand, so things have gotten interesting. I first noticed the thumb issue a few months back. It probably had been building up long before that, but it wasn’t until I started having problems using my left hand in the kitchen that I noticed it, most notably when I was cutting up things.
I don’t have the greatest knife skills in the world, but I have developed a way to cut onions that worked for me and avoided losing skin or fingers. With the problem with my thumb, I couldn’t cut onions without risking life and limb!
I did figure out another way to cut onions. The next problem I had was dealing with raw meat. We like to buy big cuts and then I break them down into smaller pieces for future meals. Trying to handle cutting a large chunk of meat, especially one with a bone in it when you have next to no use of one’s hand is an exciting and extremely annoying exercise.
But I worked around it until I noticed my thumb started hurting when I tried to do simple things, so I made an appointment to see an orthopedic surgeon.
When did they let high school students practice medicine?
He is the same doctor who my husband has been seeing for his carpal tunnel and he knows his stuff. I figured I would see him about both my thumb and the carpal tunnel.
The x-rays they took of my hand show my left thumb is not in the correct position thanks to the damage to the ligament. So much so I could even tell from the x-ray there was a problem with it. Thumbs shouldn’t bend quite that way.
He manipulated my hand, checked for carpal tunnel, and diagnosed me with ulnar collateral ligament injury. He did say they could do surgery for it, but the outcome wasn’t great. I’m not a fan of jumping into the deep end with medical procedures, so we decided to go with physio for the thumb and a shot for the carpal tunnel.
I had my evaluation visit with the occupational therapist last Thursday. We went over a lot of things. I don’t have any idea of a specific event that would have damaged my thumb, but it could be from how I hold my cane. I used to hold it in such a way as to put a lot of pressure on the heel of my palms, but I changed that when I started to get calluses there.
The change put more pressure on my left thumb as I lean more on the left hand since my right knee is the one that went wonk first and my left hand has always been my stabilizing hand for everything else.
I did a couple of tests to gauge what kind of strength I have in both my hands and forefingers and thumbs. Then I did a timed test where I put nine small pegs into holes and then took them out. My right hand was a tiny bit over the time recommended. My left hand, however, not so much. Trying to grab the little pegs and then trying to get them in the holes was frustrating. It took almost a minute.
She then did some soft tissue manipulation called the Gaston Technique with some metal instruments. I didn’t want her to stop, it felt so good Except when she worked around the damaged tendon, that didn’t feel quite so good.
We bought a Gua Sha Board Scraping Massage Tool from her that she will be teaching me how to use once therapy progresses further, so I can use the Gaston technique at home.
The course of action she has planned will work on both the ligament and the carpal tunnel, which is good since I’ve only had minor relief from the shot.
Before I left that day, she told me to flex my wrists up and down several times a day and to rotate them. I already do that, but I will make sure I do them as organized sets throughout the day. She will most likely add more exercises throughout therapy.
I was supposed to have a therapy session today, but my therapist came down sick. I have my next appointment on Wednesday.
Wednesday is also the day I finally get into the orthopedic surgeon’s office for images of my knees and start dealing with them. My right knee has been bad for years. I tend to bend them in directions they are not meant to go.
I had the torn meniscus in my right knee trimmed in 2008. I was pain-free for a whole month before I started damaging the knee again. I didn’t want to go back to my surgeon about it as I didn’t want him yelling at me for undoing his work.
Eventually, my left knee decided it wanted attention and I started using two canes to get around. It has made puttering in the garden a bit difficult and I can’t get out and about in nature easily for my photography. Very few forest trails are meant to be used with a mobility scooter.
So, this week is the start of fixing my falling-apart body. The gardening season starts in a few months and I need to be ready, there is going to be a lot of weeding and ups and downs. I need my knees and left hand in decent working condition.
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