De Quervain

[kobiejoe]

I am 17 and have a five month old daughter while I was pregnant I started having problems with my wrist which still have not improved, my doctor thinks I have De Quervain tendonitis . I have had 1 cortizone injection which did not help and now he is recomending an anti-inflamitory and wrist brace and if that does not help surgery. I know I am young for this and my mother does not want me to jump into a surgery so any advice?

[JainMD]

Hi Kobie,
How are you feeling now?
What’s your name? How it all did start and what were your initial symptoms?
Patients present with pain and discomfort on the radial aspect of the wrist.
It is frequently seen in new mothers, in part secondary to repetitive lifting and setting down of the baby.
I can make out from your post as how tender you are and you are handling a baby, great job.
Do you have immense pain when you clench your thumb in the palm and on medial deviation of your wrist?
As with most types of tendinitis, rest and avoidance of aggravating conditions are the mainstays of treatment.
Other physical therapies which are helpful are splinting, to put the tendon at rest, iontophoresis (ultrasound through a corticosteroid cream) can help decrease the inflammation and stretching the wrist also may be helpful.
What physical therapies has he planned for you?
Why he thinks you need surgery so soon?
Keep me informed.
Bye.

[Kikz]

Hi,

    I had a de quervain surgery performed last week and i am in the stage of recovering,i have a few questions though,what will happen to the sheath or compartment that was opened?does it mean the gap will remain the rest of my life?and will it make the tendons more prone to accident since the compartment that used to protect them has been cut?how long will it take to get my hand back to normal?thanks in advance...

[dai3symae]

I had surgery for de quervain and carpal tunnel about 6 years ago.  I recovered without incident and haven't had any problems since.  The surgery was on my right wrist/hand and I'm right handed.  The only change I've made is to write with "fat" pens to keep my hand from getting fatigued.

I did have cortisone shots in both my wrist and palm and wore a brace before having surgery.  I found it lessened the pain best if I slept in the brace.

Good Luck

[Kikz]

Good to hear that,somehow you enlighten me coz i heard some bad experiences from other people that they had side effects after the surgery,i will start to figure out if the surgery worked for me when i have the sutures removed but for now i felt some comfort when i try to bend up and down my thumb,the pain that was present before the surgery was'nt there anymore,i need more time though to be fully recovered and used my right hand the way i use to,thanks