De Quervain's surgery and recovery

[polar28]

I  had surgery on my left wrist for De Quervain's on Dec 20.  My stitches and cast were removed last Thursday and they had some make a splint for me.  The splint is extremely uncomfortable as I am left handed, so I have not been wearing anything.  After a while my wrist will get so sore that I feel nauseated.  I am just wondering if I am doing damage by not wearing the splint.

[Suzycreamcheese]

Hi,
I really appreciate your careful and thorough explanations of excercises and stretches to  relieve pain caused by De Quervains Tendonitis.
I am really hoping this can help as I have been dealing with pretty debilitating pain in both thumbs and wrists of and on for over a year. I've had splints, cortisone shots, hand therapy... and finally made a second appt to have surgery ( I chickened out last time).
I made an appointment with the PA at the hand surgeons office in Berkeley, Ca for tomorrow to talk about finally getting the surgury as I have been putting it off in hopes that someone will come up with a non surgical solution.
Along those lines I had a neck problem that I went to physical therapy for about a year ago. Amazingly after two sessions he cured me using a technique called ARC (active release).
So I am thinking I might go back to this PT as was amazing and in the past I have been able to cure most of my aches and pains on my own without therapy or  surgury...Sometimes laying off tennis and swimming instead or trying to build up muscles around the knee when I have pain there by doing excercises and stationary upright bike worked really well for knee problems..
I'll check out the websites you recommended.. I noticed one of them said Sutterhealth...which I am familiar with.. Do you live in the Bay Area?
I was wondering if you lived around here if you could start an excercise group for dequervains suffer or maybe do a video of the excercises you are recommending!
Thanks a lot for all your good advice on this forum.

[Suzycreamcheese]

Hi Neck
I really appreciate your careful and thorough explanations of excercises and stretches to  relieve pain caused by De Quervains Tendonitis.
I am really hoping this can help as I have been dealing with pretty debilitating pain in both thumbs and wrists of and on for over a year. I've had splints, cortisone shots, hand therapy... and finally made a second appt to have surgery ( I chickened out last time).
I made an appointment with the PA at the hand surgeons office in Berkeley, Ca for tomorrow to talk about finally getting the surgury as I have been putting it off in hopes that someone will come up with a non surgical solution.
Along those lines I had a neck problem that I went to physical therapy for about a year ago. Amazingly after two sessions he cured me using a technique called ARC (active release).
So I am thinking I might go back to this PT as was amazing and in the past I have been able to cure most of my aches and pains on my own without therapy or  surgury...Sometimes laying off tennis and swimming instead or trying to build up muscles around the knee when I have pain there by doing excercises and stationary upright bike worked really well for knee problems..
I'll check out the websites you recommended.. I noticed one of them said Sutterhealth...which I am familiar with.. Do you live in the Bay Area?
I was wondering if you lived around here if you could start an excercise group for dequervains suffer or maybe do a video of the excercises you are recommending!
Thanks a lot for all your good advice on this forum.

[Joy2244]

I read thru most of the comments, but I just want to get replies from folks who had the surgery for DQ and had a good result. Actually I'd like to know both, as I'm trying to decide whether I should have the surgery or deal with the pain. So far, I've had one cortisone injection. Before the injection, the pain was a 10, but I stopped using my ergonomical computer mouse(how ironic) and with the injection, the pain was gone but came back about 3 months later. The pain is not as bad, but its there and about a 7 now, and I think it may get worse. My doctor doesn't suggest getting more than 2 cortisone injections. If' you had a good result or bad,with the surgery, please reply and tell me. I'd really appreciate it. Thanks

[neckandshoulders]

Hello. If I'm understanding your questions correctly I don't have any background related to post op pain since I've never had the surgery and would ask if you can get it rechecked. I also don't have any background in work comp cases. However, as far as managing dQ without surgery, Cortisone shots or meds I do have some insights that may help. If you read through my posts it's all about stretch & hold techniques for the wrist, arms, shoulders, neck and back. And, in my case, immobilization didn't work along with all the other recommendations from PT, ortho physicians, etc. I'm still pain-free with only a slight onset of symptoms if I stop the regimen for a few days. Hope that helps.

[Mrsstrick09]

HI, stumbled upon this blog as i was looking for some answers to post op pain from dQ. I had mine in march 2013. No issues, but today different story. I keystroke anywhere from 175,000 to 225,000 times a day. Left was where the surgery was, now it feels sore again.I do exercises and stop the typing, but i feel its creeping back in. This was a work comp case, and I was released from the Dr. not sure If I can get a recheck or not? Idea's?

[neckandshoulders]

Good to hear. It's all about interconnections! It's interesting, when I had a CT scan it only showed a very small amount of inflammation, but it's amazing how much pain that can cause, if that's the root of dQ. I've only made minor adjustments to the regimen and still the main focus is stretch & hold techniques from thumb, wrist, arms, shoulders, back and neck. Also keeping the anatomy active seems to be really important. One note for others who may be reading this thread, when I was experiencing severe pain, numbness, aching, tingling, etc. I didn't immediately start with stretch & hold techniques and aggressively using my hands/wrist — they were added gradually and I tested it carefully and, all the while, being careful with the neck region. I'd still like to hear other ideas, input, experiences, etc.