Seeing a hand surgeon tomorrow

[dhaller]

About 10 weeks ago I wiped out on my bike, and was mostly (fortunately) uninjured except for a really, really bad sprained wrist (left).

That same day, I went to a minor emergency place where they X-rayed it, declared it not-broken, prescribed me some anti-inflammatories for the swelling, set me up with a splint, and sent me on my way. I was out of the splint in a few days, started doing some mild flexing exercises (typical sprain recovery stuff), and it's mainly usable, but after 10 weeks it's still uncomfortable, mainly when I press down on something (like opening a bottle cap) - hence a consultation with a hand surgeon.

I always like to go into a medical consultation armed with good questions, so I'm curious if anyone here has had similar long-lasting sprains? Are there any non-obvious things I might mention/ask about, to ensure an accurate diagnosis and useful treatment?

Danke in advance!

DH

 

[ter1413]

Yes.
"Dr., would jerking off alot affect the healing process?"

 

[dhaller]

Originally Posted by ter1413

Yes.
"Dr., would jerking off alot affect the healing process?"

I'm right-handed... not really an issue

 

[ter1413]

Then I would leave it to the doctor...unless someone chimes in who is a Dr or who has had a similar issue.

 

[HORNS]

Let the specialist do his work and evaluate you. Then:

- ask him if an MRI can help with the diagnosis - since there was no fracture, a soft tissue injury is giving you problems or there could be a missed fracture

- ask him what to expect with conservative treatment - the prognosis. Will prolonged immobilization at this point help? Would this then be followed by physical therapy?

- if he/she offers cortisone, ask them if immobilization is better since cortisone can slow the healing that still can potentially occur and you just don't have pain but a functional deficiency. However, cortisone can help reduce the pain enough to where you can engage in physical therapy more quickly.

- be cautious about any surgical options unless the imaging (MRI/X-ray) show some damage to a structure. At this point in your hand's history, you really have nothing to lose by taking a resting/immobilization course because surgery can always be done in the future.

Good luck.

 

[acidboy]

aside from my mtbike accident on christmas day, I also had a fall early 09, landing and spraining my left arm. also had x-rays done to check if anything's broken which proved negative. the sprain though was painful for a couple of weeks and I couldn't put weight on it almost a month after that. I pondered on doing rehab but decided to just let the sprain heal by itself, and was back on my bike 6 weeks after the fall.

 

[mehhhh]

See about getting one of these. May the force be with you.