A Knitter with Pain at base of thumb and bone on back of hand

by Connie
(Hockessin, DE)

I have your dvd for Knitters and did the exercises daily for about 10 days and then occasionally after that.


I had relief from pain in my shoulder and arm, but continue to have pain at the base of my thumb near wrist joint that radiates upward and pain around the bone on the back of my hand.

In fact, the exercises seemed to irritate the boney area on back of hand. During this time I have continued to knit, but not as much, with several days without knitting.

I do not have numbness, but stiffness and lack of grip with my right hand, in addition to the thumb pain.

Are there additional exercises that I can do for my thumb and hand? And, I will be traveling this next week and wondering if I should do the exercises without the ice dip? I really like the second activity and it has helped my shoulders and helps to to focus on my posture when I am knitting.

I have had to give up doing many Yoga postures because of the pain in my hand and wrist - would strengthening my arm muscles help, ie. weights??

I like the Knitter's dvd, but wondering if there is an additional problem going on here that we could address without buying another dvd.

Many thanks for you suggestions.

Connie
Hockessin, DE



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Joshua Answers:


Hello Connie.

It sounds like the DVD after 10 days has given you a lot of relief. That's great.

It's also a valuable clue that you still have what symptoms you have.

Quick answers, and then some questions.

1. Yes, strengthening would be a wise move.

2. Yes, continue whatever exercises that you can.


Questions:

1. Describe the pain in your thumb/hand/wrist in more detail please. Where does the pain radiate. What does 'bone on back of hand mean'. Where, when, how, etc.

2. What exactly is the pain/problem that stops you from yoga?

3. Is that the same pain/problem that limits your knitting?

4. Did you have numbness/tingling, but now you don't?

5. Does the thumb pain feel more like a joint issue/pain, or is it just that the muscles are tight and painful in the thumb pad?

6. Which activities from the dvd irritate/hurt your hand? What exactly is the result from that activity?


I hope you have email access while traveling so we can keep you in an upward spiral.

Talk to you soon.



Joshua Tucker, B.A., C.M.T.
The Tendonitis Expert
www.TendonitisExpert.com
















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Comments for A Knitter with Pain at base of thumb and bone on back of hand

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Jan 21, 2010
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starstarstarstarstar 		PART 2 - Knitter with pain in thumb and shoulder
by: Connie (Hockessin, DE)

Dear Joshua,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you and thanks for your comments so far.

To elaborate on the thumb pain: The whole thumb hurts to some degree, but the serious pain is at the base of the palm side of the thumb, may even be considered wrist, and has now developed a large bump between a dime and quarter in size. Thumb/wrist joint hurts when I rotate it and pain radiates down into wrist.

Does not necessarily hurt while knitting, but later and especially at night when the ache and throbbing will disturb my sleep. I find it difficult to lift pans from the stove or to grip in general.

The Yoga pain is most severe when I do Downward Facing Dog and put my weight on it - the pain then seems to be in the back of my hand, in addition to the base of thumb area. The "bone" on the back of my hand is below the index and middle finger near the wrist, closer to the thumb than the side of hand, and is very prominent. It has been prominent my whole life on both hands, but now will get sore around the bone on my right hand(the hand I knit with).

Interestingly, I am not that uncomfortable while knitting, but notice the pain and aching after knitting. And, presently, the icing and exercises are not helping the shoulder and am waken at night with pain in the shoulder as well as the thumb/wrist. It is helpful to lay on a rolled up pillow under my shoulder blades and open up the chest area. The pain in the thumb/wrist is worse when I do the stretching exercise downward versus when I stretch the hand upward and back.

Hope this additional detail will give you the clue you need to understand what is going on and what I need to do. I am wondering if I need physical therapy, ie. ultrasound, etc.?

Many thanks,
Connie


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Joshua Comments:

Hmmm, I sure wish I could see you in person for 5 minutes. :(

1. Ice Dip a lot for a week. (won't help the shoulder, but will help the hands.)

2. Supplement with a good Magnesium Dosage, if you aren't already.

3. Rub/dig into the thumb pad. Is it REALLY tender, tight, bandy, sensitive? I bet the thumb pad structure is a primary source of you hand/wrist pain. Start massaging that area several times a day for several minutes. Do that for a couple days and let me know your experience.


4. I think you need good massage on the shoulder/chest, neck, and forearm/hand. I don't think ultrasound will help....what you can do by yourself is ice dip the lower arms and rub both sides of your forearms and thumb pad regularrly for a week. We can talk shoulder later.


Do that for a few days, and let me know results, results or not will be a good clue.



Mar 21, 2010
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Read my palm
by: Smithy

I also have a lump in the palm of my hand Thanks for info didn't have a clue what it was. However in the last few days a boney lump has appeared on the top of my thumb .

It only hurts if I press on it.

Many thanks for enlightening me.


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