Day 112–Riding ! :)
Well today was the first day I rode the Vespa. This is thanks to two things. First my grip strength is much better although still very stiff in the mornings and my thumb is not working right. However much of the swelling is gone. I believe that the Protandim that I am taking really helped in this area. Second is thanks to a brake lever modification (see my other blog: http://vespaadventures.ca/2013/10/07/a-possible-weekend-ride/).
Well, the brake lever installation worked and I am able to fully stop under harsh conditions. I can work the throttle ok but not as smoothly as before.
My MRI is scheduled for November 22nd. even though most doctors feel it is not required (we shall see). This recovery (for me) has taken long and the improvements are very small and insignificant until you look back a month or two.
Here is my Vespa parked at the bank today!!
Proximal Row Carpectomy - PRC 
Sounds to me like you are loosing your spine angle through the shot, caused by fear.
I now play a fade but have gotten my index back to 0.0 thin 9750320 .
My new problem is a ruptured thumb tendon I just had repaired, no golf until August.
Please feel free to text me a swing video and maybe I can help.
Bill
Billyhogolf@yahoo.com
To all,
I had been living in pain for nearly a year, until I had a PRC on my right wrist on February 3rd. I’m right handed and have been wondering for some time if I’ll every regain the quality of life that I had a little over a year prior to undergoing surgery.
I’m very happy to report that yesterday (3.5 months post op) I chipped golf balls for the first time. I hit approximately a dozen 5 irons shots at the driving range as well. The wrist is still a bit tender so I used a tee due to being slightly afraid of taking a divot and causing pain similar to what I had prior to surgery…………….. Prior to the surgery I was a single digit handicapper…… Now in some ways it feels like I’m learning to gold all over again……. I thank for surgical team and the occupational therapist that have gotten me to this point…… It’s been one heck of a journey, but now that most of the daily pain and swelling is gone, it was worth the trip.
Good luck to all!!
Good luck with getting back out on the golf course. I was just happy to be back out on the course 3 months after surgery. But by a year after surgery (with a long winter in there), my wrist didn’t improve much and I was definitely discouraged. To say that I would have to quit the game is being overly dramatic. But I didn’t see how I could golf more than a couple times a month. Then I had my foot operated on and had to use crutches for 2-3 months. It was awkward having to use the crutches with the PRC wrist, but I could feel that after that 2-3 month period on crutches, my wrist was different. Once I could walk again, I hit the golf course and was surprised that my wrist was virtually pain free. It was an exciting time. Now at almost 2 years post surgery (and another long winter), I’m getting my distances back. I drive the ball as well as I ever have. Getting the confidence to swing aggressively with the irons is taking a little more time but I’m close to getting my normal distances back. And once in a while, the ball will even draw a little.
I am just about 18 months post and the game has been slow to return but things are moving in the right direction. Mine was a left wrist PRC and I am right handed. I wear a spandex brace underneath my golf glove and find that helps. Biggest issue on return was not pain. It was (1) fear of pain so the irons were thin and the divots almost non-existent, and (2) having fought a hook for almost thirty years I now find myself hitting too many cut/slice shots and still struggling to turn the ball over. I have noticed significant improvement in the last three months. Hang in there, it will get better.
A to return to my Dr this past week as I have been having horrible muscle spasms in my ring and pinky fingers of the PRC hand. After some bending and tapping on the elbow, the surgeon believes there is ulnar nerve irrigation and inflammation. He also thinks the tendon controlling movement o those finger is also inflamed. He started me on muscle relaxes twice a day. If is not improved when I go back in two weeks he will end me for a nerve function test to look for possible nerve damage.
I got my new set of measurements this past Monday a 7° improvement one direction and5° the other. There is talking of putting me into a special brace at night that will slowly an gently force my hand to stay in a slight flexed position while I sleep to try to improve the flexation of e wrist downward.
Probably this Monday my therapist will have me start not wearing the brace at all unless out in public. Have been til it will probably be another 7-8 weeks before they will begin remove the lifting restriction I’m under. It will also be after the new year before they will consider letting my try taking the dogs back to training. I honestly feel that if the wrist would pop (like your knuckles do) it would feel a lot better and not like something in there is on the verge of breaking lol.
This was my end of day 44. Still a long road ahead of me but I’m getting there.
Hi,
Did you have a nerve block to freeze your wrist for the surgery?
Thanks, ________________________
Peter Sanderson Peter.Sanderson@outlook.com
Home: (613) 933-3055 Work: (613) 577-4417 ________________________
Effective September 28, 2012 – Please update your records to change my personal e-mail from peterpq3@hotmail.com to peter.sanderson@outlook.com – Thank You ☺
I’m not really sure if I did or not. I don’t remember them saying if they did a nerve block. I do know when I woke up and for just about the rest of the day my hand and fingers were numb
Hi,
That sounds different. I received a nerve block whereby they inject a nerve blocking agent into my shoulder that freezes my arm and then they put me under for the operation because I choose to not be awake. The nerve block does have risks and one of those risks is nerve damage. They warned me of this beforehand but the risks were low. I personally think I had some nerve damage in my fingers that is slowly going away.
Thanks, ________________________
Peter Sanderson Peter.Sanderson@outlook.com
Home: (613) 933-3055 Work: (613) 577-4417 ________________________
Effective September 28, 2012 – Please update your records to change my personal e-mail from peterpq3@hotmail.com to peter.sanderson@outlook.com – Thank You ☺
It was just on a whim that I even googled PRC and to find this blog is wonderful. I am 3 months post surgery. Was doing wonderfully. Went back to work just 2 weeks ago as a bank teller. Has not been easy, I am actually back in the soft brace as the pain has increased substantially. Particularly with my thumb. I also have pain most days, though minimal, on the pinky side, nice to know that is normal. I am concerned that because of my job duties (counting money) all day, that my thumb will be an issue. Any views on that from anyone else? Sandy
Yes, my thumb is also a problem. I met with the surgeon last week and he explained that when they remove the bones they are in fact re-sculpturing the wrist but never quite know what the end result will be since the bones settle in depending on your muscles and ligaments and how you move. Often he said the bottom of the thumb becomes an issue. He did say that after 6-months that he would suggest a Cortizone shot into the base of the thumb. I asked if this was a temporary solution and he said that often it is a permanent solution and the pain goes away.
I am looking forward to the CT-Scan report that I should receive TODAY!!! I also am scheduled next week for a MRI. I will be posting the reports. My pinky does not have pain but is the only finger that will not fully extend straight at will. It seems to have a mind of its own.
I think for me, counting money would create stiffness in my fingers which is my issue at the moment. It is not so much the pain.
I wish you luck and please keep us informed on your progress.
I had my first physical therapy session today. It went better than I expected. Am a little sore but not as bad as I thought. The therapist seemed a little impressed with my baseline measurements. I am measuring 25% one action and 15% the other. Still not allowed to lift anything with the hand heavier than a 16oz bottle of soda. I have to use vitamin e oil on the scar several times a day with my exercises. She only gave me 3 to really concentrate on right now.
I was told in this clinic they are able to get 100% back for most of their patients… I’m hoping to be one of those. It’s looking like therapy is 3 times a week for 4 weeks then twice a week for 4 weeks then once a week for another 4 weeks. It’s probably going to be after the new year before I can get my dogs back into training.
Hi,
If you look at some of the log entries of the early days after my surgery, I was bummed. Today however, I do not have any pain but am only fighting stiffness, especially in the morning. I think I have an issue with a bone spur or something at the base of my thumb. Other than that, I am almost fully functional. I have a Cat Scan and an MRI scheduled for Nov 1 and Nov 20. I hope to have the news then. However, I do see improvement every day, although very slowly. I continually have to remind myself that “hey, I could not do that last week”.
For example, I cut up carrots and celery and noticed that I had a firm grip on the knife which was not the case last week. I have again mastered ALL of the buttons on my Logitech Master TV/Cable Remote with my right hand alone. I can now shake a person’s hand without forewarning them to be gentle (unless they have gorilla hands, of course). I can fully operate my Sony NEX 6 camera using the right hand fingers to operate the menu system. I can pull things very hard now. My grip went to the 5 Lbs squeezer and I think I am ready for the next level.
I think that my biggest issue is that I work from home and by staying home I catered too much to my hand and focussed on it continuously. I have noticed that when I am out and about, I do not focus on the hand and it just functions better without any issues.
I am certain that as the weeks pass, so will your pain and frustration…
Thanks,
Peter Sanderson
PS I have two Cavaliers King Charles and I can now what both of them and play outside and do agility.
I am just over 3 weeks post op and still having pain issues. I have what I believe to be fairly good ROM in my fingers. I can touch each finger to my thumb but like you Mark I get pain on the pinky side of my hand. The skin on top of my hand is painful, especially over the incision and I guess that will ease over time. I am just beginning to try moving my wrist. I’m worried that it still hurts this much with little use, what’s it going to be like when I start physical therapy. I’m just glad the PRC hand is my left and I am right handed. Today was a this hurts worse than before surgery day and has had me discouraged. It seems I will never see the end of the pain and swelling and this suture line will never dissolve and fall out so the tugging and pulling sensation will go away.
Enjoy you time riding Peter and your golfing Mark, hope to be able to say soon I have enough back I was able to put my golden retrievers back into training and that we are on our way to some dog shows!
I suppose you are to the point of being out of your cast and you now wear a removable brace. That was a pretty intimdating time. I didn’t like the thought of moving my wrist during those first couple days after the cast was removed. It just felt weird (besides any pain). The physical therapy really should be like any other physical therapy thay you might have had or that you might have heard of. I’ve heard people with wrist injuries having the physical therapist move their wrist one direction until they cry and then move it in another direction until they cry. The wrist exercises that you will be doing for a PRC are not like that. All your exercises will involve moving your wrist on its own as far as you can without forcing it into any pain. There is no quick fix for a prc wrist. It takes patience and should not be forced. You should be told that if the exercises hurt, then stop. If the wrist hurts too much the next day, cut back on the exercises. This is a marathon….Not a sprint. In regards to the fingers, I personnally was more aggressive in doing those exercises. I treated the wrist with ‘kid gloves’ but I would be more likely to force things with the finger movements and in my case my fingers seemed to respond pretty well to being exercised. I had some weird skin burning sensations on the back of my hand, underneath the skin, but not over the area of the scar. Not sure what that was, but the brace seemed to agravate it. But that slowly subsided. One of the things I was told to do with the scar was to lightly massage the area around it. The intent was to keep the different layers of whatever, that the doctor had to cut through to get to the bone, from sticking together. I was supposed to do that 2 or 3 times a day. By about a week or two prior to my 3 months post op, the watch that I wore was back down to the same size band as I had prior to the surgery.
Finger improvements can sometimes be noticed at weekly intervals, but it has been my experience that wrist improvements are hard to notice over periods less than a month.
Yes I have been in the removable brace for 2 weeks now. It was scary the first few days out of the cast! I am starting physical therapy this morning. The burning sensation has lessened quite a bit and the brace doesn’t feel as irritating or painful on the skin as it has just a week ago.
I have excellent use of my fingers now that there is almost no swelling in them during the day. Morning after I wake up are still the most painful part of the day. I still ice down a few times a day and it seems to help.
I know I will be getting treatments for edema management and scar management at therapy along with PROM (passive range of motion), heat and ice, ultrasound therapy and a few others I can’t recall off hand. I can’t imagine the scar looking any better than it does now. My surgeon did an amazing job closing things back up!
I keep trying to remind myself this will be a long process but I get impatient still not being able to do somethings for myself.
Dan,
Played 9 holes 3 months and 1 week after surgery (right handed). I play right handed and the PRC was on my left hand. I noticed at about 2 months after surgery that I felt no discomfort in my left hand when I swung the club left handed. I actually bought a left handed 3 wood and went out to the range and experimented with hitting the ball left handed at about 2 months 1 week from surgery. I didn’t hit the ball very well left handed but I was swinging the club. So based on my experiences, the 4 months is a reasonable expectation. Depending on what hand you had the PRC and whether you play right or left handed, you could be out on the course sooner.
Good for you in regards to taking your vespa out for a spin. I am a bit stunned by the limited range of motion for the fingers on your right hand at this stage of the game (looked at the pictures on your other blog). Admittedly, I only have my own experiences to draw apon in making any judgement. The range of motion on the fingers on my prc hand is the same or slightly better (becasue of the finger excercises I was doing with the PRC hand) than my good hand. My thumb bothers me most, but not so much in normal motions. It is more of a problem when I have my wrist positioned at the edges of its range of motion. I’m also a little stunned at how long it takes for you to get an MRI. Down here, if a DR prescribes an MRI, it can usually be done within the week. Even some of the smaller orthopedic clinics have on sight MRI equipment. Maybe an MRI will not show anything in your case, but I still think it is a good idea. I think that you need to press for getting more functional use out of your fingers or get a reasonable explaination for why you can’t get more functional use out of your fingers.
I have now golfed 9 holes twice in the last two weeks. I do get some pain on the pinky side of my wrist at some point around impact with the ball. After a few holes, it also gets sensitive to the touch in that area. But a couple hours after I’m done, as a whole, my wrist goes back to feeling normal (at least what I call normal this week). And the next day, it doesn’ t seem any worse for wear. Whether that pain on the pinky side of my wrist will always be there or if it is something that will eventually be excercised out, only time will tell. When hitting my irons, I end up adding about two clubs and still don’t get the ball as far as I could before my wrist went bad. I assume I’ll get some of that distance back. But I was never a big hitter anyway.
Good Luck
Hi,
Now that the swelling has subsided, my fingers are improving quickly. My strength is much better and I believe that in my case (33% of the Cases) my body takes more time to heal and does not like surgery. I no longer take any pain meds and in one month I can now squeeze 8 Lbs on the hand squeezer versus 1.5 Lbs a month ago. I can use dental floss and manipulate it, I can type and best of all I can ride. My major concern is the base of my thumb which is the pictures you saw. The “L” shape between the thumb and index finger. I can only open it half way at the moment. Very Stiff.
The MRI is because the surgeon did not recommend it but my doctor did. So I am prioritized. However, if I wanted to pay $ 500.00 I could have it in 24 Hours. My doctor scheduled a Cat Scan in a week as well. I think that it will only show that I will take longer to heal. Some people have sent me e-mails saying that after being in a cast for 6 weeks from a fractured wrist that it took 1 1/2 years for the stiffness to leave their fingers. I am disappointed that I am in this group, but I am re-assured when I see small progress always in the right direction. Obviously my wrist movement is and will be far less than the 33% success group. But I do not have the pain like the 33% failure group. So, in the middle is better than in the pain group.
I know that I could swing a golf club and be as good as I was before the operation (I was not a golfer).
Thanks, ________________________
Peter Sanderson Peter.Sanderson@outlook.com
Home: (613) 933-3055 Work: (613) 577-4417 ________________________
Effective September 28, 2012 – Please update your records to change my personal e-mail from peterpq3@hotmail.com to peter.sanderson@outlook.com – Thank You ☺
Mark,
How long after surgery did you first play golf? I am just three weeks post but hoping to be back on the links in four months. Does that sound realistic to you given your experience?
I am or was a scratch golfer who had a PRC on November 15th. Today is March 1st and I have 5 rounds under my belt. My tee shots are much shorter and my right hand needs to come off of the club a bit at the top but, I just reset it on the way down. My short irons are about a club shorter than before. My swing plane is a little steeper than before causing some pushes so I just need to rotate harder. All in all I am delighted.
3 months hopefully it is your lead hand ie: left for a right handed golfer , but not to worry mine is on the trail hand.
Sent from my iPhone
>