Physiotherapy is such a confusing business

I had a session with a physiotherapist this morning and have to admit I came away just a little confused with life.

The therapist asked me all kinds of questions relating to my my current lifestyle, my hobbies, what exercises I had been given by the hospital and details of the things I had been up to since my plaster came off. He also queried what I had done for a living when I was still working and asked about any previous hobbies. I answered honestly, then had a good look at my hand.

I got a telling off for having made too much use of my right hand in the last week or so and also for doing a wrist exercise that I shouldn't be doing. But wait a minute, I was told to do the exercise by the physiotherapist at the hospital so surely it must be right? Oh no Mr Page, you shouldn't be using your wrist at all at this stage! Hmmmm.

The physiotherapist then demonstrated three new exercises he wanted me to practice over the next couple of weeks until I see him again. These new exercises are in addition to the exercises I had previously been given. Two of the new exercises involve putting pressure on the base of the thumb to prevent the joint moving. Finally he gave the scar tissue a massage and told me I should massage the area as many times a day as I felt comfortable with. He instructed me to wear a splint and use the hand as little as possible over the next two weeks. No lifting, no carrying. Don't even use the hand to lift a cup or hold cutlery. Bear in mind I had been told by the hospital only to wear a splint if I was in pain and to use my hand normally as much as possible, so the new advice seems a bit strange.

Now here's the thing, until I attended this morning's session my right hand was pain free. On a scale of one to ten where ten is the most severe I'd say my current pain level was eight. The base of my thumb has swollen, a purple bruise is starting to form and the knuckle joint aches. The back of hand hurts and I can no longer straighten my fingers without it causing a stabbing pain. In short I now have restricted movement and pain where previously I didn't. I'm not saying the therapist I saw today doesn't know his business, but to be given such conflicting information is somewhat confusing for the patient, isn't it? And what's the pain all about? Is this a case of "if it hurts it's doing you good?" Hmmmm.

Pushing the boundaries?

I was fiddling around with one of my cameras this morning, just seeing how it felt in my hand really and trying a few things out. I hadn't had a DSLR in my hands for at least 12 months

It was just after 8:00am, windy, spitting rain. The skies were dark with heavy cloud cover, consequently the light was very flat so not ideal conditions for natural light photography at all. Undaunted, I ventured out into the garden and shot this:

ISO 2000, aperture f5.6, shutter speed 1/400 sec, focal length 300mm, flash did not fire

The camera was hand-held and I tried to focus on the stamen - not too easy given the flower heads were waving about in the wind. Here's another effort:

ISO 2000, aperture f5.6, shutter speed 1/400 sec, focal length 300mm, flash did not fire

The camera settings are a bit extreme for me, I rarely shoot with a film rating above ISO 400 and in the available light conditions I would normally use a tripod or some other form of camera support with a 300mm lens. However this morning's experiment was to see whether I could handle a camera again and I think the answer to that question is a resounding yes! Happy bunny. 😃

Healing nicely

Just a quick update on my right hand. As of yesterday I'm cast free and as you can see from the image the scar has healed and it appears the internal restructure is healing nicely. I get the impression there will soon be very little external evidence of work having been undertaken.

So now the rehabilitation begins. I have some simple exercises to do, which will help to mobilise the hand/wrist following its six week incarceration. I'll also be attending some physio therapy sessions aimed at rebuilding strength in the wrist and grip and increasing dexterity within the whole hand.

I'm due to see the surgeon again in about two months time so he can monitor my progress and we can discuss getting me returned to his list for work on my left hand.

I won't deny there's currently a certain amount of discomfort as I go through my exercise routine, but that's to be expected at this stage. The really positive thing for me is the relative lack of pain when I ball a fist or close finger to thumb, especially when compared to similar activity of my left hand. I'm really very pleased with the progress so far.

Not a happy bunny

I'm currently waiting to have orthopaedic surgery on my hands to help counteract the effects of osteoarthritis. The procedure is known as trapeziectomy, where a small bone is removed from the wrist at the base of the thumb. I have the issue in both hands and find difficulty in gripping/holding anything between thumb and fingers. Even doing up buttons or tying shoe laces and using a knife and fork is painful and frankly my quality of life is suffering since I am no longer able to do many of things I enjoy like cycling, playing guitar and taking photographs.

In December last year I attended a pre-admission appointment to ensure I was a suitable candidate for anaesthesia. During the appointment I asked when the first surgery was likely to take place and I was told usually within 3 months. Given we are now in mid-March I rang the appointments secretary to query why I hadn't heard anything since my pre-admission appointment. It transpires I probably won't be seen now until July at the earliest, which means I will not get surgery on both hands this year (they only fix one hand at a time and the expected recovery between surgeries is as least 6 months).

Medically speaking I appreciate there are a lot of people worse off than me, but nevertheless this delay in what is a relatively simple procedure, which would make a considerable difference to me is bloody frustrating.

Another step forward...

So I had my pre-op assessment at Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr this morning, which I passed with flying colours thank goodness and that's one step further forward towards getting the surgery I need on my hands. The next step in the process is for me to meet with the Specialist who will undertake the knife-work and the Anaesthetist who will take care of keeping me pain free during the operation.

I'm not complaining, but I think it's a shame it's not possible to go through the two processes on the same day since each visit entails a 60 mile round trip for me and this morning's assessment was already my third visit to the hospital. To be honest I'm just happy things are progressing.

I don't have a date yet for the aforementioned meeting, but I'm told it should happen in the not too distant future and the consequent surgery on my right hand should happen a couple of weeks after that. 😃

So all in all things are looking up for Usky!