problem wrists

[ropensaddle]

I have been climbing 22 years professional and bucket also
lately my wrists usually one at a time throb and make a tough job
even worse. I was wondering if anyone has experienced this and
what can be done ie exercise and the like, pain is actually on inside of
forearms! I know its really a doctor question but I will not go I have
no health insurance don't make enough in this state to make that
expense so if anyone has had this affliction and can help suggestions
are appreciated:help: :help: :help:

 

[spongygumz]

Wrists

Can you say carpal tunnel syndrome?I have been in the tree care industry almost 30 yrs and experience the same problems.Surgery.That is the only solution.But....I have a brother who has been swinging a hammer most of his life and has(had) CTS.He had surgery several years ago and is back 100%.He swears by it.However,a mechanic friend of mine had the same surgery,and he said it limited his range of movement.It's your call.Were I you,ropensaddle,I would jump on a website pertaining to this particular problem,and let your browser be your guide.

 

[SWAMPY036]

What works for me is I put my arms in front of me straight out palms up then bend wrist so your finger tips point down you should feel it stretch. Stay like that mabye 8 sec. Then leaving your wrist bent you will start to bend elbows when they get at about 90 deg. bend your wrist the extreme opposite direction. if done wright your knuckles should be in your face with your finger tips pointed at your biceps. Then lay them back out and repeat as many times as you need. Hope this helps what you are doing is stretching tendons in forearm so after your do this let your arms and wrist go limp and then shake them out . I had this same prob. and it has help me alot. If it is not clear i will try to explain again

 

[ropensaddle]

thanks

both of you, thanks for helping i will look in to carpel
probably cant afford surgery. Swampy i will try stretch had a bad
cut from a window years ago cant move right any further than
fingers straight out! Funny though worst pain is in good arm.
well who knows maybe i will get a job with a surgeon and trade
cuts that will probably be my best hope.

 

[Blinky]

Almost certainly you're dealing with inflammation of either connective tissue (tendons, sheaths, ligaments) or nerve tissue. It probably results from traumatic or over-use injury... and it's probably de-generative (it won't ever heal back to it's completely healthy condition).

Some of us are not young anymore and the abuses of a hard working/athletic life are catching up. Those injuries are easy to aggravate now and once inflamed, it refuses to ease up without long rest (months). If you can get the inflamation under control you can get the pain under control.

Try anti-inflammatory meds. Take enough to actually do some good, that is, take'em every day with meals; two, maybe three times a day. A friend turned me on to naproxen (Alleve) and I started taking 440mg with every meal... it worked... except it got so that I couldn't eat without having 1/2 hour of nausea after a meal or snack. Before that, I used Ibuprofen when I was having a lot of trouble. Now I'm trying it on a regular regimen like I did with the naproxen... it's working and so far, no nausea. When I say it's working, I mean the pain is acceptable, it's not gone by any stretch. I wake up tight and hurting every morning but once I get to work I don't notice it anymore until the next AM.

The pain you describe does sound like CTS... does it keep you awake at night? If it does, you have only two choices, months of rest, or surgery. From what I;ve heard about the surgery, it's not too bad and it does fix the problem... but it will sit you out of work for a long rest. I've had CTS but not so serious, I changed my work habits, especially the ergonomics of how I worked and it went away... that wasn't tree work though, it might not be so easy for you.

CTS is, for the most part, a result of hand/wrist angle. Working with your hand bent down or up up most of the time will result in an abraided and inflamed sheath (I think it's a nerve sheath) in your wrist. The straighter you can keep your wrist, the less you will aggravate the abrasion... and maybe it can get better.

I'm not a doc or anything, but I was trained in ergonomics to prevent CTS at my last real job (not climbing related) which was a long time ago... that and I've had tendonitis from rock climbing and paddling about a zillion times... so, take that for what it's worth... which is not a lot.

Good luck... try to get some health insurance... a lot of men start to fall apart in their 50's... you don't want to go through that without some health care resources. Women's health insurance is expensive when they are young and cheap when they get old... men's is the other way around. It's based on how likely you are to use it.

 

[Davey Dog]

I have been climbing 22 years professional and bucket also
lately my wrists usually one at a time throb and make a tough job
even worse. I was wondering if anyone has experienced this and
what can be done ie exercise and the like, pain is actually on inside of
forearms! I know its really a doctor question but I will not go I have
no health insurance don't make enough in this state to make that
expense so if anyone has had this affliction and can help suggestions
are appreciated:help: :help: :help:

RopenSaddle... I am guessing you have or had horses at some time...?? DMSO gel. Its a horse linament. Go and get some and start using at night before you go to bed... I have more wrist problems than you can count...
That is my nightly routine. 3 vicadin, 2 somas, 2 flexeril, and a whole bunch of DMSO.... Dont wrap it though, it will create to much heat and burn your skin... I have had a full wrist replacement, and this is what works for me so I can go to work the next moring.... Good luck man, I do know how you feel..

 

[yooper]

damm 3 vicadin,2 somas,and 2 flexeral soundns like yer playen QB for the green bay packers!!!every throw in a few beers with that cocktail? :yoyo:

 

[Jim1NZ]

Never had throbbing, but for joint care these guys make some awesome products and are worth a look....

Glucosamine sulphate i have used before. You have to be consistent when taking supplements and try it for 3 months before expecting results.

http://www.bio-organics.com.au/

 

[npstreeguy]

some solutions

Ive had carpal tunnel now since last October and I'm only 26! However ive been able to alleviate the pain by using splints at night while i sleep. I picked them up at CVS pharmacy for like 25 bucks a piece. they should be marked as carpal tunnel splints. I also take vitamin b 6 supplements which are supposed to help. These were suggestions from my doctor who also thought i should take off work for a month. Yea right buddy! If my problem didnt become better in the next few months he suggested physical therapy, then possibly medication and finally surgery as a last resort. I hope this helps.

good luck

mike dunn

 

[daemon2525]

My wife uses a cream called CASTIVA and says that it helps. I believe that it is menthol and Castor oil or something.

 

[treevet]

you mentioned you might want to hear some excercises. i am a 58 (in 2 wks) yr old climber. i take a 5 spring set set and put one handle thru my same hand sided foot and sit on a high stool and put a pillow on my knee and w a palm up put the hand in the other handle. i then do wrist curls w the knee making the resistence on the wrist and spring. i do as many as it it takes to cry out in pain usually about 70 to 75. i then reverse my hand after taking off 2 of the springs and do reverse wrist curls in the same manner. i do this 3 times a week. a couple of times i also use a sledge hammer (it is good bcs you can adjust the weight by moving your hand up or down on the handle). torque the sledge right and left and up and down. i do this mainly for racquetball but it has kept me wrist injury free for these years. racquetball also crosses over to quad strength and anaerobic(sp) to tree work. i use handgrippers also. i think the spring set is better than weights bcs it gives wider range of resistence and hi reps give endurence. might want to wait til pain subsides. drs. are going to want to cut you or sell you medication (indirectly) just like it is real tough for us to tell a client their tree needs nothing when that is exactly what it needs. get a 2nd opinion if you can buy the dr. route. good luck.

 

[elmnut]

I saw something called a gyroscope that supposedly works wonders for arm and back pain, around 20.00 or so. Google "gyroscope", I saw it at TCIA Expo in Baltimore this past fall. Ice and heat at 20 minute intervals can help with pain also. Physical therapy helps if you do the exercises they give you. My right arm has been fractured/broken in more places than I care to recall, PT is the only thing that has helped keep tree work related pain to a minimum.

 

[slowp]

Did Anything Work?

So, did anything work? I am in very early 50s, haven't run saw a lot since age was in 20s, am now clearing roads in my "spare" time and woke up last night with my right hand numb and tingling, which isn't unusual as I mark a lot of timber and that does it too, but it took about 15 minutes this time to get it feeling normal again. I quit bike riding long distances because of wrist and hand problems but want to keep doing what I'm doing. Yesterday I worked for a couple of hours brushing out a road--run saw a while, then shut it off and drag brush off road a while. I spent the morning marking trees to cut for skyline corridors. Maybe it is the combination? Any ideas on relief? It's like you turn 50 and start falling apart!!!!!:bang:

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

For inflammation, ice is best, it helps reduce the swelling.

Pain management by taking an OTC pill by the label will help a lot too. Naproxen twice a day works for me.

I'm quite beat up from 8.5 years in the USMC, I've tried to get the VA to prescribe a hot tub for several years now....

 

[M.D. Vaden]

My knuckes get sore, I get pains like yours, and even the other day, my shoulder was so sore that I had to use my right hand to help lift my left hand up to the steering wheel.

Comes and goes.

That's why I came to southern Oregon, because I expected to quit the trade and do something easier.

So I did sales for 6 weeks, and hurt 3 times worse from not "working" than from really working.

Now I'm back in business, but need to move back to Portand's west suburbs - my niche.

That was a surprise. May not have moved south had I known.

So I can live with the aches from pruning much better than the pains of shriveling into sales or easy work.

 

[Dadatwins]

Since my wrist problems a few years ago I noticed the 200t top handle was causing me a bunch of grief. I switched to silky hand saws, and rear handle chain saws when ever I can. For a climbing saw I use the Dolmar 3410TH. Slightly different handle angle does help after a daily workout. I know the 200t has a bit more grunt and is the leader of the pack but the handle design is murder on bad wrists. Just something else to consider.

 

[slowp]

Hot tub

For inflammation, ice is best, it helps reduce the swelling.

Pain management by taking an OTC pill by the label will help a lot too. Naproxen twice a day works for me.

I'm quite beat up from 8.5 years in the USMC, I've tried to get the VA to prescribe a hot tub for several years now....

I got a cheap one last winter and the ibuprofen use took a drastic drop. It said it was a 4 person one, but you'd better like your 3 friends a lot, and everybody should shave their legs.:biggrinbounce2: It is great for just me.
It only weighs 200 pounds empty and just plugs in a wall socket. It is made of hard plastic. I'm glad I got it.

 

[oldugly]

30 yrs of climbing, bucket work, and overall beating my wrists to a pulp. The Ibuprofen, naproxen, and other pain relievers work well...sometimes I think too well. Explanation...I find I can work well with a good dose of pain relievers, but the next day I suffer even more. My opinion is that by medicating the pain, I overstrain the wrists, etc. and don't realize it. My own worst enemy is my laziness...(one-handing saws and reaching, rather than climbing to my cuts), causes me more grief and strained muscles than doing things the right way.

Good thread, I may be trying some of these suggestions out myself, especially this winter. Hands really bother me when cold weather starts setting in.

 

[arbo71]

Had this problem

some years ago... I used a gel called Voltaren... it worked well. Had no problems anymore since 1992.

Greetings from germany

arbo 71

 

[Justice]

hands... maybe a new thread but as with oldugly my hands KILL when the cold sets in. Cold weather makes my hands feel like they were hit with a hammer until they are acclimated to the cold... every morning.

As far as forearm numbing I found using the bucket and trying to use two hands on the saw make a big difference. A mederal pack, or predizone is a stronger anti inflammatory and has longer effect. Same thing they use for poison ivy.
DMSO is a little risky IMO. Gives you BAD!!! breath too. Like garlic times ten. If you try it be VERY clean before you put it on, and use very small amounts.


Agree good post!