UKC

I see there's been a few post about this. Basically I think I have it, brought on by 2 weeks cranking on french mini pockets. It seems to me its a swollen tendon/sheath and it is trapping the nerve in my wrist. One solution if the problem doesnt subside is surgery. Has anybody had this and what were the effects on climbing and your ability afterwards. Im not bothered about recovery times etc.. i can cope with that, but chopping a ligament in hand.. is it not going to effect your abilty to pinch/hang holds? thanks in advance.

In reply to Paul R: I had surgery on my right hand in November as it was badly affecting my Bass playing. The fingers were ok withing 2 weeks of the op but I still can't put any weight on the base of my palm e.g. pushing up out of a chair, riding on dropped handlebars, using a kayak paddle effectively and so on. More importantly I can't use the hand effectively for climbing.
Specialist reckons up to 12 months to heal properly. he plus side, I have a really cool scar

In reply to Paul R: OOps - to address your specific question, Pinching and hanging would be ok - it's just moves where you're pushing down against the palm that would be painful.

In reply to Paul R:
Make sure you see a really good consultant, and they will advise you if surgery is really necessary.

I suffer from cps, but the consultant says it does not warrant the risk of surgery, so I do stretching excercises when it gets bad and they calm it down.

You will know when its really bad as you will wake up in the night with really bad pins and needles.

In reply to graeme jackson: cheers graeme, am i assuming that this pain when pushing will slowly get better over time as it all heals? or has it left a space in your palm where pressin just hits the nerve. Im struggling to get my head round what the ligament actually does.
What were your symptoms? I too play, well a 6 string, i can still play but will 'pump out' after a couple of mins if i start hammering it, is this any similar? btw its my left hand.. playing hand.

In reply to Paul R:

I had both hands done several years ago.

It takes longer than some people say for full function to return, partic pinch gripping.

Now I have no problems at all.

Worked well for me.

In reply to neilh: yeh, im trying to get to see one, when i finally get through the doctors appointment system. I also have slight tendonitis under my elbow, which i think might be causing some problems further down the line?. Yes i do get bad numbness/pins n needles in sleep, usually if i fall asleep with hand resting on belly lay on my back.

I get this if I do a lot of training.
I find it reduces if I stretch out the forearm muscles well.
Also splints while sleeping stop me waking up with hand numbness/pins and needles.

In reply to Paul R:
Sorry Paul - went home last night


The ligament stretches from the base of your thumb to the opposite side of your hand and effectively keeps all the carpal bones together. what happens (at least in my case) is the ligament gets to be too strong and compresses the bones too much, thus compressing the tunnel that the nerve passes through. In the operation, the doc slices through the ligament - but i don't believe right through - enough to release some of the tightness. Once the skin wound has healed you can't feel a dip in the ligament. - there is a scar though. i think the pain is just due to the fact that it takes a long time for the ligament to repair itself fully.


I play bass finger-style (no pick) and would find that after a couple of songs my right hand would start to get pins and needles. Speed wasn't affected but 'feel' was. Shaking out after each song would help a bit but it was getting to the point where i was concentrating more on the 'illness' than on putting on a good performance - meant I wasn't enjoying the gigs. I was also having problems cycling to work - after 3 or 4 miles both hands would be numb - i initially put this down to ulnar nerve problems and tried all sorts of gloves / bartape and so on. There is an associated problem when you're asleep too. Once you relax, your hand naturally curls round and compresses the nerve more - you then wake up in agony! The remedy while I was waiting for the op was to wear a surgical wrist band - one of the ones with a metal splint while sleeping.

best thing is to get your GP to refer you to a specialist as soon as possible. Once he/she has had a look they'll send you for electro-pulse tests where they pass a current from your elbow to your finger and measure the current loss across a known good nerve and the one causing the problems. This tells them how bad it is..- this hurts BTW (although the nurse that did mine told me the students practiced on themselves more than is healthy!).
A good way to tell if it is CTS is when you have pins and needles, is your little finger affected? If it is then it's most likely something else - CTS should only affect your thumb,1st, index and one side of your ring fingers (wierd but there it is).

interesting anomoly - I only had my right hand done in november and by the time I went back in feb for a review the symptoms had stopped in my left hand so they're leaving it alone for the time being.

In reply to Paul R: I have something similar--- you may want to check De Quervain's Tenosynovitis and the Finkelstein Manoeuvre. Had it since January to varying degrees. Ibuprofen had no discernable impact. Now heading to specialist!

In reply to Paul R: I think that if you have brought on these sypmtoms by doing just two weeks of hard work, you possibly do not need to subject yourself to surgery!!! It may well be that you've over done it and if you rest it, and get back into it gradually, your symptoms disappear for good. It just seems a bit hasty to subject yourself to the knife!!

As a separate issue, carpal tunnel release does not chop a ligament involved in pinching/hanging.

Imagine a short section of tube made of ligament through which pass various bitd and bobs including tendons and nerve heading toward the wrist. Imagine bending this tube - it squashes what is inside. The surgery releases the ligament that makes the tube - making more "space" so that when you flex, you do not compress. It is a totally different situation from chopping, say, a ligament in your knee or ankle.

In reply to Paul R:

Hi paul

My other half had it done last year on his left hand, he was climbing again within a week but just had to be careful with pushing down with the palm. His grip strength is now up to what it should be and he has had no discernable problems since surgery. I hope that helps. If you would like any more info, drop me an email and I'll get him to email you directly.

Stacey

In reply to all: Wow some great help here cheers. Second docs appointment next week n im going to see if i get to see a specialist. Im starting to think there could be more than 1 issue now. At least now if the tihs hits the fan the op is not the end of the world, as i thought it was. Thought it was connecting the thumb muscle to something!
I believe now the regular use of a hand router is adding to the issue of the sudden change of climbing style (2 weeks on shallow pockets)... thus both might be inflamming the tunnel area, coupled with non existant stretching regime.
Anyway cheers t all.

In reply to Paul R: I had a problem with my wrist a couple of years ago with carpal tunnel symptoms - basically caused by a combination of trying to pull repetitively on a rubbish hold on a route I was trying and using heavy power tools. Ended up resting it for a few weeks then starting back on stuff gradually and taping the wrist to support it. Symptoms got better, although I'm careful with it now and stop if it starts to hurt - not gone back and tried the route again though!

In reply to Paul R:

One thing I forgot to mention. When Chris went to see the specialist, they performed tests on his hand which confirmed that he had carpel tunnel and definitely required surgery. They placed electrodes on various parts of his hands and sent currents through to his fingers (I could be wrong, its a little hazy), they did this on both hands and were able to tell that he had carpel tunnel by how the signal got through to his finger tips. It was greatly diminished in the hand with carpel tunnel.

i had an accident at work and cut through my right hand 1yr and 6 months ago.i cut a nerve and nicked the ulnar artery. while in surgery the surgeon also cleared the carpaul tunnel and did the carpaul tunnel release. i was back at work within a few days (not doing a lot though) couldn't fully use my hand for about 2 months 3rd month i started climbing. the only time it feels starnge so far has been hand jamming (which i can't do yet) and also if i press down i get a slight tingly sensation.

I posted in March about having CTS and was waiting till I'd had treatment to thank all the people who gave me advice - thanks guys. Now it's cropped up again.Seems to me - from what was said back in March and the latest thread, that it is very difficult to decide WHAT is the best course of action for YOU as different people react differently to treatments. All you can do is read all the experiences and make up your own mind on what you know about your own body and how bad your symptoms are. I had the steroid injection on Tuesday - my consulatant is willing (even keen, but aren't they all) to operate but appreciates my desire not to lose climbing time in the season. My symptoms are pretty bad and I understand that there is a limit to how many injections you should have so it seems I have few options but to go under the knife eventually. A bit worrying what some of the reports from people about recovery times,given I seem to have lay off after lay off for various procedures -dupuytren's contracture last year, but I guess that's the price I pay for still climbing at my age! At least I AM still climbing.

In reply to Paul R:
Had carpal tunnel surgery on LH in early June 2000 (as part of some more complex surgery not relevant here). Checking my diaries I was bimbling around on diffs after 7 weeks, on VSs after 11 weeks and back to my previous levels of punterdom after about 5-6 months. The surgery I had also involved my left index finger which might have extended my comeback time.
It didn't affect my ability at all -I was just as much of a punter afterwards as before . No impact in terms of pinches or hangs.
Good luck with yours.
Cheers
Paul

In reply to Paul R: Thought id give an update. My doc doesnt seem to think its carpal tunnel, as my fingers arent going numb anymore. Its possibly a rsi/ bad tweak for which the swellinghas been trapping the main nerve. Strange though as i can still pull without it hurting, as if it were tendon damage. Anyhow, ive been referred to specialist, appointment when the NHS can fit me in!