I have a friend (let’s call him Dan) who I would climb with years ago. He stopped climbing due to various injuries to his back and shoulder, but he was also experiencing wrist pain. We would get together for dinners with friends and he’d casually mention, “Oh yeah, I have this pain in my wrist, what should I do?”
If you are a healthcare provider, you know how these questions go at social events. You mention what you do, and all of a sudden you are the Ask Jeeves of the party. All that can be done is a quick screening and general answers not specifically tailored to that person.
So with Dan, I’d try to give him the quick free advice I could. But the pain wasn’t improving with the general exercises I had casually discussed. As time went on, Dan became more serious about it, and we finally scheduled a formal assessment.
Dan had full range of motion. He did not have pain to palpation or with special tests or resisted motions or even with bearing weight on his wrist. He said he had pain during surfing to push to stand, and at the end of gym workouts when his arm was tired and he would do maybe 20 pushups. Weight-bearing wrist pain like this can sometimes point to a TFCC injury or a structural issue — but assessment is everything.
So I had Dan do 20 pushups.
And there it was — the pain he had experienced, and now I could watch him and determine which direction to take his rehab program. With initial proprioceptive exercises and light strengthening, he went back to surfing with less pain. After instruction in progressive strengthening and proximal work as well, Dan completed his pushups without pain.
“[Surfing] was good! I’ll do a chest workout this week and let you know how that goes.” — 2 weeks in
“Did a chest workout last night. Wrist held up okay!” — 1 day after surfing
These wins make my day. To hear pain leaving and true potential in surfing and workouts being accomplished — that is the biggest reward in my work. We still have work to do to progress strengthening in the whole arm (shoulder to wrist), but Dan is heading in the right direction, and I am so proud of him for recognizing his need for professional help and putting in the work.
If you are ready to try something else when what you are doing is not working, let me know. Call or fill out a form to book your free consult.