Hi Ladies

As I said, I had the joint release and manipulation in June. I was, of course, aware of the risks.

The knuckle in my little finger had very limited ROM and physio wasn't improving it. The surgeon basically used a small needle to nick tissue above the knuckle which had become stuck and was preventing movement. The manipulation was a matter of fairly forcefully moving the joints; that is, more forcefully than more forcefully than could be done while I was awake.

I did experience additional pain for a few weeks following the procedure. Luckily, however, I have had no spread or long-term worsening of the CRPS.

I have greatly improved ROM following the release. I don't have nearly the ROM of a healthy hand but it is very much improved and am now able to make some slow progress in physio. As for the manipulation of the wrist, there was less immediate improvement but I have been able to make progress with it in physio since the procedure.

Renee, as far as I can tell I do not have a crooked wrist. My hand, wrist and forearm are still a bit swollen and the level of swelling varies. Oddly, my forearm just above my wrist is the most noticeable area of swelling.

I did have a stellate ganglion block but it did not help me at all. In fact, I had my worst flare-up following that. I think the nerve blocks only work for some people. Unfortunately, I was not one of them.

Az-Di, I wish you the best of luck with whatever you decide. Ultimately, you have to do what you think is best for you. There is so little known about CRPS and we each seem to have such different experiences with various treatments that it is really difficult to know what to do. I was worried about the procedure but after speaking with multiple doctors and weighing up the pros and cons myself, I decided to go for it. I know I was lucky and it could have gone the other way. If you decide to have the procedures, I hope you will be lucky too.

Kim