Wrist splints
 

I was scripted wrist splints to wear at night as my neurologist believes some or all of my increasing arm issues are carpal tunnel related. I picked them up on Saturday and started wearing them Saturday night during Doctor Who.

I decided to start prior to bed to sort out how tight to strap them, the answer being not tight at all. I found out right before bed I was rubbing at the base of my thumb with lycraish saw. No good.

So far 0/3 making it through a whole night with them on. I don't even recall taking them off last night. I'll get used to them. I am tempted to borrow my sons Batman cape and start talking in a gutteral whisper a la Christian Bale's take on the Dark Knight.

Any suggestions? I am wearing them
today between light chores. Anything to get accustomed to them. If they provide some relief long term I am in.

So far it feels like I have had light exacerbations to my buzzing and tingling, but the weather also shifted up 40 degrees, so...

60 to 70 in November. I'll take it, but how peculiar.

Jon

There are softer ones...

These are the ones I use now....
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ilpage_o02_s00

They are for moderate support... not orthopedic support.
When my carpal tunnel flares I wear these to bed.

There is no rubbing anywhere with these.

Can you put up a photo of yours? The medical splints tend to
be more rigid and heavily sewn compared to the neoprene ones, like this link shows.

There is a product by Dr. Scholl's called Moleskin.

It comes in several types:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss...ch%2Caps%2C184

It may be able to pad the spots you are rubbing. With wearing them they tend to stretch out, so may do that for you and cause less constriction around your thumb.

My version is shorter than yours. The medical ones often are used for immobilization when casts are removed from wrist surgery. I find the heavy duty ones, rather overkill.

My brace is neoprene with lots of velco for adjustment, and still has the metal insert to keep the wrist straight. My only disadvantage with it is when it is hot out... they hold body heat, but in winter, they are actually nice.

I usually only wear them at night. I find any brace during the day intrusive. But when I was pregnant, I wore them 24/7 for over 2 months. (the neoprene ones were not available then, only the heavier sewn nylon type)..

Once you wear them a bit, you learn to hold your arms and hands in a straighter way, so the braces are less needed, except for at night.

I'd get one of these for your dominant hand, and see if it works and is more comfortable. You can always use it in the future.
I've worn out 4 styles in 30 yrs... and this one shows the least
wear so far. But I only wear them in bursts, when I have flares.

http://www.jointhealing.com/ovation-wrist-brace.html

This is the one I have, both arms. I think it has a lot to do with beingaccustomed to it. I napped with my son today and managed
to keep them on, though they did have the 'swollen' feel when freed.


Thanks for the idea, I may end up getting a different set at some point.

Oh, I hope you didn't get one that is too small.
Too small may be constricting. You can always
Adjust if a bit loose, but if too tight, you can't make
a smaller one larger.

I have been wearing wrist splints and elbow splints turned backwards to kind of make me think when bending my arms. As crazy as it may sound, the pinched nerves in both elbows and wrists have been the most debilitating out of all the messed up things I have grown accustomed to.. I suggested physical therapy and I went for my evaluation yesterday. They actually seem very promising (and kind of believable). They are convinced that I will be able to raise my arms up again and possibly get some strength back. My expectations are low, I just want to keep trying and fighting. At first the pain would come and go, but my arms have been steady bad for over a month and getting worse. I should have mentioned that I wear all four splints at night and during the day when it's very bad. I found that the ace-type wraps made me scream out in the night quite fiercely. The wrist brace with the velcro works best for me. Sorry this is long winded, it's a topic on my mind at all times right now and it has taken me a very long time to find some kind of hope in this area. I have a bulging disc in my neck and that may or may not play a role in the capital and carpel tunnel. I am going with an anti-inflammatory epidural in my neck and physical therapy. Who knows. All I can say is that it took a long time to find anyone that wanted to come near me with the shape I am in physically right now; maybe it will be worth the wait. Best of luck, Jon

I didn’t have Carpal tunnel, but many other repetitive injuries to hand, elbow, arm, shoulders..
I used the soft wrist wraps similar to this style -
http://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Pro...KB39KAY37B2K4V
The warmth & adjustable gentle pressure/supposrt was what I needed..

At one point I had thumb splints, elbow bands, wrist wraps all in use..
Luckily that passed after some good PT and time ...and off work..

Are your hand/arm issues PN related or a separate RSI thing?

I might have already mentioned our TOS forum to some of you with these arm/hand, elbow issues... ( RSI tips and such too)
So I won't repeat myself.. but that forum does have a lot of info on those sort of things.

I don't believe they are too small, I think my sensory issue is on overload. My neurologist believes I likely have some double crush going on. We did our usual battery plus a few that made him believe it was that. I figure this is a noninvasive potential solution, let's give it a shot.

I already had issues sleeping, found a semi schedule and this is a new bend in the road. So it goes.

I will look into that forum, JoMar. I am likely to encounter more issues of this ilk. If my increase in numbness and buzzing is in whole or part carpal tunnel pain from it was non existent and I have witnessed some people in brutal duress from it. I myself had some carpal tunnel issues 20 years back. None of that pain was present. But I have no doubt he could be right.

Rambling a bit. I did get fitted for these, so I am assuming they are properly sized. On the loosest of bindings for tonight.

I'm being woken up in the middle of night with my ring and pinkie fingers going numb. It happens when my elbows are bent.

I bought an immobilizing splint to keep from bending at least one of my elbows, and now I constantly wake up in the middle of the night because I can't bend my elbow.

Is this all really necessary?

That scene and line from "Moonstruck" keeps popping into my head...

"Someone tell a joke."

I made elbow pads /wraps with kitchen towels/elastic bandage wrap, to help keep my arms straight at night when I was having troubles...

A little numbness here and there that goes away quickly after you eat, is not really crucial for bracing. Numbness that STAYS throughout the day, that is another animal.

When I started with my carpal tunnel I was waking in the night with blinding searing pain in my hands...like one would be from putting them in a fire or boiling oil. I had never had anything like it. My OBs sent me to a rehab doctor (now called physiatrists)
and she did an EMG on my arms and found 80% loss of function.

The braces she gave me then (from her office) as they were hard to find 35 yrs ago)...did the trick. Today my carpal tunnel is not that severe by any means, but I still use them fairly often.

You might try a cold treatment on your elbow before sleep. It might take down some of the inflammation. If you do it every day you might get "ahead" of something brewing.;)

I made it the whole night. I am not sure of any short term benefit, but baby steps, eh?