Living with De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis
I have been pretty lucky when it comes to my health, other than a couple of accidents where I damaged the tendons in my ankle a few years ago I haven’t had any major issues until a few years ago when I started to develop a strange pain in my right wrist.
I had always thought that the amount of time I have spent working with computers in my life that it would catch up with me and give me some sort of repetitive strain problem but this pain was an odd one – it came and went seemingly whenever it liked, usually lasting a week or more and spreading up from my wrist to my elbow and eventually shoulder.
The pain used to rear its ugly head every month or so and for roughly a week I would find flexing my wrist extremely painful. Although it didn’t interfere too much with my work and hobbies there was always an aching sensation in my right arm and pain would shoot from my wrist if I accidentally flexed it too far towards the sky or the floor.
I must have suffered like this for a couple of years before I got a diagnosis of De Quervain’s tenosynovitis – a painful condition affecting the tendons on the thumb side of your wrist. No-one seems to know the exact cause of this condition but chronic overuse of your wrist is commonly associated with it.
I received my diagnosis from a local Osteopath who explained to me that when the tendons in my thumb are aggravated they swell and this swelling then impinges on the median nerve, one of the three major nerves of the forearm and hand, in my wrist which causes nerve pain which travels along the median nerve path from my wrist up to my shoulder.
Over the years I have tried many treatments to try and lessen the pain caused by De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis which have included pain killers, anti-inflammatory drugs, an anti-inflammatory diet, strapping my wrist with Kinesio tape, deep tissue massage, acupuncture as well as applying both hot and cold compresses. I have also found some health and wellbeing articles from www.cfah.org useful.
None of these really take the pain away altogether but some can ease it and take the edge off a little, I simply have to ride it out until the inflammation in my wrist reduces. I have recently started using CBD oil orally as a preventative measure as well as applying it topically to my wrist when it starts to get sore. CBD is widely available, to learn more check out this CBD in London guide.
De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis can be treated with steroid injections and ultimately surgery. Luckily my condition seems to be reducing in frequency; whereas it used to be painful regularly every month now it is a rare occasion. I am hopeful that this means I will not need more drastic treatment and that I am doing less to aggravate it.
Right now my life is pretty normal with little on-going treatment required, thank goodness! My recommendation would be that if you are having any repetitive pain in your wrist do see a medical professional as soon as you can to ensure early intervention and treatment!
14 comments
I have never heard of this condition before and it sounds extremely painful, I suffer with pains in my shoulder which come and go and I really should get investigated. I do think CBD has great benefits for pain. I do not know if this is something that could help you but pure magnesium spray is good for pain in ME sufferers, you spray it on and if your body is deficient you will get a tingly feeling.
Thanks for the suggestion. I have used magnesium in the past but it might be worth revisiting 🙂
I’ve never heard of De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis before, it sounds rather painful I’m glad it’s on rare occasion after taking CBD- I’ve always been a bit wary of it as I don’t know much about it, but it sounds like something I should look into more.
I don’t think many people have heard of it, I hadn’t until I had my diagnosis! I was worried about ordering CBD online but when I met a lady in person at her CBD stall at a plant powered expo and was able to ask her about it I felt a lot more confident 👍🏻
I’ve never heard of this condition before but that sounds like you are having a difficult time. Thank you for sharing and spreading awareness about this.
Thanks Lyanna, I had never heard of it before I got my diagnosis either 🙂
I’ve never heard of this condition before so thanks for bringing awareness of it, It’s a shame that nothing can really be done about it, but it’s good that there are ways to manage the pain at least partially x
Thanks Rhian. Yes, it’s a bit of hit and miss with the treatment but it is getting less frequent over time thank goodness!
Ouch this sounds super painful, I spend lots of time at a computer too and do worry about the impact. So pleased that CBD is working for you and its becoming less frequent that must be some kind of relief.
I do wonder if it has been as a result of my career in computing as well as my hobbies like crochet.
I had never heard of this condition before but it sounds extremely painful! I am glad your condition is reducing in frequency though.
Thanks Rebecca. I don’t think it will ever go away but it is definitely getting easier to manage.
It sounds painful. I remember when I had carpal tunnel in my wrists and it was really difficult to work with it. Glad to gear the CBD oil has helped you manage it
I’ve not heard of this before but I suffer with carpal tunnel, which is the hand version. I used a wrist brace which helps but I must look into CBD. Mich x