UKH

Hi all

My wife and I adopted a baby a few months ago and, amongst the joy and stress and fun and toughness and everything else, my wife has developed pretty significant thumb / wrist pain on and off. Turns out carrying a 10kg boy around is pretty impactful.

She's got a GP appointment on Monday but I'm aware of people who have been fobbed off when attending for the same issues in the past. Does anyone have experience of the condition and did you find anything helped particularly in terms of treatment / management? Been using splints and doing various exercises recommended by friends / the internet but they're not helping particularly and it's really making things tough for her at times.

I've had this in both thumbs. Eccentric exercises and splints helped me (and still do if it occasionally flares up).

From complete ignorance, wouldn't a physio appointment perhaps help more?

Potentially as a next step but not initially really as depending on severity steroid injections or other treatments can be needed.

Thanks. Been trying those and they worked for me but less so for her. Potentially as she's hyper mobile...

I had it years ago in my right thumb. I went to the doctor who diagnosed it. She told me to rest it as much as possible. I did and it gradually got better, never came back 

Hope this helps 

I would still go and see a physio first. They should be able to tell when it's severe enough (or not) for steroids. With the best will in the world, a GP may not.

A physio should also be able to refer you for steroids if that's what's needed

I didn't realise that was something physios could do. How do they do that / who would they refer to?

I had De Quervains in my left thumb when our youngest was 1ish. I saw a GP who was totally useless and ended up seeing a physio privately. It eventually went away after a concentrated period of massage and icing. I wore a splint for a while too, just to limit the specific movements that caused most pain. It's never come back.

Mine did just this yesterday for my frozen shoulder.  She emailed my GP, showed me what she’d written then sent it, telling me to follow up by telephoning to ask for an appointment with a particular GP at the surgery who generally does such things.

This thread on UKBouldering might be of interest.

https://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,29719.msg588672.html#msg5886...

That's really useful info. Thanks folks.

I didn't either until my better half retrained as a physio!

Ha. Very fair and what a good person to have in your life.