TFCC tear???

[jtk73]

Hi
I have read about this sort of tear, and nearly ALL symptoms match it. Physio also says that I have torn cartilage/ligament in the same area which ws the reason I searched about it.

It has been 4 weeks now and there is still pain.

Can anyone tell me if there is supposed to be constant pain? and is it normally really bad?

cos my wrist is not all the painful, only when I use it too much, and sometimes if I move it in a certain way. What is concerning is the the end of the ulna sticks up quite a fair way which I know is NOT normal.

It has been strapped for the last 3 weeks. There is nothing broken as the xray shows.

I fell backwards onto both wrists, arms straight, but probably mostly on the right one as I am right handed.

Anyway, I know I should prob see a doc but I don't really like doctors. If anyone can tell me there experiences with this sort of tear that would be good.

thanks

[focus_911]

Hey there,
I normally never write in this forum. I only post in the hip and groin injury section but here is a site you might find usefull. I also suffered from a TFCC injury/ wrist instability and suffered for years.

Here is my story:
http://timmerduder.com/kellyarm.htm

The forum attached is great. You will a lot of information. My story hasnt been updated but will take care of that shortly. Since then I have had my wrist fused with a single screw. I healed amazingly well and have lost only 25% of motion which is really nothing. I really havent actually noticed any changes in movement. Have no pain whatsoever.

I will write to Tim and have him update my story. If you need some help, have questions or concerns please send me a note as I might not be able to keep up with this forum

Cheers

[jtk73]

Thank you for your reply. I had exploratory surgery 6 weeks ago. The doc found that the ECU tendon was extremely inflamed but that I actually had a peripheral tfcc tear that did not show up on ultrasound or MRI. He repaired the tfcc tear. I have had wrist in a splint for 5 weeks now, how long till I recover fully?

[Rafa_Nadal]

Hi
I had a TFCC repair back in february 2007. I had my arms in a cast that went above my elbow to stop my wrist from twisting. I had this cast on for 6 weeks, and then had to wear a smaller wrist brace to stop my wrist from bending too far upwards and downwards. I had a nasty fall off my push bike where i landed on my left hand. I too had pain that subsided, though returned upon heavy usage, such as lifting weights and playing tennis. My wrist did hurt too when stretched in certain positions. I eventually went to a doctor and needed the surgery to repair severe instability. I have been seeing a physiotherapist now for a few months. She helped me get my range of motion back, and regain some of my strength. I have regained most of my range of motion, and have a lot of my grip strength back. The bad news is that I still have a lot pain when moving the wrist in the positions like before the surgery. My physiotherapist has told me that it can take up to a year for pain to go away. I also have a friend who happens to be a physiotherapist who has told me he has met patients taking around a year and a half to fully heal. I have lightly fallen over on my wrist again, however I still have my stability and my doctor says it hasn't affected my surgery, and that I just aggravated some scar tissue. It is especially painful to lift a heavy weight with the palm up, so I do not do it anymore. It is very frustrating indeed, but I guess you just have to be patient.

[jtk73]

After 7 weeks in a splint i am now able to take it off, the ROM is improving and so far, so good. No pain like before the surgery so that is a good sign.

Thanks for your replies

[tom one]

Jt are you not getting any pain at all ??? im 8 weeks out and still have pain doing forward and back movements ?? i think its stiffness pain but still in that side of tha wrist where the injury was???????

[jtk73]

only pain if i use the hand too much or accidently bend it beyond its rom at the moment. i have a bit of stiffness pain on the thumb side but my occupational therapist has always told me to do the rom exercises the best i can do without causing pain. so far so good.

my dr is brilliant though - when he went in to see what was wrong and found out that it was a peripheral tear of the tfcc (which did not show up on the mri) he repaired it. He told me that after the repair he was in two minds as to whether he cast it but he just strapped it up really well and I had to see him 10 days later. It was really painful for a few days after the surgery but now it is good.

[kwood]

I was googling wrist braces for tfcc tears & came across this forum. I used to do night fill for Woolies & that's where I injured my wrist, so of course they are fighting me every step of the way. I feel sorry for any one who feels this pain, but I'm glad it's not just me, my injury occured over 8 months ago so in that time it has increased considerably in pain. These days after using it so it won't seize up every moment it aches & movement is very limited. I have had enough of wearing bandages (hence the wrist brace) My sister in law has done the same thing, but she's torn the ligaments & on recent surgery they found a gaping hole between the hand & start of the arm.
I don't even have to be using my hand for it to hurt or feel like some thing's pinching. I now have to wait another 4 months for surgery via medicare as Woolworths have decided to deny liability. I hope not every one is feeling the agonising pain I've been experiencing as I sympathise with you.

[focus_911]

Here is the new update version of this: http://www.injuryupdate.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=6672

Lots of reading there, hope it helps.
Kelly