TFCC tear?

[vayup]

I am considering surgery for what appears to be a TFCC tear in my right wrist. I am looking for some advice regarding that. Here is what happened:

I was typing one day on October 2006, I had a sharp pain on a spot on the ulnar(little finger) site of my right wrist. I was not able to type anymore on that day. I used to have mild soreness on my right wrist for some time then. But on that day, I knew something was really bad. It is not the usual sorness. I went to saw a hand surgeon. For the first few months, it looked like some kind of pinching on my ulnar nerve for I had all the usual symptoms of nerve pinching such as tingling(very slight, may be imagined:-) ). I underwent physical therapy with ultrasound treatment. I certainly got some temporary relief from the ultrasound treatment. But it was still painful to type.

On August 2007, I had an MRI that showed a minor tear in my ECU. I continued my physical therapy, which is now more geared towards tendonitis. But still, my doctor was puzzled that the pain was very local. It did not radiate to my upper arm, no matter how much I type. October 2007, I also started noticing that my pain is radiating around my wrist on the TFCC area. The doctor started suspecting that a TFCC tear may be the real culprit. He injected an anesthetic into my wrist joint and did some tests to see whether I still had the pain. I did not. This confirmed to him that the problem was inside the joint. He has suggested surgery to me, in which he is going to debride the TFCC and kind of tighten a ligament using RF waves. Apparently, ligament being loose lets my wrist joint move too freely and cause clicking noises(sometimes painful). But, I have been putting off the surgery, frankly, because not being able to see the tear in MRI makes me a little nervous. What if this is really not because of a tear? Also the pain I have is not constant. I usually have pain for a few days/week. And the pain seems to go away with a lot of rest (like a long weekend) only to come back in a few days. I am just afraid that the surgery may make it worse.

Now sitting at February 2008, I feel so tired of always being afraid that the activity that I am doing is gonna flare up my wrist. I used to be a very active person. But now not so much. I also restricted my typing activities. Being a computer geek, it is like losing a part of myself. I wear a splint all the time. Considering the effect of this injury on my overall lifestyle, I'm thinking that the surgery may be worth a shot. I know this is a decision that I have to make for myself. But I am looking for some feedback about the success of TFCC surgeries from you. How risky can a TFCC debridement surgery be?

[focus_911]

Hi there,
First off here is a very old thread posted about 4 years ago on a different forum about my wrist injury which was initially also diagnosed as a TFCC tear: http://timmerduder.com/kellyarm.htm

Second, wrist injuries in general are very complex no matter what the actual injury is. For many joints such as knees, shoulders you can easily predict with great accuracy the likely results of a specific surgery for a particular injury.

Wrist are a different ball game. The main issue is for you to decide whether or not the pain or discomfort you are suffering from significant enough to consider surgery?

I have myself, undergone 6 separate surgeries, the last one having been 6 days ago in trying once again to fix the damage that was done from the TFCC tear/wrist fracture I suffered from over 10 years ago.

Results vary to much from person to person. You need to really consider if its worth looking at the operating room for some permanent results. Make sure you try rest, and PT before going for something invasive.

Hope it helps,
Cheers

[vayup]

I have been trying physical therapy on and off for the past 1.5 years. My doctor even tried cartisone shot. None of it gave me any lasting relief. So, I think surgery is the next logical treatment option. I have decided to go for it.

Thank you for sharing your story, Kelly. I wish you good luck.

[focus_911]

I had also gone the cortisone route to no long term relief. Physiotherapy was also tried. I had also tried something called this injection treatment which was supposed to restore and build new and thicker ligaments with no success.

Keep us posted on how you do.
Cheers

[Athletic Training Student]

Hey Vayup,

I am going to get an MRI tomorrow b/c of a suspected TFCC tear. It originally happened 3 years ago and has been flaring up. Three months ago I had a "flair up" and now I have extreme pain every day. I have talked to most of the athletic trainers at my clinical site, and a few of my teachers about what I should do since they pretty much are certain that it is a TFCC issue. All of them have told me that the surgery is pretty nasty, and has low success rates. I also read in a book that you may have to have a cast above the elbow for up to 3 months. Have you had the surgery yet? If so could you let me know how it goes, b/c I am really unsure what to do if I get the MRI results back saying it is a tear


Thanks so much, and good luck with your decision

[jtk73]

I had surgery on the TFCC peripheral tear. I had full range of motion in 6 mths after surgery but fell on the wrist again. I go back to the doc tomorrow as my wrist has been constantly sore since i fell on it.

it looks like it is not in it's groove properly.

Otherwise - all would have been fine given that I could have strengthened it more. I didn't have a cast on past my elbow, I had a small wrist cast made of that plastic stuff. for about 3 mths.

BTW, my MRI and USS results said no tear, yet when the doc went in, there was a tear.

[vayup]

Just an update:
I had a surgery in which the doctor removed the inflamed tissue(debridement?) and tightened up my ligaments using radiofrequency waves. I have not yet gotten a chance to talk to the doctor after the surgery. I have an appointment with him coming tuesday. I will update you after my meeting with him. btw, I am still casted. So far, not much pain from the surgery. I'm anxious to see how my wrist performs after the cast is removed.

@athletic training student : There are different gradations of tfcc injury and different surgical procedures to address them.Not all surgical procedures require you to be casted for months. Most forms of tfcc injuries don't even require surgeries. You must talk to the doctor to figure out the extent of your injury.

[wendyhoward]

Hello,

When a patients has wrist pain to the pinky side of the wrist that worsens with one of the following: grip, weight bearing, or rotation they usually get the following information:
REST, Ice, stop rotating (like thats possible!) and consider cortisone, or exploratory arthroscopy. Most people are plagued with this injury for long periods before it shows signs of improvement.

Here what everyone should try.

Take a bathroom scale, place your hand on it flat, keep elbow straight and push down to measure your weight bearing tolerance. Compare to the other side. Then: tape your wrist in a circumferential manner tightly and remeasure. If the pain dissapates, then check out www.wristwidget.com. This splint was designed for TFCC injuries and treats the injury if worn continuously for 4-8 weeks. Your pain should resolve by taking the strain off the TFCC and allowing it to heal as you function. The affects are instant and can be simulated by taping.

Ultrasound, estim, massage, strengthening are NOT very helpful for long term treatment of a ligament injury.

People who have ECU tendonitis do NOT have pain with weight bearing and respond to the use of a wrap to support the ECU from subluxing with use.

I hope that helps and would be happy to answer any other questions.

Wendy Howard, Occupational Therapist, Certified Hand Therapist

[jtk73]

Hi,
Thanks for that info. I might get a wrist widget!

I do not experience PAIN (like sharp or excruciating) but more 'not nice uncomfortableness' (if that is a term) :-) when weightbearing. my wrist clicks every so often.

It seems to get sore to nearly the pinky ( about halfway from wrist to pinky) which I am toldthe ecu tendon goes to.

Would the wrist widget work?

[focus_911]

Folks,
That is one problem with TFCC tears. They are nasty. You are much better off breaking your bone than tearing connective tissue. I suffered from a TFCC tear along with a wrist fracture from a fall 10 years ago. I am now 23 (as of today: ) and have undergone 6 separate surgeries to try and fix the instability.

The next thing we are going to do is an experimental surgery, otherwise complete wrist fusion is my only other option which at the age of 23, is hard to take.

Feel free to email me if I can help you in any way, advice etc.

Cheers

[jtk73]

Hi Focus,

I am nearly 35 (in a week). Lately, the wrist has been becoming unbearably painful, but it feels like tendonitis. and I have to take 15mg MOBIC (my weight suggests only needing 7.5mg)

I do not know whether it is still the TFCC or whether it is tendonitis. the pain is mainly in the wrist up to nearly the little finger.....

I go for an MRI on 8th April..... next Doc appt is 29th April....

[wendyhoward]

Hello!

I am wondering if you still have your pain. Most people who have your symptoms tend to have a long recovery process.

Do you still have pain with weight bearing, grip and rotation?

I am a hand therapist with a passion in the treatment of TFCC tears. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help. Check out www.wristwidget.com and google wrist widget for more info.

Aloha,

Wendy Howard, OTR, CHT



I am considering surgery for what appears to be a TFCC tear in my right wrist. I am looking for some advice regarding that. Here is what happened:

I was typing one day on October 2006, I had a sharp pain on a spot on the ulnar(little finger) site of my right wrist. I was not able to type anymore on that day. I used to have mild soreness on my right wrist for some time then. But on that day, I knew something was really bad. It is not the usual sorness. I went to saw a hand surgeon. For the first few months, it looked like some kind of pinching on my ulnar nerve for I had all the usual symptoms of nerve pinching such as tingling(very slight, may be imagined:-) ). I underwent physical therapy with ultrasound treatment. I certainly got some temporary relief from the ultrasound treatment. But it was still painful to type.

On August 2007, I had an MRI that showed a minor tear in my ECU. I continued my physical therapy, which is now more geared towards tendonitis. But still, my doctor was puzzled that the pain was very local. It did not radiate to my upper arm, no matter how much I type. October 2007, I also started noticing that my pain is radiating around my wrist on the TFCC area. The doctor started suspecting that a TFCC tear may be the real culprit. He injected an anesthetic into my wrist joint and did some tests to see whether I still had the pain. I did not. This confirmed to him that the problem was inside the joint. He has suggested surgery to me, in which he is going to debride the TFCC and kind of tighten a ligament using RF waves. Apparently, ligament being loose lets my wrist joint move too freely and cause clicking noises(sometimes painful). But, I have been putting off the surgery, frankly, because not being able to see the tear in MRI makes me a little nervous. What if this is really not because of a tear? Also the pain I have is not constant. I usually have pain for a few days/week. And the pain seems to go away with a lot of rest (like a long weekend) only to come back in a few days. I am just afraid that the surgery may make it worse.

Now sitting at February 2008, I feel so tired of always being afraid that the activity that I am doing is gonna flare up my wrist. I used to be a very active person. But now not so much. I also restricted my typing activities. Being a computer geek, it is like losing a part of myself. I wear a splint all the time. Considering the effect of this injury on my overall lifestyle, I'm thinking that the surgery may be worth a shot. I know this is a decision that I have to make for myself. But I am looking for some feedback about the success of TFCC surgeries from you. How risky can a TFCC debridement surgery be?

[wendyhoward]

Hello,

Have you checked out www.wristwidget.com

Lots of information about the effectiveness of this splint with TFCC injuries. Find out the study out of Japan on the effectiveness of a circumferential strap on the recovery from a tear.

Best of luck!

Wendy Howard, OTR, CHT

[Mira_16]

Hi all,
I have a torn TFCC as well in my left (non dominant) wrist. The pain started in Sept 07 due to repeated extension of my wrist against resistance (this is the only thing I can attribute the pain to). I had tight extensor muscles but have since had PT and they have been released. The sad thing is I am a PT myself. Well I just graduated so I don't have experience with this type of injury but I'm very worried about the future of my career if I have issue already. I find it hard to do anything still 7 months post injury. It hurts to put weight on my hands leaning on a table, putting on a seat belt, untwisting a gas cap etc. I didnt know it was a TFCC injury until today when I got the MRI results. Ive tried taping, splinting etc and nothing really helps. My doctor is going to refer me to a surgeon but it will be a few months.

This is what the MRI said:
High grade partial tear of the ulnar attachment of the TFCC with adjacent ganglion/synovial cyst. 3mm ulnar negative variance with no edema identified in the lunate.

I have pain locally in the middle dorsal (backside) of my wrist. Not on the ulnar side like is mentioned by many people on this forum. Does that correlate to TFCC injuries?
Does anyone have any suggestions for me.
I dont want surgery if I can avoid it. I basically want to be as functional as possible to be able to use my hands for work.
Does anyone know if the pain will decrease with more time? Or is it unlikely since it's already been 7 months?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks! :)

[wendyhoward]

Hello-

Do you have pain with weight bearing?

Wendy

[Mira_16]

Yes it hurts when I am standing over a table and rest my palms on the table and put weight through my arms.
I do not have the "typical" ulnar sided pain however. Most of my pain is located dorsal and central around the scapholunate.

[focus_911]

Has your physician discussed an Ulna Shortening Osteotomy?

After I fractured my wrist, years ago because of the pain I was dealing with because I was having ulnar sided pain they realised that my Ulna was a bit longer and impacting into my wrist.I had an Osteotomy done and the pain on that side was relieved.


There is a lot more story to this wrist injury, and I mean a lot more but it could be something to look at.

[jtk73]

Hi all, Just seen doctor today regarding the soreness of the tfcc area where he repaired it. I had MRI a few weeks ago, today I find out that the peripheral repair was fine, but there is a central tear now. I also have tenosynovitis of the ECU tendon.

I had a steroid injection into the site and the pain ewnt away with the local anasthetic.

Think I might wear my wrist brace more often now.....

[jtk73]

I have just ordered a wrist widget... let you all know how it goes

[marcus_radebe]

Hi

Found this message board whilst researching TFCC...I have just had an MRI scan and my specialist is almost certain I have a TFCC. I have all the symptoms....pain in the little finger side of my wrist, pain when rotating my wrist, clicking when moving the wrist....and I felt the injury when I was actually twisting my wrist.

I have read a lot of posts on the net about worried sufferers of TFCC - I completely understand as I am a guitarist, and the thought of being unable to play due to the injury or any kind of surgery that I may have had to go through, made me extremely depressed. Im sure it is the same if you are a tennis/golf player etc.

However, there is hope, and it comes in the form of the wristwidget. I just received mine and already I can move my wrist almost pain free. I have not been paid to endorse the product, but am so happy with it I felt compelled to let everyone know that this product can help you.

I cant say yet if it will heal the injury completely, although I am confident it will, and I am no specialist on he subject, but discuss your options fully with your specialist before deciding on surgery/cortisone injections. I emailed Wendy Howard (developer of the wristwidget) and she is a very helpful and knowledgeable lady. The strap is relatively cheap and to me, it is now priceless.

Check out www.wristwidget.com and give it a try. Thanks to Wendy Howard for developing this...words aren't enough!

Marc

[jtk73]

Hi

I am waiting for my wrist widget, but I am still waiting for a reply from Wendy Howard as I emailed questions a few weeks ago, and I have had no reply. I have ordered the wrist widget even though I am wondering why I have had no reply from wendy. I feel that for the price it is good to try it regardless of customer service. I am not sure why I have had no reply but I will most certainly be endorsing the product if it works.

[Mira_16]

Hi all,
Thought i'd share my updates..
I've been going to PT. Turns out I have scar tissue build up between some carpals and on some extensor tendons. Slowly but surely I am getting some relief.
I too am bracing. I may order the widget. Let me know how securely it holds your wrist. So far I have just been taping with sports tape.
Thanks,
Mira

[focus_911]

I would be really curious to hear how the widget work for you if you get one. I have some major mid carpal instability going on and would love to hear if this little device makes a significant difference.

[jtk73]

Hi guys,

I am still waiting fo the widget, but after ordering it I got an email from Wendy confirming postage and enquiring what condition I was treating. After emailling her back, I recieved another email just advising meon how best to use it.

So now I am just waiting for it....

It has been 1 week now, I expect I should get it next week

[focus_911]

How have you guys been doing as far as treatments go with your TFCC tears?

I have undergone multiple arthroscopies and one wrist fusion. After the fusion (which was surgery number 5 at that point) he wrist was finally stable enough that I was no longer in pain with no problems. I eventually over the recent months started to have quite severe wrist pain again after a very minor fall. Went in to see my old orthopedic wrist surgeon to see why I might be suffering.
He told me it's very rare for them to come back, but that he has had a few patients come back after fusions with 3rd degree mid carpal instability. I'm scheduled for a midcarpal ligament reconstruction on August 13th.

Anyone have had another kind of procedure or alternative treatments for similar issues?

[jtk73]

Hi all, I just received my wrist widget today. I am just figuring out how to put it on properly and I will let you know how it all goes in a week or two.

[wendyhoward]

Hello all,

I am most grateful for the kind words in these emails.

If any of you have questions, please feel free to contact me at 808 221 9084. I write hundreds of emails daily in forums and posts. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with this task and make errors in expeditious responses.

Feel free to call if you have any questions.

Warmly,

Wendy

[mark1308]

Hi all, I just received my wrist widget today. I am just figuring out how to put it on properly and I will let you know how it all goes in a week or two.


i am also awitng the arrival of a wrist widget as i have a problem with my TFCC. i ordered it on april 29th from Texas and i live in Melbourne, Australia.
i have been told that it takes up to 2 weeks for delivery. it has been 2 weeks and am still waiting.
where do you live jtk73?

[jtk73]

I am in Brisbane. I paid for it on April 29th. Got an email on April 30th saying that it would be 'tomorrow' which wuld have then been May 1st. It was in May 11th that I received it. So I would think you would get it shortly. It came in a normal envelope. Only detailing this because I thought it might come in something like a post pak and was surprised (pleasantly) when I opened the envelop and it was in it. LOL Have you tried emailing Wendy? Hope I have helped...

[mark1308]

yes i have tried emailing wendy and she said she posted it on the 29th. i never actually got a confermation email from wendy stating when it would arrive, but i did get one from PayPal saying that the money was payed and all.
yes you did help, i just hope i get it soon.
how is it going for you by the way?

[jtk73]

Dunno yet. I am seeing my physio tomorrow and he is going to make sure I have it on properly and then I'll be wearing it alot I think. The wrist got worse on Saturday and I see my doctor next on 17th June and his secretary told me to wait and "If the doctor told you to wait two months then wait" He said that at my last appointment when the pain was not as bad and it was 2 weeks after that appointment that it took a huge turn for the worse. I thought if it got worse, I should see the doctor but the secretary will not give me an appointment before the 17th June! I am certainly making notes and I will be telling the doctor about it when I see him. I am hoping that the tendon hasn't ruptured! I am taking panadol AND 15mg MOBIC at the moment to stop pain and inflammation etc.

I hate it when secretary's treat you like this - it is as if thay are protecting their son from a potential girlfriend! Mate- I just want my wrist fixed!

[mark1308]

omg dude, i know how you feel.
i was on track with this new diet/exerxise program, lifting weights and all that, was about 2 weeks in and BOOM, it happened.
so then i started a lot of cardio and weights with no usage of my wrist.
my treadmill broke as it is an old peice of s***, so i started running around the house, then i got a pain in my shins. i was diagnosed with shin splints.
i cannot win with this. i just need my wrist fixed so i can get back on track, i am putting so much faith in this wrist widget, it is my last ditch effort at fixing it before i go to more seriouse treatment.
i need this widget to come already

[focus_911]

Good for you Mark, trying out everything else before going with surgery is the way to go. People have this conception that surgery is a guaranteed fix which is unfortunate. I applaud you for trying everything else.

I of all people know that wrist injuries are far from simple to fix and that even the best options available a lot of the time do not fix injuries.

Again good for you mate. :)

[jtk73]

Tried the wrist widget. Not too bad but a little bit uncmfortable with the fact that I also have ecu tenosynovitis as well as centrl TFCC tear.

Saw doc today, I am going in for Ulna shortening to hopefully end the pain once and for all!

[focus_911]

Tried the wrist widget. Not too bad but a little bit uncmfortable with the fact that I also have ecu tenosynovitis as well as centrl TFCC tear.

Saw doc today, I am going in for Ulna shortening to hopefully end the pain once and for all!

The recovery for this surgery is the easiest you will have to ever go thru. Good luck and speedy recovery.

[jtk73]

Thanks focus. I am very busy at the moment so I am putting up with pain until December when I have 7weeks of being able to rest it properly after surgery

[focus_911]

[jtk73]

Was it really painful afterwards? If so, for how long? And it is painfree now?

[focus_911]

Was it really painful afterwards? If so, for how long? And it is painfree now?

After surgery all you get is the incision dicomfort, other than that there is no pain. Tho your arm is technically fractured, it doesnt feel that way because the hardware is there keeping the bone in place. As for me being pain free now? my case was a lot more complicated and can't compare.
Easy surgery:)

[jtk73]

There is also a 'lump' in there now. I am sure my doctor will take a look but he didn't say what it could be....

[focus_911]

Unless there is more medically that we don't know about yet, it is a very straight forward operation. I was back at work within 3 days.:)

[fordtough4x4]

Hello all,
I am new to this forum(actually found it from googling TFCC tear).Three weeks ago I experienced sudden sharp pains in my pinky up to my wrist.I went to work the next day,suffered through the day,and the following day I had made an appointment with my family doctor.About halfway through the day I was installing a small valve and my wrist popped(extremely loud).After the pop I was in the most excrusiating pain of my life,I'm a big guy,and have an extremely high tolerence for pain,and this put me on the floor.When I looked at my wrist after the pop there was an enormous bulge.That afternoon I went to my scheduled appointment at which time he laughed, and said "That looks like it hurts like hell,that is way beyond me,take these and go see this doctor".The orthopaedic doctor braced it,x-rayed it,doped me up,and sent me on my way.Over the course of the following week my condition quickly went downhill(sudden sharp pains up to my bicep,numbness,constant pain,....not looking too good).So he re x-rayed it and consulted with others at his practice and "they" noticed that the lump in my wrist is actually my bone out of place.He sent me for an MRI.He read the MRI in the room with me at which time he shook his head and said "I cant fix this,you need to see a hand/wrist specialist".He informed me that there is a piece of broken cartillage about the size of a dime,several tears,and it looks like the ligament is tore.The reason for me telling y'all this is to see if there is anyone else out there who has been through this type of surgery,knows of any published success rates for these types of surgeries,or any info. in general that might help me.Due to the nature of my job (union industrial pipefitter/HVAC mechanic) I cannot wear a brace for 4-8 weeks and hope that it works.I need it fixed,and now(haha).Anyone out there that might be able to help me?

[focus_911]

Hello all,
I am new to this forum(actually found it from googling TFCC tear).Three weeks ago I experienced sudden sharp pains in my pinky up to my wrist.I went to work the next day,suffered through the day,and the following day I had made an appointment with my family doctor.About halfway through the day I was installing a small valve and my wrist popped(extremely loud).After the pop I was in the most excrusiating pain of my life,I'm a big guy,and have an extremely high tolerence for pain,and this put me on the floor.When I looked at my wrist after the pop there was an enormous bulge.That afternoon I went to my scheduled appointment at which time he laughed, and said "That looks like it hurts like hell,that is way beyond me,take these and go see this doctor".The orthopaedic doctor braced it,x-rayed it,doped me up,and sent me on my way.Over the course of the following week my condition quickly went downhill(sudden sharp pains up to my bicep,numbness,constant pain,....not looking too good).So he re x-rayed it and consulted with others at his practice and "they" noticed that the lump in my wrist is actually my bone out of place.He sent me for an MRI.He read the MRI in the room with me at which time he shook his head and said "I cant fix this,you need to see a hand/wrist specialist".He informed me that there is a piece of broken cartillage about the size of a dime,several tears,and it looks like the ligament is tore.The reason for me telling y'all this is to see if there is anyone else out there who has been through this type of surgery,knows of any published success rates for these types of surgeries,or any info. in general that might help me.Due to the nature of my job (union industrial pipefitter/HVAC mechanic) I cannot wear a brace for 4-8 weeks and hope that it works.I need it fixed,and now(haha).Anyone out there that might be able to help me?

If they tell you to wear a brace for 6 weeks, trust me you are going to do it. If you want to continue to do what you're doing, let alone work at all you better be following the directions given by the docs you see.

What you describe happened to you, is what happened to me, minus the loose piece of cartilage. The injury happened 9 years ish ago and I am still paying for it, and it is a high price to pay. I am now going thru a career change (after working as a paramedic for 5 years) and still undergoing surgery.

Ligaments are honestly the sickest, most painful and worst injuries you can get. Until you see someone for that arm, BRACE IT. I don't give a crap what your reason is as to why you can't or second guessing why you shouldn't do it. DO IT.

I won't re-type what I went thru and will give the links. Look up my screen name and read my friend.

I'm being blunt because of the seriousness of the injury. You can take it or leave it tho I suggest to take it.;) I really should take some time out and start a thread with what I went thru. Would save the work of finding the bits and pieces I have posted on this forum...

Feel free to pm me.

I'll try to start up a thread tomorrow if I can.

http://www.injuryupdate.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=6441

http://www.injuryupdate.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=6483

[largeturkey]

I had arthroscopic surgery to repair a minor tear in my tfcc and they shaved my bone down b/c they thought that may have added to my pain. Originally after the initial aggravation, the wrist hurt alot, however, after a while my wrist didn't hurt unless I did something strenuous (play tennis, ice hockey). Anything with a wrist flip. I got the surgery 3.5 weeks ago and get the cat off on Friday, after which I wear a brace. Has anyone had this surgery with a successful result. I'm relatively young (22), so I hope I'm back to normal by August (initial surgery was on june 18).

[jtk73]

Shaved the bone down? Do you mean ulna shortening where they cut 2-4mm out of the bone moreso in the forearm?

I am going in for Ulna shortening in December and my doctor told me that it was going to be very painful after the surgery and that it would be about 6mths before it would be fully functional again. But from all internet research and advice, I have told it is normally quite successful.

[largeturkey]

I guess "shaved the bone down" was not the correct phrase. Thanks for the info. I have not had to much pain. They gave me vikaden. I only took it twice, and I did not really need it. It just helped me sleep. If I tried it move it around alot right after the surgery (which I couldn't really do b/c I was in a cast that went above the elbow) it hurt, but if it was held still, there was minimal pain. I appreciate your quick response to my post and good luck with your surgery. Does recovery time depend partly on age? I will update this thread with recovery details. Its strange how people from halfway across the world are going through the same thing as you (I'm from NYC, USA)

[jtk73]

I suppose it would depend on age, i am 34, but an athlete, so maybe i recover better than normal??? but generally the doc said 6mths

[focus_911]

Shaved the bone down? Do you mean ulna shortening where they cut 2-4mm out of the bone moreso in the forearm?

I am going in for Ulna shortening in December and my doctor told me that it was going to be very painful after the surgery and that it would be about 6mths before it would be fully functional again. But from all internet research and advice, I have told it is normally quite successful.

The recovery is correct, it doesnt take months before you can start lifting and doing typical day to day activities. I find it quite interesting that the surgeon would say "that it was going to be very painful after the surgery":rolleyes:
The recovery of the surgery itself as less painful than fracturing your arm. A much bigger deal is being made out of this, than needs be.

[fordtough4x4]

If they tell you to wear a brace for 6 weeks, trust me you are going to do it. If you want to continue to do what you're doing, let alone work at all you better be following the directions given by the docs you see.

What you describe happened to you, is what happened to me, minus the loose piece of cartilage. The injury happened 9 years ish ago and I am still paying for it, and it is a high price to pay. I am now going thru a career change (after working as a paramedic for 5 years) and still undergoing surgery.

Ligaments are honestly the sickest, most painful and worst injuries you can get. Until you see someone for that arm, BRACE IT. I don't give a crap what your reason is as to why you can't or second guessing why you shouldn't do it. DO IT.

I won't re-type what I went thru and will give the links. Look up my screen name and read my friend.

I'm being blunt because of the seriousness of the injury. You can take it or leave it tho I suggest to take it.;) I really should take some time out and start a thread with what I went thru. Would save the work of finding the bits and pieces I have posted on this forum...

Feel free to pm me.

I'll try to start up a thread tomorrow if I can.

http://www.injuryupdate.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=6441

http://www.injuryupdate.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=6483

The brace I was refering to was the "wrist widget" everyone is talking about...believe me...I am wearing the brace the doctor gave me.My two-cents to anyone else going through something like this....dont believe the doctor when he give you a brace and says"you cant hurt it any worse than it is now".Yesterday I felt my "torn ligament" completely tear,now I cant move my hand,and I'm eating percocet like candy....yay

[fordtough4x4]

If they tell you to wear a brace for 6 weeks, trust me you are going to do it. If you want to continue to do what you're doing, let alone work at all you better be following the directions given by the docs you see.

What you describe happened to you, is what happened to me, minus the loose piece of cartilage. The injury happened 9 years ish ago and I am still paying for it, and it is a high price to pay. I am now going thru a career change (after working as a paramedic for 5 years) and still undergoing surgery.

Ligaments are honestly the sickest, most painful and worst injuries you can get. Until you see someone for that arm, BRACE IT. I don't give a crap what your reason is as to why you can't or second guessing why you shouldn't do it. DO IT.

I won't re-type what I went thru and will give the links. Look up my screen name and read my friend.

I'm being blunt because of the seriousness of the injury. You can take it or leave it tho I suggest to take it.;) I really should take some time out and start a thread with what I went thru. Would save the work of finding the bits and pieces I have posted on this forum...

Feel free to pm me.

I'll try to start up a thread tomorrow if I can.

http://www.injuryupdate.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=6441

http://www.injuryupdate.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=6483

Thanks for the advice focus....not exactly the news I wanted to hear.Believe me I am wearing the brace the doctor gave me,I was refering to the "wrist widget".And my two-cents for anyone else going through an injury like this is......dont believe the doctor when he tells you that you "cant hurt it anymore than it already is,as long as you wear the brace".Yesterday I felt my "torn"ligament let go.The bone is pushed about two inches out of place,my arm is black and blue,and I'm eating percocet like candy......yay.

[fordtough4x4]

Hello again all,
This is more or less directed to focus_911(seems like you have been there before).Today I was seen by the hand and wrist specialist.He quickly reviewed the MRI,took x-rays,and said that a torn TFCC will not show up on an MRI.Then he proceded to shoot the most painful injection of cortizone I have ever had.Then,as I am in the most horrible pain in my life he told me I should take advil for pain and in-flamation.He said his feeling were that there was somthing wrong with the tendon,but would that explain the constant popping coming from my wrist?Why would another orthopaedic doctor say he could see broken cartillage and a TFCC tear and send me to a specialist if he wasnt fairly confident that was the problem.It just seems kinda fishy to me.Any advice?Thanks for listening to my venting.

[SQ71]

Hello again all,
This is more or less directed to focus_911(seems like you have been there before).Today I was seen by the hand and wrist specialist.He quickly reviewed the MRI,took x-rays,and said that a torn TFCC will not show up on an MRI.Then he proceded to shoot the most painful injection of cortizone I have ever had.Then,as I am in the most horrible pain in my life he told me I should take advil for pain and in-flamation.He said his feeling were that there was somthing wrong with the tendon,but would that explain the constant popping coming from my wrist?Why would another orthopaedic doctor say he could see broken cartillage and a TFCC tear and send me to a specialist if he wasnt fairly confident that was the problem.It just seems kinda fishy to me.Any advice?Thanks for listening to my venting.

Your story sounds similar. CLicking and popping in wrist, loss of grip strength, severe pain, suspected TFCC tear, negative MRI findings, shot with cortisone and left to it.

My GP sent me to another specialist when things didn't settle. Immediately he confirmed subluxation of ECU tendon just from a physical examination, and once he got in there (just over 2 weeks ago) he also found a TFCC tear that hadn't shown on the MRI. My ECU tendon was severely inflammed and I had tenolysis done on it and had it re-stabilised. I also had a ganglionectomy performed at the same time (although not related to the initial injury.)

I think it boils down to confidence and experience. Surgeon number 1 obviously relies solely upon MRI's, x-rays and scans to diagnose; and when he came up up short, he wouldn't even attempt to give me a diagnosis and so instead stabbed me with cortisone. Surgeon number 2 seemed less interested in imaging results, and moreso with the symptoms, the location of the pain, the level of loss of grip strength and loss of quality of life as a result. Whilst waiting for surgical approval, he referred me for hand therapy, specialised splinting, in an attempt to stop the ECU from subluxing, and to try to improve my grip strength and reduce pain. It helped a lot, although it didn't fix the problem.

When the ECU subluxes, it makes a snapping/clicking sound and you're right that MRI doesn't always show TFCC tears, which also cause snapping/clicking sounds. My advice would be to get another opinion from another specialist and perhaps arrange an arthroscopy. Arthroscopy is a simple exploratory procedure that gives far more accurate diagnosis than any imaging can.

Are you in NZ or AU? Perhaps somebody could recommend another specialist to you.

[SQ71]

Hello again all,
This is more or less directed to focus_911(seems like you have been there before).Today I was seen by the hand and wrist specialist.He quickly reviewed the MRI,took x-rays,and said that a torn TFCC will not show up on an MRI.Then he proceded to shoot the most painful injection of cortizone I have ever had.Then,as I am in the most horrible pain in my life he told me I should take advil for pain and in-flamation.He said his feeling were that there was somthing wrong with the tendon,but would that explain the constant popping coming from my wrist?Why would another orthopaedic doctor say he could see broken cartillage and a TFCC tear and send me to a specialist if he wasnt fairly confident that was the problem.It just seems kinda fishy to me.Any advice?Thanks for listening to my venting.

Your story sounds similar. CLicking and popping in wrist, loss of grip strength, severe pain, suspected TFCC tear, negative MRI findings, shot with cortisone and left to it.

My GP sent me to another specialist when things didn't settle. Immediately he confirmed subluxation of ECU tendon just from a physical examination, and once he got in there (just over 2 weeks ago) he also found a TFCC tear that hadn't shown on the MRI. My ECU tendon was severely inflammed and I had tenolysis done on it and had it re-stabilised. I also had a ganglionectomy performed at the same time (although not related to the initial injury.)

I think it boils down to confidence and experience. Surgeon number 1 obviously relies solely upon MRI's, x-rays and scans to diagnose; and when he came up up short, he wouldn't even attempt to give me a diagnosis and so instead stabbed me with cortisone. Surgeon number 2 seemed less interested in imaging results, and moreso with the symptoms, the location of the pain, the level of loss of grip strength and loss of quality of life as a result. Whilst waiting for surgical approval, he referred me for hand therapy, specialised splinting, in an attempt to stop the ECU from subluxing, and to try to improve my grip strength and reduce pain. It helped a lot, although it didn't fix the problem.

When the ECU subluxes, it makes a snapping/clicking sound and you're right that MRI doesn't always show TFCC tears, which also cause snapping/clicking sounds. My advice would be to get another opinion from another sepcialist.

[focus_911]

Hello again all,
This is more or less directed to focus_911(seems like you have been there before).Today I was seen by the hand and wrist specialist.He quickly reviewed the MRI,took x-rays,and said that a torn TFCC will not show up on an MRI.Then he proceded to shoot the most painful injection of cortizone I have ever had.Then,as I am in the most horrible pain in my life he told me I should take advil for pain and in-flamation.He said his feeling were that there was somthing wrong with the tendon,but would that explain the constant popping coming from my wrist?Why would another orthopaedic doctor say he could see broken cartillage and a TFCC tear and send me to a specialist if he wasnt fairly confident that was the problem.It just seems kinda fishy to me.Any advice?Thanks for listening to my venting.

Sorry to hear about your painful injection. I also went thru that and I have to agree with you I was in a significant amount of pain afterwards.
Wrist injuries can be so frustrating. MRIs as well as MRAs are not always able to point out injuries and end up with pain that seems to "come from nowhere". My "simple" wrist injury started off as nothing but a fracture. Over time I ended up being transferred to 4 different surgeons. Each performed a surgery which has led me to where I am today so I am quite content.
Wrist injuries are very complex regardless of the actual injury being care for and it might take a few physicians before you find the right doc that has the experience to handle your case. Don't lose patience. Get as more opinions (as needed) in order for you to feel comfortable with the options given to you.
Good Luck.

[fordtough4x4]

"I think it boils down to confidence and experience. Surgeon number 1 obviously relies solely upon MRI's, x-rays and scans to diagnose; and when he came up up short, he wouldn't even attempt to give me a diagnosis and so instead stabbed me with cortisone. Surgeon number 2 seemed less interested in imaging results, and moreso with the symptoms, the location of the pain, the level of loss of grip strength and loss of quality of life as a result. Whilst waiting for surgical approval, he referred me for hand therapy, specialised splinting, in an attempt to stop the ECU from subluxing, and to try to improve my grip strength and reduce pain. It helped a lot, although it didn't fix the problem."

Oh no......My regular orthopaedic doctor and the MRI say it is torn,the hand specialist says it isnt.I have the report from the radiaologist in my hand as i type this and I quote"there appears to be a tear of the central disc of the TFCC,the distal limb of the TFCC is not seen attaching to the radial strloid,the scapholunate ligament appears to have a horixontal tear within the ligament...recommend wrist arthogram.And as a 24 hour update from the cortizone,it has created so much pressure my hand first three fingers are numb,my entire wrist is bruised,and I found if you cuss enough people out,you can get a appointment the next day with another surgeon :D.Another big thanks to all for the support and advice,I will post an update tommorrow of what this doctor says.Thanks again.

P.S. SQ71-the doctor I saw wed. also seemed more interested in an x-ray and symptoms that imaging.I have strong reservations as to if he can properly read an mri(I overhead him get angry with a nurse because he didnt have the report).He seems to have the "lets try this for a month,if this doesnt work,we will try this".As I have previously explained in earlier post,that doesnt work with my occupation.His exact words were "lets try bracing it and taking advil for a month",well,for the last 3 1/2 weeks I have been in a brace,and taking relafen for inflammation and hydro's for pain......I am not a doctor,nor am I the smartest peanut in the turd,but even I know that doesnt sound right....lol.....and I have found this site from across the pond...I am located near Richmond,VA USA

[jtk73]

I tried the wrist widget but it aggravated my wrist more. I have a peripheral TFCC tear repaired and I now have a Central TFCC tear and ECU tenosynovitis. I am being operated on in December for that so that it doesn't interfere with my work. So I am putting up with the aching and pain at the moment where all the muscles are trying to compensate for the TFCC being torn and not working.

[focus_911]

Good for you Ford for going for another opinion. It's sad and quite ridiculous but sometimes you have to play the system and push for things in order to get the proper care you need.

jtk73, it's really unfortunate you have had to deal with this as well. My initial injury has with time (and single fall that would normally not cause an injury is someone with a normal wrist) re-injured itself to a tear that is pretty much as bad as they come. I have just been scheduled doe the first week of october for some reconstruction they are investigating. Hope all is well after you surgery in december.

[jtk73]

Hi Ford,

My surgeon is someone I know personally as an acquaintance, after my xray, ultrasound and MRI all came back with nothing and he looked at my wrist, he hadme in two splints, one for night and one for day for ab9out a month. When that didn't work he opted for "Christopher Columbus" surgery (which I didn't understand but later realised he was meaning EXPLORATORY surgery LOL, funny man) It was only then that he found the Peripheral tear. That was fixed. But in March I went back to him and he ordered another MRI as the wrist had gotten better and then worse and told me to take MOBIC for a month and if that didn't help, to go for the MRI. He thought maybe ECU subluxation. Anyway, I got the MRI and it actually shows the new CENTRAL TFCC tear AND the ECU tenosynovitis, he tried a cortisone shot to see if the central tear and ECU were numbed and relieved by the cortisone and local anasthetic respectively and told me to come back 6 weeks later if that didn't work. Well, the shot lsted 3 days, and I now go in for ulna shortening in DECEMBER. HE did all the above because the Ulna shortening is major surgeryand he wanted to be sure that is what was needed....

Hope all goes well with the next doc.

Focus - you have been through a lot, hope all goes well for your surgery.

[fordtough4x4]

Hello all,
Well,last friday I went for a second opinion on the TFCC tear.The doctor described my problem as a "hole" in the central TFCC??Then I got some news I could have done without......the second doctor I saw is good friends with the first doctor(as in on boards together,committees,whole 9 yards).He wouldn't directly disagree against the first BS opinion.He did say that the other doc missed the "hole" in the TFCC on the MRI, and tried another type of injection,one that is supposed to make cartillage heal(I do not have alot of faith in this,I have heard none of these work).I am now worried worried that I am caught up in a bunch of doctor politics,something I have no time or patience for.I am just hoping to get this matter resolved,the doctor knows how serious I am(being 6'3,250 pounds,and covered in tattoos has that effect on suit and tie people).The doctor said to give it a week,and if it still hurts to make another appointment.But what would the treshold be?It still clicks and pops everytime I move,the knot is still hanging out the side of my arm,but the pain in down somewhat,although the swelling remains unchaged with ice,and prescription anti-inflammatories.It seems that the doc wants me to go to work,completely destroy it,then he will fix it(they have told me I cant hurt it anyworse than it is).I dont know what to guys(and gals)any advice?:mad:

[integrity]

oh my god, it all sounds awful. i too came to this website via a google search for tfcc tear. my son is an active gymnast, since age 5, he is now approaching 17. last year he had shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. it took about 6 weeks for him to return to the sport. as a result, he missed a few key competitions. on mon. 7/14/8, he was on parallel bars, did a stutz, landed it well, yet he heard his wrist pop. i took him to the orthopedist on wed. 7/19/8, (the doc only has office hours on mon. & wed.). through an x-ray, the orthopedist ruled out bone injury and since my son has a competition starting on 7/24/8, he ordered an mri for fri. 7/18/8, with the results expected by tues. 7/22/8, to rule out tfcc tear. today, late, 4:54 pm, he called to say that the mri showed a tear. i am sympathetic. this kid has had so many injuries: heel, knee, wrist, coccyx, back, shoulders, (both)-now wrist tear. the ortho-p said he doesn't treat hands and he gave me the name of 2 hand specialists. i had used one other hand guy to get a 2nd opinion on the shoulder surgery; he didn't have available time until the earliest wed 7/23/8 at 3pm. since the ortho-p called late for mon. yet earlier than tues., i am going to try to get him to 1 of the 2 hand specialists tomorrow, tues. 7/22/8. the symptoms my son describe sounds a lot like what the posts have described. if so, at least i am more informed now. i will see what the hand specialists say. thanks for the information that you all have shared . brooklyn, ny, usa.

[focus_911]

oh my god, it all sounds awful. i too came to this website via a google search for tfcc tear. my son is an active gymnast, since age 5, he is now approaching 17. last year he had shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. it took about 6 weeks for him to return to the sport. as a result, he missed a few key competitions. on mon. 7/14/8, he was on parallel bars, did a stutz, landed it well, yet he heard his wrist pop. i took him to the orthopedist on wed. 7/19/8, (the doc only has office hours on mon. & wed.). through an x-ray, the orthopedist ruled out bone injury and since my son has a competition starting on 7/24/8, he ordered an mri for fri. 7/18/8, with the results expected by tues. 7/22/8, to rule out tfcc tear. today, late, 4:54 pm, he called to say that the mri showed a tear. i am sympathetic. this kid has had so many injuries: heel, knee, wrist, coccyx, back, shoulders, (both)-now wrist tear. the ortho-p said he doesn't treat hands and he gave me the name of 2 hand specialists. i had used one other hand guy to get a 2nd opinion on the shoulder surgery; he didn't have available time until the earliest wed 7/23/8 at 3pm. since the ortho-p called late for mon. yet earlier than tues., i am going to try to get him to 1 of the 2 hand specialists tomorrow, tues. 7/22/8. the symptoms my son describe sounds a lot like what the posts have described. if so, at least i am more informed now. i will see what the hand specialists say. thanks for the information that you all have shared . brooklyn, ny, usa.

Good for you for doing the research. Follow your gut and the option given to you and make sure you don't stick to the first set of options given to you. Give it some thought and weigh out your options.

[jtk73]

This all now makes me thankful I am in Australia. I am shocked as the US is supposed have all these specialists!

Ford - I hope all works out. I know how annoying it is. What gets me is how we 'lay' people have to do all the conservative treatments first which keeps us in pain for 6-12 mths and yet the footballers, athletes etc all get a sore knee and are in to see the specialist that same day or afternoon and we have to wait weeks or months!

Integrity - keep going at can take 6mths for a tfcc tear to heal fully just be prepared for that. Especially when the wrist is what your sport depends on. I am a cyclist....(or was)

[focus_911]

This all now makes me thankful I am in Australia. I am shocked as the US is supposed have all these specialists!

Ford - I hope all works out. I know how annoying it is. What gets me is how we 'lay' people have to do all the conservative treatments first which keeps us in pain for 6-12 mths and yet the footballers, athletes etc all get a sore knee and are in to see the specialist that same day or afternoon and we have to wait weeks or months!

Integrity - keep going at can take 6mths for a tfcc tear to heal fully just be prepared for that. Especially when the wrist is what your sport depends on. I am a cyclist....(or was)

Yea well Canada is supposed to have some of the best as well, specifically in the transplant department. Comes to show no one really knows anything that's why so many poor folks are running around with their heads cut off trying to find the proper treatment for the injuries and health problems they have. It's a shame but unfortunately it's something that will take years and years before a stable treatment is set up for this stuff.

[lianaweigand]

Hello!:D

I am a 15 year old gymnast and has been doing gymnastics for 11 years now and in level 9. I have been diagnosed of a tfcc tear in my right wrist and tearing it in my left wrist also. I have done just about everything to help the pain while practicng everyday. I wear wrist supports on all the events and ice it after practice. I have cortizone shot once, and I have splinted it during the summer for 5 weeks. No help! The doctors told me that they can give me sugury and be out of gymnastics for 3 months. They said that i will probably tear it again and the pain will not go away. Working new skills the pain is increasing and surgury is looking more better.

I want to know if anyone has had this surgury and has had litttle to no pain post surgury.

Plus i need to know if you have atleast 90% of your strength back since being a gymnast i need alot of it esp. on the uneven bars! :o

Please repy and tell me what u think that i should do!


Thanks=]

PS also it will be dandy if u people can tell me if the surgury was really painful pics will be nice too!

[jtk73]

To repair the tear (which was a peripheral tear) wih surgery after months of splinting - I had it first done in July 2007 not terribly painful but the first 2 nights it was quite sore. In the November I had full range of motion and most of my strength back, went straight back into cycling. Then in Jan 2008 it (the same wrist) was playing up again and we found I had a central tear. Have had cortisone and antiinflammatories but in July we decided I would have Ulna shortening surgery (which I have scheduled for December 2008)

The amount of wrist work you need for Gymnastics I would be surprised if you could go back to it quickly, I wuld think youwould need a lot longer than 3mths. Especially as it is in BOTH wrists. and be prepared to have no use of the hand for a while as rotation, front and back etc is very slow to come back if you do not get hand therapy from an occupational therapist straightaway. In fact - I am sorry to say - that I cannot envisage myself being able to do any gymnastics stuff the way my one wrist is now and straight after surgery or even now with the new tear. And I followed doctors instructions to the letter - and my hand surgeon is one of the best!

Cartilage is extremely hard to fix/heal as it does not have a great (or does not have any) blood supply.

Everyone is different and maybe with you being HALF my age, you will heal far better!

I don't have any pics sorry, but the scar is about 4cm long and directly over the ulna bony bit that protrudes. In the new surgery in December I am expecting a much bigger scar.

You should read this thread thoroughly as we have all explained in detail what we have had done.

[lianaweigand]

thanks for your information. I think that I am going to just suck it up for a couple of years and see if I get a college scholarship. If I dont i will have the surgury. But thats not my final answer.
Also, I think that I will get more shots even if it is bad for your tendons in your wrist. Atleast it helps for a couple of months=]

[marcus_radebe]

Hi

I am recovering from a TFCC injury and you may find my story helpful...join the facebook group for TFCC/Ulna sided wrist pain to learn and share info...you may find something that helps:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=62815300713&ref=mf

If we combine our knowledge then we can help others overcome the injury!

Marc

[mark1308]

Hi,
i have had a TFCC injury for around 5 months now, it is not really bad as i still have almost full range of motion with minimal pain, and i have been wearing a Wrsit Widget for a while and, while it isnt making it much better, it isnt getting any worse, however, lately i have felt a pain in my other wrist, it isnt as bad as my right wrist but it is still there, i am a weight lifter, and the one thing that will hurt the most is when i putm y weight down after doing an upwards dumbell row sort of thing and i get a sharp pain up my ulna side, about 2-3 inches up my arm starting from the end on my unla, is there something i can do to catch the injury early, possibly some sort of rehab exercises or a cortisone injection (i know it didnt work for some ppl on here, but my injury isnt as bad as theres). any suggestions?
much appreciated

[jtk73]

IF it is TFCC cortisone does not help, it is only really to kill inflammation and the tfcc is normally a tear not inflammation. The reason Cortisone is given is to kill inflammation of the tendon etc around or near the tfcc.Even then Cortisone is only really a "disguise the pain" rather than a cure type of treatment.

Good Luck

[focus_911]

Exactly but keep in mind the reason you might get that temporary pain relief is because it's settling down that inflammation caused by the TFCC tear. It might be a good treatment option for you?
A significant tear I don't think will feel any different with a shot. With me it didn't know the placement of the injection can also affect the results.

[sparks4stp]

Hi, I'm new here. I found this by googling TFCC tear like many of you. Here's my story. I work as a vet tech at an animal hospital. About 7 months ago I was restraining a 115 pound Golden Retriever on a lift table by myself when it freaked out and started jumping and flailing. I ended up bearing the entire weight of the dog on my right wrist. Nothing really stands out from that exact moment in time, but shortly afterwards my wrist really started aching and throbbing. By the end of that day it was really bothering me. I figured I had just strained it and it would be better by morning. It was even worse though the next day. So I bought myself a wrist brace from the drugstore and my boss sent me to the family doctor across the street. Well to make a long story short I ended up at an orthopedic dr who did an MRI that I guess basically showed nothing...just minor inflammation of some areas. He put me in physical therapy for I dunno...5 months until the P.T. literally gave up on me and wrote the Dr. to tell him she could no longer treat me for lack of improvment. His answer was for me to go get more P.T. but from a hand specialist this time. (This is the same doctors group that missed my ACL tear in my knee for 7 months on MRI. When they went in to fix something else, they discovered I no longer had an ACL because my body had basically disinegrated it) I was fed up at this point (5 months post injury) and went and sought a second opinion. I am now seeing a wrist specialist/surgeon. He suspects the TFCC tear. My original complaint was horrible clicking and grinding pain when rotating my wrist which did get better for awhile, then came back, and recently has seemed to subside. I also have horrible what I like to call straining pain on the pinky side of my wrist. I can carry heavy objects, bear a lot of weight on my wrist in a flat motion, keep my wrist bent for long periods of time. A lot of the time, it just plain hurts. I wear a wrist brace almost constantly. I'm now known at my work as the vet tech with the wrist brace by the clients. Lately I have been getting a dull pain just radiating through my wrist up into my hand and down my arm...it almost feels like a cramping pain. I'm so frustrated! My doctor told me at the last appointment that MRI's can miss TFCC tears a lot of the time and the next step would be to scope the wrist and possibly fix any tears that are present. I saw him about 3 weeks ago and I go back in about a week. (He was still waiting on records from my last doctor). I'm just scared if I elect to do surgery, they aren't going to find anything wrong and I'll be back to square one. Do my symptoms sound like a TFCC tear? I mean, it's not like its horrible I can't live with it pain. But it's not something that I really want to live with for the rest of my life. And I've been wearing this stupid brace for 7 months already. I can't seem to function without it. I've also tried the cortizone injection. Which made my wrist ache and ache for days. I think it did help for maybe 2 weeks but now 6 weeks later it seems to hurt more. Any ideas? Can the clicking pain come and go as I'm experiencing? Because right now, that's not my major complaint. But before it was really really bad. Now it's just really bad straining pain and weight bearing problems.

[fordtough4x4]

well guys,sorry for no update in along time,but the day has come.monday they are breaking out the chainsaws and porta-band saws and cutting me open.I feel extremely confident in the doctor i ended up choosing,seems like a very good guy,takes the time to explain things.he is going in to remove the broken cartillage,repair the tfcc,and fix the ligament.How nasty is this gonna be?Will I be in a cast?I know none of yall can give a definite answer,but just a rough guess will do.Thanks all for all the support.

[jtk73]

Sparks, have you read all of our stories? Rather than us repeating it all, read through them and see if it sounds similar. My doc only found my tfcc tear when he went into surgery and it was a pretty bad tear too, but it did not show up on mri.

[focus_911]

Sparks, have you read all of our stories? Rather than us repeating it all, read through them and see if it sounds similar. My doc only found my tfcc tear when he went into surgery and it was a pretty bad tear too, but it did not show up on mri.

It is such a pitty. We spend thousands of dollars a year on these machines and it's true that a lot of the time they come up with nothing. That's when the difference kicks in between an experienced and non-experience careless surgeon comes in. The good ones look beyond the results given by a multi thousand dollar machine.

[jtk73]

It is such a pitty. We spend thousands of dollars a year on these machines and it's true that a lot of the time they come up with nothing. That's when the difference kicks in between an experienced and non-experience careless surgeon comes in. The good ones look beyond the results given by a multi thousand dollar machine.

Hi Focus,
I had the same problem with MRI and a piece of cartilage coming off the 1st MTP joint in my left foot. The first MRI showed there was inflammation but the docs said there was nothing wrong. They were at the stage that they were recommending they cut to look and I insisted on another MRI (all of this I paid for out of my own pocket) and when I went in for it, I told the radiologist that he needed to do finer cuts, look hard cos there was something there that was not showing up on the first MRI.

It came back with a whole A4 page of notes, a little more detailed but not really saying what was the problem. I went and asked another doctor if I could just see him (without waiting months) just to discuss the mri as I had a podiatric surgeon who was looking at cutting my foot open to see what was wrong and this ortho surgeon saw me the next week. It was him who figured out what was wrong and HE saw the piece of cartilage coming off the bone on the MRI. He said he could go in and remove it but that I should wait until I could no longer bear it. So I haven't yet had anything done.

At the moment I put up with it all and have deep tissue massage, every so often, to the adductor hallucis tendon as that is the one that gets irritated by the cartilage rubbing against it.

It is unfortunate that we spend all this money on medical equipment and still human error, whether not taking small enough slices or just not seeing the problem, occurs and we are still in pain or told that the pain is in our head (Yes, after the first MRI I got that comment too!)

[focus_911]

Absolutely.

The initial MRA or of bloody things! that I had done came out completely clear. I had a good surgeon which listened to me and said that the symptoms I was coming up with and my inability to do plain regular things around the house.

As it turned out to be I had a 2 labral tears, a detachment labrum and loose bone chips. See attached news clip.

[sparks4stp]

Hi guys,
Yes I poured over every single entry on this website and countless others. I guess I feel slightly reassured (?) that some others have had the same problems as I with no answers from their MRIs. Since my last post, my doctor has sent me for a second MRI on some state of the art new stronger machine. It's supposed to be twice as strong and this time they used a wrist coil. And guess what? NOTHING! The MRI report was literally a sentance long. They actually found less on this one than the one I had 6 months ago. I had this one done at a different hospital. So argghh. I am so confused at this point. I had/have total faith in my dr. but he keeps giving me different ideas/directions of what he's thinking. A few weeks ago he repeated xrays and he was suspecting a sacphoid-lunate tear or something because of the way the bones in my wrist were lined up on a clenched fist xray. But then he hasn't mentioned it since. Now he's back on the TFCC tear. So what the hell?...THen he got my MRI films and he's like hmm...."I really was suprised. I thought it would find something." Yeah well, same here. So I'm looking at him like, Now what? He tells ME to call the hospital to ask for an addendum to the MRI report (because the dr never commented on any of the ulnar sided structures, just the radial side). He was going to review my films and also ask one of his musculoskeltal dr friends to look at my films and I'm supposed to go back in 3 weeks which will be next Wednesday. That's all it ever is. Well this week I think it's this. But...come back in 3 weeks. Arggh. It's been almost 9 months!!!! Oh and at the last appointment he told me, "well we can do surgery and there's a big chance we cut you open and find nothing or in some rare cases some people get injured and unfortunately they just have to live with the pain for the rest of their lives." Wow, is that reassuring. So he's telling me, too bad, you got injured and work and now you gotta suck it up and deal with it for the next 60 years or so? Screw that. I'm just so frustrated. Sorry, I sound like a really angry person. I'm not. I'm just frustrated. He's starting to make me feel like I'm a hypochondriac when I know there is really something wrong with me. And when he tells me all these things, and then tells me its my choice whether to have surgery or not....well geeze...he's not making it an easy choice. He's making me feel like I'm crazy and he can't find anything wrong, so why on Earth would I ever consent to letting him cut me open?? I asked him if he's ever had a case where the tests showed nothing but later found something during surgery. He said yes, but it happens very rarely. But it seems to me from reading on these boards that it happens a lot more frequently than that. So I guess I just have to wait and see what he has to say at my next appt and see if I get to wait yet another 3 weeks for more questions and less answers.

[focus_911]

Find another Doctor. It doesn't sound like he's taking you seriously so it's not worth wasting your time with him. Don't give up, I to went thru 2 surgeons before I made it to the third one I have been working with for 3 years now.

Even the best of us have gone thru many frustrations. If you read my blog (link at the bottom, just scroll to the wrist section)you will see the hoops I had to go thru. If you are local to me I will gladly give you some names to stay away from and the ones to request.

Good Luck:)

[jtk73]

Where are you sparks? I am in Brisbane

But I agree, get another doctor.....

[focus_911]

Sparks how are you doing?

[wendyhoward]

Hello All,

I am an Occupational Therapist and Certified Hand Therapist with 16 years of experience treating wrists. I have spent the past 4 years studying the TFCC full time and would like to share my knowledge and hopefully assist you in your recovery.

The TFCC was first described in medical literature in 1981 so the diagnosis, treatment and information is relatively young with many, many gaps in the care.

I have learned that if you take someone with a TFCC tear, you will find some level of dysfunction in the weight bearing tolerance. If you take a non digital bathroom scale, place your palm flat, and elbow straight and push to the point of pain, (push up position) you can measure the dysfunction comparing it to the unaffected side. The TFCC is strained with rotation, grip and weight bearing. If there is an injury, it is essential that the treatment support the TFCC in these positions for an 8-10 week minimum. Because this ligament is small and essential for function, it is quite difficult to do this with normal bracing. It is well described that the best treatment is to immobilize the TFCC with a long arm cast going past the elbow for 12 weeks. Medical practitioners are not doing this because of the complications in the elbow with this route. Arthroscopic debridements and repairs have become the standard treatment but this procedure is very complicated and the technique is not agreed upon in the surgical community. There are many many complications.

The only way to support the TFCC through rotation, grip and weight bearing for the 8-10 weeks is with a NON elastic wrist support which does not cross the wrist. The ulna head must be free. www.wristwidget.com. I learned that if you provide this support, you get an immediate return of grip and weight bearing with less pain. The most important issue is to support this uninterrupted for the time required for the TFCC to heal as measure by weight bearing. It will heal!

The most common secondary complication from a TFCC tear is Extensor Carpi Ulnaris tendonitis. If you only have ECU tendonitis, you would have normal and pain free weight bearing. ECU tendonitis causes pain at the base of the pinky on the back of the hand when touching the insertion.

There is research coming out to support the phenomenon of a circumferential support- google Japan, splint and TFCC to learn more. Remember, an elastic brace simply does not do the trick. I patented this design and know that it is essential to provide support that is comfortable, adjustable, and supportive for the entire 10 weeks.

If you have surgery, it is also essential to provide this support post operatively. Again, if the TFCC is stretched with rotation, the support post operatively is also important. There is a very high recurrance rate in this injury!

Please feel free to email me for specific questions at info@howardtherapy.com.

Try the weight bearing test and you will see.

All the best,

Wendy Howard, OTR, CHT, Clinical Research Coordinator

[My TFCC Tear]

I have read about you not knowing if you should do the surgery. I just had the surgery done on 9/23/08. I'm in a cast for 6 weeks. My job won't let me come back until my restrictions are lifted. That could be 2 months. I'm glad I did it, but the other part of me not so sure. I can't use my right hand. Left hand use only. If you have not had the surgery yet make sure to ask your work if you can come back with those restrictions. That's what I have problems with. NO INCOME!!!






I am considering surgery for what appears to be a TFCC tear in my right wrist. I am looking for some advice regarding that. Here is what happened:

I was typing one day on October 2006, I had a sharp pain on a spot on the ulnar(little finger) site of my right wrist. I was not able to type anymore on that day. I used to have mild soreness on my right wrist for some time then. But on that day, I knew something was really bad. It is not the usual sorness. I went to saw a hand surgeon. For the first few months, it looked like some kind of pinching on my ulnar nerve for I had all the usual symptoms of nerve pinching such as tingling(very slight, may be imagined:-) ). I underwent physical therapy with ultrasound treatment. I certainly got some temporary relief from the ultrasound treatment. But it was still painful to type.

On August 2007, I had an MRI that showed a minor tear in my ECU. I continued my physical therapy, which is now more geared towards tendonitis. But still, my doctor was puzzled that the pain was very local. It did not radiate to my upper arm, no matter how much I type. October 2007, I also started noticing that my pain is radiating around my wrist on the TFCC area. The doctor started suspecting that a TFCC tear may be the real culprit. He injected an anesthetic into my wrist joint and did some tests to see whether I still had the pain. I did not. This confirmed to him that the problem was inside the joint. He has suggested surgery to me, in which he is going to debride the TFCC and kind of tighten a ligament using RF waves. Apparently, ligament being loose lets my wrist joint move too freely and cause clicking noises(sometimes painful). But, I have been putting off the surgery, frankly, because not being able to see the tear in MRI makes me a little nervous. What if this is really not because of a tear? Also the pain I have is not constant. I usually have pain for a few days/week. And the pain seems to go away with a lot of rest (like a long weekend) only to come back in a few days. I am just afraid that the surgery may make it worse.

Now sitting at February 2008, I feel so tired of always being afraid that the activity that I am doing is gonna flare up my wrist. I used to be a very active person. But now not so much. I also restricted my typing activities. Being a computer geek, it is like losing a part of myself. I wear a splint all the time. Considering the effect of this injury on my overall lifestyle, I'm thinking that the surgery may be worth a shot. I know this is a decision that I have to make for myself. But I am looking for some feedback about the success of TFCC surgeries from you. How risky can a TFCC debridement surgery be?

[sparks4stp]

Hi all,
So I went back to the doctor today. My problem here is that my case is through workmen's comp. This is the second dr I"m seeing and I think in Illinois you are allowed only 2 opinions. He thinks I need a scope. They added an adeddnum to my MRI report and again, it found nothing, even on the the Ulna side. He says of right now, there is nothing wrong with me so the next step would be a scope of my wrist. He keeps asking me if I can live with it and what do I say to that? I'm like well, I have been living with it, for 9 months now. I can, but do I want to? No. I can't function normally. I tried helping my grandma paint last weekend and could barely do the ceiling of a small room before I gave up. I tore my wrist brace off, my wrist was screaming with pain and completely locked up. I had to physically manipulate it to get it to unlock. It hurts to drive for longer than 30 minutes, so road trips suck. I can't carry anything over 5 pounds without my wrist hurting. So what the hell? Can I live with it? Yeah I mean, it's not going to kill me, but it definitely impacts my life. So....
He tells me that the insurance company is not going to approve the scope because of the fact that I've had two negative MRI's. I need to have an Independent Medical Evaluation (IME). I'm like oh don't worry, just got a voicemail last friday telling me they have scheduled me an appointment for next Monday in a city 25 miles away when I'm supposed to be at work. So there goes a good 5 hours off my paycheck not to mention money lost on traveling. He knows the Dr. I am going to see and thinks there would be better doctors for me to see that would be more familiar with the scope procedure that would be more knowledgable about recommending the procedure. He told me to call work comp and explain this to them, that he wants me to get an IME but thinks that I should see a different Dr. Well the lady I talked to had major attitude, told me I've had 2 negative MRI's, there's probably nothing wrong with me wrist, the Dr. is going to evaluate whether i have a pre existing condition such as degeneration that is causing my wrist not to heal. So then what? I'm screwed. If they deny further treatment what do I do then? I am SOOOOO frustrated!!!!!!! I asked the dr today, could it just be that I have tendonitis or something? He said probably not, it should have gone away with anti inflammatories and the wrist splint and the clicking and grinding is not common with tendonitis. So I'm at a loss. I told him that there are multiple people on this board that have been in the same situation as me and he says, yes it happens, but it's not common. Then he tells me that if I do get the scope done, he would be willing to do it, but would feel more comfortable having a different dr do it that has more experience with it because mine is a complex case. He says because he doesn't do a large volume of them, he may miss something that a dr who does scopes all the time wouldn't. So then I have to find myself a different dr. Argh. Well if it even comes to that. I have to wait and see what the work comp dr says on Monday. Anyone know of good Dr.s in the Chicagoland area?

[SQ71]

Hiya Sparks,

I had a TFCC tear that didn't show on MRI, but was very obvious during an arthroscopy. I also had ECU tendon subluxation which again doesn't show on a MRI. First surgeon dismissed the pain/injury because the MRI failed to show a problem. The second, went on physical symptoms - snapping, grinding, severe pain on ulnar side of wrist, poor grip strength. MRI's are not the be-all, end-all. Can you talk to your insurance company? Surely, there must be plenty of documented cases of TFCC injuries not showing on MRI, but being found during arthroscopy?

I lived with my injury for 14 months before I had surgery so, I know the pain and frustration that you must be going through. Yeah, it does severely impact on the quality of ones life, and no you shoudn't have to live with it. I also had extensive hand therapy pior to surgery and had none to minimal improvement. I had my op 16 weeks ago (Debridement TFCC tear, ganglion cyst removal and ECU tendon tenolysis and re-stabilisation) and I'm back to almost good as new - no pain, no problems, & a grip strength of 30kg.

Don't give up. Keep trying, because you want quality of life.

Best of luck to you

[dlintz]

Hi All,
I injured my wrist in late September and finally went to see a doc last week due to continued pain/clicking/etc. My MRI showed a full tear of the TFCC along with a complete tear of the UCU tendon and "partial tears of supporting tendons". I'm not sure what the report meant by supporting tendons but obviously the main issues are teh TFCC and the ECU tendon.

I'm scheduled to meet with a surgeon in a few weeks. Before going to this appointment I'm trying to find out as much as I can about my treatment options. As a surgeon specializing in hands/wrists I suspect he'll want to operate based on the results of my MRI. I'm not against having surgery but I'd prefer not to if there are less invasive options. All I want (and what everybody would want) is to regain as much strength and usability as I can.

Comments anyone?

d.

[dlintz]

Hi All,

I injured my wrist (rock climbing) in late September and finally decided to see a doc since the pain and clicking weren't improving. My MRI showed a complete tear of the TFCC along with a full tear of the ECU tendon and partial tears of supporting tendons. I'm not sure what was meant by "supporting tendons" but obviously the main issues are the TFCC and ECU tendon tears.

I'm meeting with a surgeon in a few weeks. He specializes in hand/wrist surgery so I suspect he'll want to do that based upon my MRI results. I'm not against having surgery but I'd like to avoid it if there are other noninvasive options. I'm not concerned with the time off from work, insurance, or missing out on physical activities (climbing, biking, etc.) but like anyone my goal is to get as much strength/motion back as I can.

Comments anyone?

Doug

[jtk73]

Good luck with no surgery. From what I have read and experienced, surgery is probably the best option for the tfcc tear

[focus_911]

I know the amount of pain I was in and still am in and I feel really sorry for you. If you were willing to travel I can send the name and contact of my current wrist surgeon. I've been with a very severe wrist instability but have been fortunate to have a truly amazing surgeon.

He's written many orthopedic articles on the weband will be more than happy to send you the most recent one. If you send me a pm I'll link you the articles.

[sparks4stp]

Thanks for the reply SQ71. Hearing other people's similar stories makes me feel a little bit reassured. I'm still afraid they're just not going to find anything in my wrist if they go in there and I'm gonna be one of those people with undiagnosed pain. It just seems to be my luck. I went to my Independent Medical Evaluation last week. The Dr. seemed nice enough, but you know they can't tell you anything and they barely talk to you. He literally touched my wrist, asked me a few questions, seemed shocked at the pain I described to him and then said ok, I'm done and sent me on my way all in a matter of 10 minutes. I haven't heard anything since from the insurance company. I go back to my regular Dr. next Wednesday. So I guess I find out then whether or not the insurance company approved the arthoscope or not. In the meantime I sit and wait...and wait, and wait.

[sparks4stp]

Focus, could you send me a link to those articles? I tried to PM you but it wouldn't let me. Thanks so much and I hope your healing well after your last Sx.

[sparks4stp]

So I got my report back from the IME Dr. The insurance company has denied me all further medical treatment for my wrist. The jerkface Dr. they sent me to (who by the way specializes in knees) said that any pain i am currently experiencing is not related to my orignial injury. Seems odd to me that my wrist was perfectly fine before the injury in Feb. and now I'm experiencing pain unrelated to an injury I sustained at work when I never got better at any time in between then and now. Arrgghhh!!!!! So it's been 10 months now. Now I guess the next step is to get a lawyer. And these things never happen quickly. So it's gonna be forever before can even think about getting my wrist fixed. Insurance companies can all go to hell.

[focus_911]

Focus, could you send me a link to those articles? I tried to PM you but it wouldn't let me. Thanks so much and I hope your healing well after your last Sx.

Oh sorry! I just saw your post a couple mins ago. It's odd it wouldn't let you pm me...I get regular pms from members. Here are some articles Dr V. Bowen has written. There are dozens of them over the web. He is one of the head professors at the University of Calgary as well so he's always writing out new scientific articles.

Here is the article I was talking about. Excellent article. I have gone thru the 2 procedures described and I've got my 2 scents to give if anyone is looking into this or wants an experience based opinion.

The Treatment of Chronic Scapholunate
Dissociation: An, Eviden~ce-Based
Assessment
of the Literature
http://www.surgery.northwestern.edu/plasticreading/Documents/curriculum/Box%2001/11000314.pdf

[jtk73]

I am sorry but I found wearing the Wrist Widget very very annoying. Good idea, but I think there is a problem when people have very small wrists. Yes, you can cut to size but I did find the widget annoying as it was hard to bend the wrist and work with it on, I found many other wrist braces (and strapping tape) more comfortable.

I do not want to bag it as so many others use it with good results but just wanted to point out that there are some that it does not work for.
Thanks

[Surfr]

A couple of days ago I injoured my right wrist while moving my hand quickly throgh the air in a motion similar to throwing a ball overarm.

I now have pain on the ulnar side of my wrist particularly on the underside of the ulnar lump on the wrist. Rotation is also reduced from 270 degrees to about 200 degrees before ulnar pain builds up.
Ocasionally I will extend my wrist beyond the rotation extent and wil feel pain and a clicking or rubbing sensation in my ulnar joint region. The pain goes away after a minute or so when the wrist is returned to normal resting position. Day to day wrist use is OK. I can drive the car reasonably well, type, write, use a stylus, but some actifities like putting a seatbelt on or pulling a door to can cause gret short term pain. Any ideas? I'm going to book an appointment with my GP. My wife thought I should go to casualty/ER but I thought this was excessive.

[Danny]

TFCC tear sounds quite reasonable from what you describe. They are slow healing and you need to ensure you protect while it is healing. If day to day activities are not flaring it up great, but if you find that you are irritating it a few times a day then I would brace it. Bad tears brace for 6 weeks but yours doesn't sound excessively bad and may only need 2-4 weeks.

[HELPMEHOWARD]

hello,

When A Patients Has Wrist Pain To The Pinky Side Of The Wrist That Worsens With One Of The Following: Grip, Weight Bearing, Or Rotation They Usually Get The Following Information:
Rest, Ice, Stop Rotating (like Thats Possible!) And Consider Cortisone, Or Exploratory Arthroscopy. Most People Are Plagued With This Injury For Long Periods Before It Shows Signs Of Improvement.

Here What Everyone Should Try.

Take A Bathroom Scale, Place Your Hand On It Flat, Keep Elbow Straight And Push Down To Measure Your Weight Bearing Tolerance. Compare To The Other Side. Then: Tape Your Wrist In A Circumferential Manner Tightly And Remeasure. If The Pain Dissapates, Then Check Out www.wristwidget.com. This Splint Was Designed For Tfcc Injuries And Treats The Injury If Worn Continuously For 4-8 Weeks. Your Pain Should Resolve By Taking The Strain Off The Tfcc And Allowing It To Heal As You Function. The Affects Are Instant And Can Be Simulated By Taping.

Ultrasound, Estim, Massage, Strengthening Are Not Very Helpful For Long Term Treatment Of A Ligament Injury.

People Who Have Ecu Tendonitis Do Not Have Pain With Weight Bearing And Respond To The Use Of A Wrap To Support The Ecu From Subluxing With Use.

I Hope That Helps And Would Be Happy To Answer Any Other Questions.

Wendy Howard, Occupational Therapist, Certified Hand Therapist

Hi
I'm New To The Board And I Injured My Tfcc About 3 Weeks Ago. My Private Doctor Put Me Out Of Work For Another Two Weeks, But My Jobs Doctor Said I Could Go Back To Full Work Immediately Because There Are No Fractures Or Broken Bones, Even Though I Still Have Pain. My Job Consist Of Me Putting Stress On My Wrist Because I Have To Lift Heavy Things. What Should Or Could I Do In This Case:(

[kjwilkin]

Follow the advice of your own doctor, not the work doctor. You are likely to hurt it more if you continue working.

Hope you have a speedy recovery.

[HELPMEHOWARD]

Hello,

When a patients has wrist pain to the pinky side of the wrist that worsens with one of the following: grip, weight bearing, or rotation they usually get the following information:
REST, Ice, stop rotating (like thats possible!) and consider cortisone, or exploratory arthroscopy. Most people are plagued with this injury for long periods before it shows signs of improvement.

Here what everyone should try.

Take a bathroom scale, place your hand on it flat, keep elbow straight and push down to measure your weight bearing tolerance. Compare to the other side. Then: tape your wrist in a circumferential manner tightly and remeasure. If the pain dissapates, then check out www.wristwidget.com. This splint was designed for TFCC injuries and treats the injury if worn continuously for 4-8 weeks. Your pain should resolve by taking the strain off the TFCC and allowing it to heal as you function. The affects are instant and can be simulated by taping.

Ultrasound, estim, massage, strengthening are NOT very helpful for long term treatment of a ligament injury.

People who have ECU tendonitis do NOT have pain with weight bearing and respond to the use of a wrap to support the ECU from subluxing with use.

I hope that helps and would be happy to answer any other questions.

Wendy Howard, Occupational Therapist, Certified Hand Therapist

i have a city job(ny), and i have a tfcc injury that is job related which my dr. is treating. i have been out of work for about 4 weeks now. i had an appointment with my jobs dr. and he put me back to full work, even though my private physician still has me out on comp. what do i do in a situation like this when i know i'm still in pain and the jobs dr. did not give me a thorough examination. i have had two xrays and am waiting for an mri approval. my job consists of me lifting heavy objects and using my wrist all day. i am also going to therapy once a week and takeing an antiinflamatory drug. i don't think they understand the severity of this injury.
please give me your opinion on what i should do about going back to work now or not.

[HELPMEHOWARD]

Hi
I'm New To The Board And I Injured My Tfcc About 3 Weeks Ago. My Private Doctor Put Me Out Of Work For Another Two Weeks, But My Jobs Doctor Said I Could Go Back To Full Work Immediately Because There Are No Fractures Or Broken Bones, Even Though I Still Have Pain. My Job Consist Of Me Putting Stress On My Wrist Because I Have To Lift Heavy Things. What Should Or Could I Do In This Case:(

wow
going through the exact same thing. i have a lawyer now. don't know what the outcome is going to be, but most dr.'s your job sends you to work in favor of the company. the dr. they sent me to said that there were no breaks or fractures so i could go back to work. even though i told him i still have pain in my wrist. my private dr. has kept me out for 3 weeks so far.

[Altitude]

I am wondering - for those of you who have tried the wristwidget.....can I still play sports while wearing this or does it limit your wrist movement completely? I'm 99% certain I have a partial TFCC tear and have been taping my wrist for the past 6 months when doing any weightlifting or sports. Seems to get better and then worse.....never has healed. But I'm spending more on athletic tape then I would on the wristwidget and am wondering if I could still 1) lift weights 2) swing a bat or golfclub with this widget on?

Thanks for your input.

[Rowgirl]

Hi all, really good to find this forum, glad to know I'm not alone! I'm a 27 year old semi-pro rower and have rowed pretty much all my life. I started experiencing ulnar side wrist pain about 18 months ago. The usual symptoms, weakness, pain under strain, clicking / grinding. After hours and hours of physio, two cortisone injections and more physio I was referred to a hand specialist. They did various scans on me, none of which showed anything up. I was then referred to a wrist specialist who carried out a wrist arthroscopy. She found a central TFCC tear and damage through my whole wrist joint as a result of having a long ulnar. Had surgery on 26th Jan and was in a big bandage for 2 weeks. I only had two days off work as I'm self employed. I also only had two days off training. Have had yet more physio following the op, and its still pretty sore. Have most of my range of movement back but it is still painful to bend my wrist down. However, I've seen a different physio this week and he's taped my wrist (pulling my ulnar down) and it has really helped to relieve the pain, and he's let me back on the ergo (rowing machine), well, for 5 minutes a day at least!

My big worry is that I was told by the surgeon that if I carry on rowing I risk losing the use of my wrist altogether in 5 - 10 years. Rowing is my life, and I'm not ready to stop yet. So, I've changed the side of the boat that I row on, and, with the help of my physio and my coach am changing my training to put as little strain on is as possible. If anyone has any other suggestions that could keep me rowing I'd be glad to hear them. I can strap and tape my wrist but can't have any strapping that goes over my hand, as I won't be able to grip my oar. I currently feel like its never going to get better but I've got the World Championships in 8 weeks and I fully intend to be competing in them! The surgeon said she could do an ulnar shortening but isn't happy to do it just to keep me rowing...

[focus_911]

Hi all, really good to find this forum, glad to know I'm not alone! I'm a 27 year old semi-pro rower and have rowed pretty much all my life. I started experiencing ulnar side wrist pain about 18 months ago. The usual symptoms, weakness, pain under strain, clicking / grinding. After hours and hours of physio, two cortisone injections and more physio I was referred to a hand specialist. They did various scans on me, none of which showed anything up. I was then referred to a wrist specialist who carried out a wrist arthroscopy. She found a central TFCC tear and damage through my whole wrist joint as a result of having a long ulnar. Had surgery on 26th Jan and was in a big bandage for 2 weeks. I only had two days off work as I'm self employed. I also only had two days off training. Have had yet more physio following the op, and its still pretty sore. Have most of my range of movement back but it is still painful to bend my wrist down. However, I've seen a different physio this week and he's taped my wrist (pulling my ulnar down) and it has really helped to relieve the pain, and he's let me back on the ergo (rowing machine), well, for 5 minutes a day at least!

My big worry is that I was told by the surgeon that if I carry on rowing I risk losing the use of my wrist altogether in 5 - 10 years. Rowing is my life, and I'm not ready to stop yet. So, I've changed the side of the boat that I row on, and, with the help of my physio and my coach am changing my training to put as little strain on is as possible. If anyone has any other suggestions that could keep me rowing I'd be glad to hear them. I can strap and tape my wrist but can't have any strapping that goes over my hand, as I won't be able to grip my oar. I currently feel like its never going to get better but I've got the World Championships in 8 weeks and I fully intend to be competing in them! The surgeon said she could do an ulnar shortening but isn't happy to do it just to keep me rowing...

Get another doc. End of story.

Dude read my story, honestly do it. Find my thread and read what I went thru. That doc is an idiot. "Don't want to fix your wrist so you can go back to regular activities" what??? what the point of having it fixed then? She sounds ridiculous. There many options of treatments that could be tried out to bring you back to full form or at least as close as possible to it.

I ride and compete horses pretty much as a living and you can bet my surgeons have been working very hard to get me there. Gone thru MANY procedures as I re-injured a few times, again read thru my thread, feel free to message me afterwards if need be.

I am very passionate about this topic and finding the right physician. I have dealt with severe pain for many years and I can now say I do see myself as one with a HUGE amount of experiences in that department.
Take Care, out there and find yourself ANOTHER doc. One that will have your well being as a priority.

Kelly

[Rowgirl]

Thanks Kelly. Physio has taped me up good and proper and I got back in the boat last week (despite two physio's advising me its too soon). Just 5 weeks till the world champs, so have to concentrate on that at the moment. I'll look into getting another opionion after that... Thanks again :)

[focus_911]

Thanks Kelly. Physio has taped me up good and proper and I got back in the boat last week (despite two physio's advising me its too soon). Just 5 weeks till the world champs, so have to concentrate on that at the moment. I'll look into getting another opionion after that... Thanks again :)

I apologize now for what you are about to read, I am posting my opinion nothing personal to you as I don't know you.

You're heard it already and will hear it again but to leave it open to strictly my opinion: you are completely ridiculous to be doing what you're doing. Ligament injuries go down hill VERY QUICKLY if not cared for. I went thru the same thing you were thru and have gone thru every surgery possible to fix the one I had which started out relatively minor. I am in fact leaving in 45 mins to go to the hospital to have the last and final 7th surgery to FUSE MY WRIST. I am 23 years old and WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN.

Part of me tells me if you are well enough to "focus on the world champs" you can't be hurt enough to even require treatment.

[mekys]

Hi all,
I tore my tfcc on Jan-2009 after falling from chair and landing hard on my right wrist. Intially it started with a little swell over my ulnar side and i started hearing the clicking sound. Intially the click was little painful then after few days it became painless. but still the swelling didnt reduce. Thats when i went to first doctor who after hearing all my symptoms immediately wanted a surgery. So i went for second consultation with another doctor on feb 2009. After looking at the MRI the doctor said it was a tfcc tear. But he didn't want to do a surgery so he put me on a hard cast for four weeks after which i was again in a brace for two weeks. totally six weeks of immobilization. The wrist is still stiff and i am doing my PT. I had my visit to doctor last week when he inspected the wrist and said that it is healing and with time it will heal properly. he advised me to do normal activities using right hand and not to lift heavy weights for few months.

But i thought tfcc wont heal and needs a surgery for sure? But my doctor thinks otherwise and says those are not true always and he has many patients without surgery. I am really confused now. will my tfcc tear heal with time? Please help

[kas_lane]

Hey all, I'm trying to get as much information as possible about TFCC tears.

I was rear-ended at the end of Feb 2009 and my Right hand was on the steering wheel and I guess the way we got hit and how my hand was on the wheel, it jacked up my wrist a little bit. At first I thought the soreness was typical from being in an accident but when I went for a follow up with my Chiropractor the following week I had him take a look at my wrist as well. Since he was treating me for my neck for minor whiplash, he was doing e-stim and ultrasound on my wrist as well.

Well, here we are the end of April and the pain in my wrist is still as bad now as it was then. I'm ok with a throwing motion (since my softball season was starting up and the Chiro wanted me to test it out), but to move my wrist away from my thumb, there are times that the pain almost drops me to my knees.

I went to my Orthopaedic last Wednesday to see what was going on since the x-rays came back negative for any type of fracture. He ordered an MRI with contrast (which I had yesterday)because he believes I have torn cartilage and will follow-up on Monday with results.
BTW, the injection for the dye before the MRI wasn't too bad, but I have one heck of a knot on top of my wrist by the injection site.

Here is my thing, the Ortho put me in a adjustable brace that restricts the up and down motion (what you typically see for carpal tunnel) but does not restrict the motion that causes the most pain. I was wondering if anyone has gone through this and if I would be out of line to request from the Ortho to be put into any other type of brace or cast that will actually restrict the side to side motion. If I put the brace on tight enough I can somewhat restrict that movement, but then it cuts in something terrible and is more annoying than anything else.

I would love any feedback.

Thanks a lot. I'll try to post when I get results back on Monday.

[The Tracker]

Hello to Everyone,

I fell on my wrist back in March while I was out running at 4 am in the morning. I hit an ice patch and went down like a ton of bricks. I didn't have time to react or to brace myself for the fall. I caught my left wrist under me and bent it way back. I thought at first I had broken my wrist as I couldn't move my hand. I gave it a few minutes and then I started to move my finger and then moved my wrist. My wrist did swell up a little bit that day. I iced it and took Ibuprofen which did make the swelling go down. I went in after a few weeks because I picked up a pot on the stove and dropped. My left wrist bent towards the ground and I lost feeling in my hand. I did see my regular doctor and he did a x-ray and said nothing was broken, give it a month and if the pain is still there I'll send you to an orthopedic surgeon. I gave it 2 weeks and had enough with the pain. I went to see my orthopedic surgeon and he ordered a X-ray with injected dye, and a MRI. The MRI has confirmed that I do have a TFCC tear and he referred me to a hand specialist. I have been doing physical therapy now for 3 weeks 2 times a week. I have had ultra sound and some infer red treatments and they don't seem to be helping. I see the doctor next week after Mothers Day and I am thinking of getting surgery done so I can get back into my normal routine. I wear a wrist splint, which does help. My wrist does make a popping noise and cracks also during therapy. The therapist has stopped some of the exercises I was doing so my wrist isn't popping and making those cracking noises.

Has anyone had any success from having the surgery? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Scott (aka The Tracker)

[alvin]

I feel your pain, Scott. It's so frustrating when you lose the strength you had in a normal wrist. I tore my right TFCC (triangular fibrocartilage complex) 9 years ago through twisting/turning force and impact. The TFCC is also known as a wrist meniscus, like what we have in the knee, but unlike the knee there are more complicated fine bones and ligaments involved in the wrist, hence the poor and unpredictable success rates after surgery.

Initially I thought it was just a really bad strain. Luckily my doc sent me to a savvy Physio who picked up immediately that it was a torn TFC and referred me to hand surgeon. The hand surgeon was sceptical and sent me for MRI. MRI specialist said he would inject joint with contrast at three separate points to locate the tear and only 1 injection if the tear/hole was significant. He proceeded with first injection and said ‘looks like you only get 1 injection, the dye's gone right through real easily”. MRI showed large tear with rough edges. Specialist was more interested now and booked arthroscopy with debridement and/or repair. Pre-op was told that if arm was in splint after surgery that all went well and repair was successful but if arm was only in bandage it meant they couldn’t repair, only debride.

To my disappointment, post-op I saw that wrist was only bandaged. Specialist said tear was too big and right in centre: no blood supply so would never improve. With debridement I now have a hole where there is bone against bone with any compression. He said I had to face having the weak wrist of an arthritic 80 year old (I was in my mid 30s). With the op, the surgeon debrided to reduce the painful “catching” sensation in the joint.

Physio post-op was totally unhelpful - made things worse even. “Catching” was still felt but this reduced over the months just with rest. The surgeon said I shouldn't push what I’ve got since a tear from the hole to the edge would render my wrist useless. Only time and gentle management made the pain settle down. Being right-handed I had to give up comp tennis. I tried playing with left hand but I started getting a ganglion in left wrist so thought better stop while I’m ahead with the one good wrist I’ve got. I’m also a pianist - thankfully not my occupation. Now can only play for 30mins at a time before pain is too great.

I wear a wrist brace with all activities which involve straining my wrist. My left arm and shoulder are larger and musclier because I favour my left hand (I have some muscle wastage on my right side now). I’ve had second and third opinions from hand surgeons: one suggested ulna shortening but the complications outweighed the benefits since it was major surgery and nerves were involved. Success rate of surgeon definitely has to be considered with this procedure. Another said that for my age, activity and good health, that the best management should be conservative treatment and later, joint fusion could be an option, if things became unbearable.

The best solution I’ve found is wearing a wrist brace which provides wrist stability and encompasses a palmar splint. I have about 5 different wrist braces for my activities, some more rigid than others. To prevent further muscle wastage I do lateral pull-downs in gym using a strap and hook device that I strap to my arm above my wrist and hook over the bar – I use this on both arms for balance. This way the strain is transferred to the arm, not wrist. I’m also a downhill skier and wear a wrist brace designed for snowboarders anytime I’m on the slopes to protect what’s left of my TFC complex. As mentioned by someone else, a break (up the arm) is better than losing the wrist. Some days are better than others. Where I can, I use my left hand – computer mouse, carting heavy stuff, driving long distances. I know if I’m using the bad wrist more, then I should expect some pain and aches for a couple of days. As I said it’s been 9 years now, in my case I’ve gotten used to it: luckily no worse, but not better either. Good luck!

[lianaweigand]

hey!;)
im 16 years old and have been doing gymnastics for 12 yrs now... i practice everyday. i have had a torn tfcc in my right wrist for almost 3 yrs. working harder and new skills like on floor have been a struggle because i can only tumble 10 passes before i cant do anymore from the pain in my wrists. I ware wrist guards with 5 plastic inserts inside them to help with the support. I am releasing no that it is not enough. I want to get another cortisone shot and am going to ask the doc if she knows any better wrist supports suitable for gymnastics.
if anyone knows of any it will be helpful....but i was looking at the wristwidget thing and i dont think that will be any support with the loading from tumbling etc.
Im thinking surgery will be the next step after all the braces fail. Ive heard ur wrist wont be the same after and i really want to keep doing gymnastics even throughout college. please help or any advice i should take=]
thanks
liana:)

[Minoltamen]

Although your article comparison sounds interesting but i'm not sure if i could agree with you in 100%

[FilliPac]

Whoa...check out this page...hmmm, and I thought this was only for the kids

[RDLB]

Hey all,
I'm in Hawaii and I tore my TFCC in my dominant hand almost a year ago. I'm a professional photographer and an avid surfer/fisherman and this injury has really caused me some serious psychological stress.

Since so many people are asking about the wrist widget, I'll tell you I got one three months ago and the decrease in pain has allowed me to do most of my work and pursue swimming and other low impact activities. I'm slowly improving and I spend a lot of time hiking and diving as opposed to surfing. The biggest benefit is that the extreme reduction in pain has really lifted my spirits.

Even my orthopedist, who treats Olympians and NBA players, is telling me that I just need time with the widget to heal, not surgery. So if you have a relatively minor tear, go for the widget and just wait it out...patiently

Just for the record I am in no way connected to Wendy Howard or her business, just a satisfied customer.

Dave

[ForexBenny]

It looks like we have similar ideas on this subject.

[zenkamal]

Hey everyone,

Here's my story. The ulnar side of my wrist started hurting about two years ago. It was diagnosed as tendonitis for the longest time, and then an MRI was done that said "possible" TFCC tear. A new arthrogram was done a few months later that came up clean. The doc finally looked at the MRI directly after a few more months, and suspects an ECU subsheath tear and UCL supporting ligament tear, and said he would surgically remove my pisiform bone, which is pretty extreme for a 29 year old kid.

I'm going to try prolotherapy injections to stabilize things, but really have no idea what to do. I'm moving to San Francisco and hoping that the surgeons there have good advice (anybody from there?). My joints are already loose, and cutting out a bone seems like a bad idea. But the pain is constant, distracting, and at times agonizing. It was intermittent up until a doc gave me a second cortisone injection of Kenalog. I would highly recommend thinking about these shots before receiving them. New studies show even one shot can damage connective tissue. I'm no physiologist, so this is just a guess, but I had very little ECU movement and much less pain before getting the cortisone shot.

Anyway...advice anyone? I have a wristwidget, but don't know if that would help for ECU and UCL stuff. The doc says the problem is my pisitriquetral joint space, but how the heck to deal with that without cutting out a bone, I don't know!

[Greg171155]

Interesting web site and thread. Looking for some advice myself on this topic.... In January I fractured my right wrist in three places. The surgeon recommended that I have surgery to properly set the bones and I had a plate fixed to the wrist joint for about 8 weeks and a pin put in on the ulnar side to reattach the ligament. These were removed in due course and the wrist has regained reasonable mobility after physio etc. I can't turn it fully flat with the palm up - a minor irritation when receiving change in my palm, but no big deal. My main problem is that I have CONSTANT discomfort in the hand. It feels like I have a large rubber band under the skin - I mean about an inch wide across the back of the hand just above the wrist joint - that is being pulled constantly both laterally and lengthways. Movement, as I said, isn't particularly restricted - turning the car ignition key feels more awkward than it used to, but not a big problem. But from the moment I wake up until I go to sleep the tightness in the hand is something of which I am conscious and as a result I tend to rub and massage the hand, which helps slightly, but not much. In the morning when I wake, my fingers are stiff and it takes some flexing of them and the hand and running under a hot shower to ease the tightness - and towards the end of the day the discomfort turns towards pain. I'd say that on a 1-10 scale it's 5 first thing, 3-4 through the day and 5 or 6 in the evening.

The surgeon has had an MRI scan done which shows "Inflamed stiffness; a partial TFC tear on the ulnar side of the wrist; "slight something or other" (I failed to note it down) on the radius; micro metallic debris on the ulnar side; and "the radius fracture is fixed but the ulnar not completely so" - to quote him). He also got electro-reaction tests done on the nerves which all show no problem.

Since it is 9 months since the original injury and surgery I am getting fed up with the discomfort/pain and not inclined to just leave things to see if they get better. The option is to have further surgery to put a camera under the skin (anthroscopy??) and to 'have a look around and clear out the debris and see what else we can fix' (or words to that effect). The surgeon won't push me either way - he's happy to do the surgery or happy to let me wait and see. But he's also not used to seeing patients with these symptoms as I describe them post-surgery. I seem to be a bit unusual (as opposed to unique!) -

Does anyone have similar symptoms? Any advice as to what to do? I am 53 years old. In reasonably good health otherwise. A company director (so not a manual worker though I use a computer a lot and the discomfort hinders my keyboard skills a little). I just want to lose the discomfort - walking around nursing my hand drives my wife mad as well as me! :-)

Thanks in anticipation.

[kgallip]

So just last week at softball practice I slid and landed on my right wrist...it wasn't so much painful at the time but when I got up it feeled like my wrist was stuck/jammed...so i kept on shaking it to try to unjam it. That night is when my wrist started to hurt a lot. I've had pain just under the styloid process of my right ulnar bone that trave;s just a little bit along the pinky side and up my wrist a little, it is tender to touch, but the pain feels real deep. It is painful when I pronate, supinate, ulnar deviate and extend my wrist. The other thing that is really uncomfotable and painful is just about everytime I extend my wrist (especally when I cock my wrist to throw a softball) it clicks. It is constantly feeling like it is caught so I move my wrist to loosen it up and it clicks. I have pain if I try to use my right hand to get up off a chair, picking up my books and especially throwing. I can tolerate the pain throwing but I don't know hoow to make it better because it feels weak. I can't throw hard at all or even make it to where the ball needs to go. The doctor examined it and said I probably injured my tfcc but I've been playing and it's been a week and it doesn't feel any better. What do you suggest I do?? Is there any possible chance of a tear? I hope not!! Thank you for your time!

[Erika]

Hi Everyone
Firstly, this is my first time ever posting anything on the net!! I have had on/off wrist pain for gosh @ least 8 years or so. The pain occurs in supination, pronation and flexion and it always clicks and pops. In the past I've had x-rays & ultrasounds which failed to find anything wrong. I finally decided to see a hand specialist and had an MRI last December 2008 only to be told that my ulnar bone is longer than what it should be, thus causing compression on the TFC and causing the pain. Much to my absolute horror I was told that pretty much the only solution for me is to have an ulnar osteotomy which is an operation where they shorten the ulnar bone by cutting away a slice of bone and then rejoining the bone together again with a plate and screws! During the same operation the surgeon would do a "debridement" at the wrist joint using an arthroscope (cleaning away dodgy cartlidge). After several months when the bone is fully healed and strong again I would have the option of having another operation to remove the plate and screws. Needless to say, I have chosen to do nothing up until now (October 2009) as the thought of this operation totally horrifies me and the fact that I have learnt to live with the pain and work around it to the point where it doesn't really stop me from doing much. Having said this the pain for some unknown reason seems to be worsening over tha last couple months and I now think I should bite the bullet and do something about it. I will be getting a second and third opinion but also would like to hear from anyone who has had this condition or similar and and had this surgery. PS...I apologise for the overly-lengthy post.
Erika

[jdon]

Hi everyone,

I am looking for some advice on an injury that happened to my wrist 8 days ago. I was playing a tennis 1 handed backhand shot and happened to over rotate my wrist. I instantly felt 3 "clicks" in my wrist and had to stop playing. As soon as I got home, I applied ice to it and splinted it. There was never much swelling, just a lot of tenderness to the ulnar side of the wrist.

Now after 8 days, all the swelling is gone, but the tenderness is still there. Wrist extension and flexion are fine, however when I supinate the wrist it is very painful and I feel a snapping sensation. After attempting to put my shoes on this morning by pulling from the heel I felt a snapping sensation on the ulnar side of the wrist, and my fingers and forearms have a lingering tingling/numb feeling. Is there a cause for alarm?

Also, any idea what this may be? ECU subluxation or TFCC tear? I went to the doctor today, but she sent me to get an x-ray & ultrasound which I haven't done yet. After the results come back, I expect to be referred to some kind of specialist. Who should I be looking for: an orthopaedic specialist?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

[jdon]

Hi everyone,

I am looking for some advice on an injury that happened to my wrist 8 days ago. I was playing a tennis 1 handed backhand shot and happened to over rotate my wrist. I instantly felt 3 "clicks" in my wrist and had to stop playing. As soon as I got home, I applied ice to it and splinted it. There was never much swelling, just a lot of tenderness to the ulnar side of the wrist.

Now after 8 days, all the swelling is gone, but the tenderness is still there. Wrist extension and flexion are fine, however when I supinate the wrist it is very painful and I feel a snapping sensation. After attempting to put my shoes on this morning by pulling from the heel I felt a snapping sensation on the ulnar side of the wrist, and my fingers and forearms have a lingering tingling/numb feeling. Is there a cause for alarm?

Also, any idea what this may be? ECU subluxation or TFCC tear? I went to the doctor today, but she sent me to get an x-ray & ultrasound which I haven't done yet. After the results come back, I expect to be referred to some kind of specialist. Who should I be looking for: an orthopaedic specialist?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

[mondothismo]

Hi all,

This has been an extremely informative thread. About 6 weeks ago, I did a flyer over my bike handlebars and fractured my wrist. After giving it time to heal, I still have a lot of pain on the ulnar side of my wrist, especially when I pronate/supinate my wrist, lift things, or push/pull (like doors, for instance). I had a high contrast MRI, which clearly showed the tear in the TFCC. It was just recommended to me that I have surgery to fix the tear, and also to re-connect the styloid, which was fractured off in a previous soccer incident years ago. I'm hoping to hear some success stories either with or without surgery. I'm not a big fan of operations, but am willing to do it if it will fix the problem, as I'm severely limited in what I can do these days (no riding, skiing is probably out, no golf, no racquetball, soccer, etc.). I'm in Denver, and the orthopedist I've been seeing is in a group that routinely works on professional athletes, so I believe them when they tell me I need the surgery, just trying to find out if others have had it and it's been a success. Thanks!

[ajj6603]

mondothismo-

Im also in Denver to. I have a TFCC tear that occured July 13th by doing power cleans. Who is you doctor? My surgery keeps getting prosponed due to the surgeons schedule and Im sick and tired of living in constant pain.

[gansri]

I am a tennis player, I have been having pain in the little finger side of my wrist for the past 3 months and consulted a doctor (ortho) and he asked me to take XRay, and Contrast (with dye) MRI..the MRI did not show any TFCC tear, the doc adviced me to keep away from Tennis for 6 weeks and wear Splint, and anti inflamatory drug for 2 weeks.
the doctor also adviced me to change my strokes which was causing the problem.
now for the past 3 weeks i am not playing tennis, my pain has reduced. (almost gone away), my fear is that once i start playing again, the pain might come again, i am almost positive the problem is because of the topspin in my forehand, once i start playing again, i would try completely to eliminate any wrist action, hopefully it would help

any comments please advice

Ganesh

[focus_911]

Hello everyone,
A lot of your injuries are pretty new. Before jumping to see specialists, I would give your wrist some time to heal. Fractures and sprains take a a minimum of 8 weeks to heal, soft tissue injury even longer to heal.

TFCC injuries are serious because the wrist is now more unstable(depending on the degree of the tear), but you need to give it time to heal. The wrist is so complex, that even a simple sprain will take longer to heal than any similar injury to any other joint. It takes months to diagnose a TFCC injury not 6 or 8 weeks.

Ice your injuries, take it easy with that wrist and splint them.

The wrist is an extremely complex joint and only a certain amount of specialists are experienced enough to diagnose TFCC injuries(if thats what it is). All surgeries to the wrist are EXTREMELY serious, regardless of what it is you get done and should be delayed as much as possible. At the age of 23 I have had 7 operations and now living with a fuzed wrist. It was the best decision I have ever made and have a pain free, functional joint now but it was a lot of unecessary surgeries to get to that point.

[focus_911]

Hi all,
I tore my tfcc on Jan-2009 after falling from chair and landing hard on my right wrist. Intially it started with a little swell over my ulnar side and i started hearing the clicking sound. Intially the click was little painful then after few days it became painless. but still the swelling didnt reduce. Thats when i went to first doctor who after hearing all my symptoms immediately wanted a surgery. So i went for second consultation with another doctor on feb 2009. After looking at the MRI the doctor said it was a tfcc tear. But he didn't want to do a surgery so he put me on a hard cast for four weeks after which i was again in a brace for two weeks. totally six weeks of immobilization. The wrist is still stiff and i am doing my PT. I had my visit to doctor last week when he inspected the wrist and said that it is healing and with time it will heal properly. he advised me to do normal activities using right hand and not to lift heavy weights for few months.

But i thought tfcc wont heal and needs a surgery for sure? But my doctor thinks otherwise and says those are not true always and he has many patients without surgery. I am really confused now. will my tfcc tear heal with time? Please help

Most TFCC tears don't require surgery AS LONG as you give it time and rest to heal. That's what a lot of people don't understand. The wrist is misdiagnosed and not treated properly because so little surgeons have the right amount of experience.

If you've given your wrist time to heal and rest and pain continues(I'm talking 9+months later, because thats the suggested recovery time for soft tissue injuries), then you should seek prefessional help.

[pentyn09]

Thanks for your posts. They are really very cool, very wonderful

[Sanjw66]

I have just been told my my doctor that I possibly have a TFCC injury. ( reaccurance in the past fortnight). I hurt my wrist firstly approx 8weeks ago at work - I work in a supermarket on a register and a pain in my wrist was getting sorer and sorer. I was hesitant about telling them because i knew it would then involve going to the work doctor etc Mind you they have been very good about the whole situation - and its now a Workers Comp situation. I have to say i was a bit blaze about the injury as i have never been injured before and was starting to think it was overdramitised. The first visit the doctor had diagnosed me with Flexor Tendon strain and physio, rest, light work and a wrist brace have seemed to solve the issue and I happily returned back to full work about 4 weeks ago.......then 2 weeks ago it flared again, I wore the brace to work to give it a bit of relief and the boss spotted it and off we went again, making an appoitment to see him again the nest week. I rested over the weekend and went to see him and the physio again. This time it is much more painful and he now thinks that it is a TFCC and is sending me to see a Hand Specialist -but I cant get in till March 2010.
My question finally: my pain is in the left wrist (I am left handed) around the "bump" on the thumb side and inside the joint - does this sound like a TFCC injury.
I'm still working on register with a 5kg restriction (lol) because cleaning and the lighter duties they had me doing were if not worse than just working on an express lane that i am now

[jennx2]

I had a TFCC repair in 2006.

I am unsure of how I tore the TFCC but I have broken the same wrist 3 times prior. In 2006, I went to an orthopedic surgeon becasue I was having trouble opening door knobs and jars. And you could also see the bones moving when I was doing twising motions. (ie hammer curls). Also when you pushed on the side of wrist (pinkie side, between wirst and forearm) you could feel something popping.

The MRI and x-rays were negative but I insisted that the Doctor. (doc agreed) do a scope to determine what was wrong. I woke up from the surgery with a cast up to my shoulder and two pins in my wrist. I had the worst type of TFCC tear possible along with bone displacement.

So even if the MRI is negative, something could still be wrong.

While the wrist improved functionally, I continued to have a lot of pain in the wrist. In 2007, I had what was called Ulnar Wrist Shortening. A small piece of the Ulna was removed. I had a titanium plate over the Ulna for a year.

The wrist is somewhat better. I can not say that it will ever be 100%. It still hurts and goes numb on occassion. But I am able to turn door knobs again.

[jbyrd]

I two had A fractured wrist the took 1yr to heal.Now iam 3mths out of haveing my 3rd surgery on tfcc tear and on my 3rd hand therapist.Ive been out of work for 1yr now as atruck driver I go back to the doctor next week but like u said this nasty i still live in pain in my wrist shotting up my pinky fingers.The workmens comp still think i can go back to work???.Is there no end to this enjury???? HELP