posted by ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
orichalcum at 06:01pm on 30/08/2007 under health
orichalcum at 06:01pm on 30/08/2007 under healthHey, way too many people I know,
For the past several months, I've repeatedly been waking up with the fourth and fifth fingers of my right hand very stiff; it's painful to bend them at all. After a shower and some time awake, the sensation mostly disappers, although they still feel tense.
Is this tendonitis? Should I be worried? Does this sound familiar at all?
I think the worst thing about growing older (echoing![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
foldedfish today, though he's got a few more grey hairs than I do) is the whole "body not working as well as it used to" problem. I can't manage as well on little sleep, my lower back hurts, I find picking up my baby (admittedly, he's 24 lbs) to be quite heavy . Thankfully, I still have my vaunted endurance and pain tolerance, so I can manage, but it was so much easier when I could abuse my body willy-nilly, ten years ago or so.
I remember back in Quest, when folks were playing older characters, we used to look vaguely silly adding penciled-in laugh lines and crow's eyes and putting baby powder or spray on our hair. Now there are a bunch of folks, including likely myself, who I'd hesitate to cast as a child or young teenager character. Faking grey hair, meanwhile, is less of a problem.
For the past several months, I've repeatedly been waking up with the fourth and fifth fingers of my right hand very stiff; it's painful to bend them at all. After a shower and some time awake, the sensation mostly disappers, although they still feel tense.
Is this tendonitis? Should I be worried? Does this sound familiar at all?
I think the worst thing about growing older (echoing
foldedfish today, though he's got a few more grey hairs than I do) is the whole "body not working as well as it used to" problem. I can't manage as well on little sleep, my lower back hurts, I find picking up my baby (admittedly, he's 24 lbs) to be quite heavy . Thankfully, I still have my vaunted endurance and pain tolerance, so I can manage, but it was so much easier when I could abuse my body willy-nilly, ten years ago or so. I remember back in Quest, when folks were playing older characters, we used to look vaguely silly adding penciled-in laugh lines and crow's eyes and putting baby powder or spray on our hair. Now there are a bunch of folks, including likely myself, who I'd hesitate to cast as a child or young teenager character. Faking grey hair, meanwhile, is less of a problem.
(no subject)
If this is a regular pain, it's worth getting checked out by a doctor or physical therapist.
Hang in there. And hey, at least the pain goes away somehow!
(no subject)
I second the idea of the wrist splints, though. Try one, and see if you still have problems - that will be a useful bit of data. Also, try to pay attention to what postures you normally use when sleeping, and if possible, experiment with different postures.
And do the symptoms resemble your fingers going to sleep? You could be doing something that cuts off blood flow...
(no subject)
The ulnar nerve runs down the outside of the wrist and "feeds" the last two fingers, while the carpal connects to the other three digits. Tingling and numbness in the morning in those two fingers, in my case, meant my wrists were folded while I slept, increasing inflammation in the ulnar nerve jacket, which was, unbeknownst to me, already inflamed from Too Much Typing.
Wearing wrist braces at night helped a lot. That's usually the first (and most effective) thing they have you do. Also, making your desk ergonomic is extremely important.
Good luck! Be very, very careful!
(no subject)
I second these recommendations. I also did physical therapy with ultrasound that helped.
Go to a doctor Ori!
(no subject)
It is a good idea to see a doctor--this sort of thing doesn't ever go away completely, thanks to possibilities for reinjury. Also, having a high pain threshold can make it pitifully easy to incur (further) damage unawares. (I've accidentally combined a good threshold with the ability to ignore pain, since it's chronic, and as I get older I wish I could undo it.)