Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Support Group

Four months after the onset of RSP I received my first Brachial plexus injection and pain started going away. Three weeks later I had a second one and the pain gradually went away all together. I still have tingling in my palm when I get tired or emotionally upset and I have sensitivity issues but I am so much better.

However my fingers and wrist are very stiff and swollen and painful to move. I do hours of stretching and exercises but I am not making much progress. Today is 10 months since my accident. My pain doctor does not know what to do to help; my first PT taught me everything he knows. I have a new PT who has taught me some new exercises. My diary has a list of things I have tried. It also has pictures of my hands and wrist.

Are there any other types of doctors that can help? Does anyone have ideas for recover of using my arm? It’s not an issue of the pain keeping me from moving, my wrist is so stiff no one can force it to bend

Hi OliveOil,

Have you tried doing stretching exercises in warm water? That is what works best for me when my wrists are cold,achy and my fingers really stiff.Run warm water in the sink or have a warm/hot bath with epsom salts(helps circulation & bloodflow) do PT exercises in the water and don't do hours(may be too much)out of the water it may be overdoing it for you. Another good thing for your arm is to go to aquafit exercises in warm water 86 + & to swim a little before and after the class followed by the hot tub/whirlpool at the end of the exercise class. You can do some gentle stretches in the hot tub.I hope this will help you out. I did this for a knee that was locked in a straight position from RSD and it helped get it to bend enough to sit,but it will never fully bend again. You can work gently on your wrist and over time hopefully will get it to bend to some degree,possibly even back to what it was before. Keep hope alive!

Hugs,

scorpioj

Can you do this to regain use when it is you thumb, pointer and middle finger. I can bend them but the fingersw feel like putty and so does my palm. the worst is around my nail tips.

Hugs and tx,

Hi 3fingers,

Yes, there are good exercises for fingers if you check out the webmd site for RA exercises. Will help with stiffness, dexterity and ROM.

Hugs of healing wellness,

Does heat seem to help?

I had a problem with the weight of the moist heating pads. We used the Fluidio-therapy. It involves dry heat and ground up corn husks. You place you arm in a box with dry heat and fan that circulates the corn husk materials. I would spent 20 minutes making figure 8s in the box. My wrist and hand would warm up then become more flexible. It was the best part of OT.

At home I made a heating pad for the microwave with a bag of rice and a dishtowel. I sewed channels in the towel so the rice stayed spread over the length of the towel. It was about 6x18 inches so I could wrap it all the way around my wrist. I used it so much that I was waiting for the day when I would find all the rice all puffed up like popped corn kernels.

Reta

Reta,

Great info. Also funny - LOL on the popped corn kernels!

Jenny