A Word Of Warning

Gonzo · 07-26-05, 02:50

I saw a hand specialist today re middle finger of left hand going "trigger". The first finger is on verge of trigger also. Both are very painful, especially in the morning and the primary cause was hanging onto my polishers.

The Doc said all is not lost -

- Cortisone shots into both tendons - THAT bloody well HURTS A LOT!

- Re-evaluate August 31 and maybe shots again

- If neither give relief, then it will be "knife" time, for the second time this year (Thank God I'm already paid my annual out-of-pocket maximum for the year, so any other medical work should be covered at 100%)

Doc's cautions:

- Wear padded gloves

- Tape padding onto the handles

- Keep moving the hand about, changing the grip so all the irritation is not all in the same spot

6']['9 · 07-26-05, 03:06

sorry to hear that, your not accidently flipping people off when you wave at em are you?

Gonzo · 07-26-05, 03:16

The ONLY thing I am capable of diong with my left hand is to deal cards, literally!

"Birding" others is done with the right hand - I thought everyone KNEW that!

6']['9 · 07-27-05, 01:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gonzo

"Birding" others is done with the right hand - I thought everyone KNEW that!

is it really..... ive always used which ever hand is available.

DaGonz · 07-27-05, 03:29

When it comes to "birding", I am "ambidexterous"!

JBM · 07-27-05, 03:49

My wife had a trigger finger. It sucks.

Surgery is pretty quick, but youll need to rehab it after.

Cortizone.... insurance companies best friend...

Tasty · 07-27-05, 04:48

Wow, is this related to detailing as a profession? Like excessive rotary use?

hdi136 · 07-28-05, 08:28

I have 2 trigger fingers on my right hand. Not from detailing but from when I worked in the pottery industry. I have had 2 operations in the last 15 years plus the injections. (They hurt like hell!)

I found the problem came back in both fingers. Plus a bad case of RSI in both hands. It only improved with changing my job. When I detail for hours my hands do bother me. I have to rest often.

I'm sure if I had had the problem looked at earlier, I would not have the problems now.

Gonzo · 07-28-05, 08:36

I would say not so much rotary but rather the PC. Rotary vibrations are a lot gentler than those of the PC where the eccentricity of the pad rotation causes the vibrations. Couple that with a bit of a "death grip" and there you go.

When I am more able to return to polishing, I'm going to hunt up some tempura foam, maybe 3/4" thick to attach to the handles or all my polishers. Stick to handle with 2 sided tape and wrap it all up inside duct tape. I also plan on using my "framer's padded gloves" a lot more as well.

hdi136 · 07-28-05, 09:08

I will take your advice Gonzo. I will be looking to buy some padded gloves for when I use the pc.

toml · 07-28-05, 09:57

I'm dealing with the same thing on two fingers of my right hand. It just popped up late last year. Trigger finger may be hereditary, but the kind of work you do can certainly accelerate it. I thought it was caused by repetitive bending of the finger (imagine pulling a trigger on a gun), but it's actually caused from prolonged gripping of something (steering wheel, rake, PC, etc). I had a second set of cortisone injections two weeks ago. They weren't too bad. Much better than surgery, I'd think, but surgery will probably be the route I'll have to go through next as I've still got the symptoms in one finger

Gonzo · 09-01-05, 12:48

Saw the same Doc again on 31st. Had second injections in each finger with a caution not to expect to see much if any more improvement. Next option is the knife, which will be about Thanksgiving week sometime. Then two weeks recovery to get the stiches out and several months rehab. Looks like February or so before I can get back into "it" regularly.

However, while this shot is "fresh" I will have a go at some selected spots on my new Pilot and might get all to the wife's CRV done before I head out to the canyonlands of the SW for a photo safari for two weeks in October.