making thumb splints etc

Lignator

Well good evening. I am an (early) retired carpenter/joiner with arthritis in my thumb joints.

At times I have been brought down quite low by the pain there, and I am lucky to be able to be out of fulltime work now- just work on my own projects.

Today I received a delivery of a mouldable thermoplastic. You just put the granules in hot water and then mould it to form as it cools. There are lots of places you can get this on the www.

I have around a dozen off the peg splints, some from my O.T.

None of them work as well as the one I made in 30 minutes this morning, finished off with some velcro I had for another project. On that hand I have had a painfree day. I have it on now. No Pain!

Now I am designing individual ones dedicated to the most "difficult" tools I use (for the woodworkers, the block plane is the worst for your thumbs), and I am confident that this stuff is my passport to jointpain freedom in my thumbs. I can see myself making things to help me sail my boat.

I am used to designing and making jigs for working over 35 years, as well as products, so I am not exaggerating in what I say.

I have had a look at some arthritis information online and elsewhere, no one mentions doing it yourself. Have a go yourself, the stuff is magic.

Only you know where the action is that hurts, so that you can protect from it.

While I am here, on the general scale of things, since this is my first post,
I have to say there is quite a dearth of practical info easily available beyond the usual very basic stuff you get from the professionals.

This has been paraphrased by someone I know (female landscape gardener with terrible thumbs) as "go away and die".

It is actually true that some people still make stuff with our hands in the UK, we are intelligent, well-educated and resourceful, however debilitated and sidelined we are.

On that cheerful note, I leave you.

dreamdaisy

It's good that you have been able to fashion something to help you but for the people on here arthritis is far more complex; your view of it seems to be very simplistic because you are not that badly affected (but I won't deny it hurts because I know it does). Many of us have osteoarthritis (which is what you have) and yes, there is not much that the doctors can do for it, which seems unbelievable in this day and age but is a fact. I have two kinds of arthritis and around forty affected joints.

Arthritis is not simple and for many of us on here cannot be remedied in such a straightforward manner. DD

stickywicket

Well done, Lignator! That sounds like a very useful skill and a possible aid for many. I could certainly have used something like that in the days when my thumbs were very bad. I had splints of various kinds for various bits including one leg splint which consisted of a piece of plastic which was heated so that it bent to the shape of my leg. Alas, if I were to try such solutions now I'd need an entire body mould Thanks for sharing your idea. I wonder if others on here will give it a go.

Lignator

dreamdaisy wrote:

It's good that you have been able to fashion something to help you but for the people on here arthritis is far more complex; your view of it seems to be very simplistic because you are not that badly affected (but I won't deny it hurts because I know it does). Many of us have osteoarthritis (which is what you have) and yes, there is not much that the doctors can do for it, which seems unbelievable in this day and age but is a fact. I have two kinds of arthritis and around forty affected joints.

Arthritis is not simple and for many of us on here cannot be remedied in such a straightforward manner. DD

Thanks for your reply, but where did I say that I only have arthritis in my thumb joints??

Right now I am sitting here with a TENS machine plugged into two spots on my shoulder and upper left arm, and I have just popped my allopurinol pills for gout, from which I have had a terrible debilitating year up to three months ago, when we seemed to have got things under control
(acupuncturist, GP, holistic masseuse etc) along with 100% anti-gout diet.
I am just four weeks into recovery from an unworkable knee which nearly ruined two weeks in France when I was on a crutch, only brought round walking again two days after 2 reiki sessions believe it or not.

My life is a constant battle to maintain fitness for the work I want to continue doing which sometimes knocks hell out of me but I won't give up and continue to believe that self-help is the best medicine.

dreamdaisy

I presumed this was the case because you only mentioned your thumbs (and I don't have the ability to read what isn't written). First posts are tricky things regarding how much detail to give and, frankly, I don't think you gave enough. The impression you gave was that you had fashioned these things and you were sorted - you knew what you meant but it wasn't clearly conveyed to a stranger.


I agree that self-help is important but my rheumatologist and GP also play an important part in helping me maintain the quality of my life as best I can. DD