Trapeziectomy

Hillbrow47

good evening this is my first post!

I had a trapeziectomy over 23 years ago. Over the last couple of weeks I have not been able to move my thumb due to the excruciatingly pain. Has anyone had a similar experience. Thank you

Poppyjane

Hello @Hillbrow47 welcome back to the online community

The first post is always daunting . I am sorry to read that excruciating pain in your thumb is causing such aggravation. Have you asked your GP for referral for an xray? Or asked a physiotherapist for some advice?

Meanwhile there are two approaches to consider one is pain relief and the other is thumb and wrist support. I attach some links which I hope will be helpful.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/managing-symptoms/managing-your-pain/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/treatments/splints/

I appreciate that you had a trapeziectomy over 23 years ago and are no doubt familiar with the whole process so I can see that your concern is for some support from someone who has had or is going through a similar experience. I do hope that you receive some comments soon.

Best wishes

Poppyjane

helpline_team

Hi @Hillbrow47,

Thank you for posting in the Helpline Online Community. I'm sorry to hear you've been in such pain lately with your thumb.

As suggested by @Poppyjane, it's probably best to see a doctor about this just to check out what's going on. You may have seen a Hand Therapist after you originally had your Trapeziectomy to get advice on splints and exercises/stretches post-surgery to aid your recovery. It may be worth asking your GP to refer you to one again, they may suggest restarting some gentle movements similar to the ones on page 3 of the factsheet I'm sharing below. I hope you have found the information already shared on managing pain helpful in the meantime. You may also find some of the suggestions for managing hand and wrist pain useful too.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/media/1420/trapeziectomy-factsheet.pdf

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/hand-and-wrist-pain/#hand-and-wrist-pain_managing-symptoms

Best wishes,
Helen, Helpline Advisor