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I am a C-5 quad. My fingers are in alot of pain. Are there any excercises or other treatments for deformed and atrophied fingers?
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painful fingers
- By Nasrin
- Posted October 16, 2009 at 7:45 pm · 6 replies
- In Health matters
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- By TraceD
- Posted October 17, 2009 at 11:13 am
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When I was in Occupational Therapy (OT) they recommended several things. A box with uncooked rice in it. You also put objects I used coins, dice marbles in it and move your hands try to extend and grasp your fingers, grab and maneuver the objects. The other is to get hand putty, pull on it roll it out, stick things like golf tees or pegs in it and remove them. They are available thru medical aid stores come in different colors depending on stiffness.
Try to work the extrinsic muscles of the hand. In quads the flexor muscles tend to remain stronger and dominate forcing the hand into a fist. Work as hard as you can to spread fingers, pinch and extend fingers. You might also with help look at an E-Stim machine, an OT can help you with this and if you have insurance may be covered under DME, duable medical equipment. They are about $400-$500.
I find gabapentin helps the pain some, not completely and by the end of a working day my hands are a little sore, but I think as they get stronger, and my hands look somewhat normal now but don't function completely, they don't hurt as easily.
- By Nasrin
- Posted October 17, 2009 at 11:43 am
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Thanks, I searched the internet for a muscle stimulator kit and found LG-TEC model from LGmed supply company. Is that useful for my atrophied fingers or do you have a model that you recommend?
- By TraceD
- Posted October 18, 2009 at 10:08 am
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I have an EMPI NMS 300. Make sure you look at the brochure, I think is on the internet about proper placement for fingers and the size pads to use, best if shown by an OT.
Mine also recommended , but I didn't get a hand strengthening device called XTENSOR at www.ncmedical.com or toll free 800-821-9319 it excercises finger extensor muscles.
- By MINDY3
- Posted October 20, 2009 at 9:23 pm
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How did these things work if your fingers don't move at all? I would love to get my fingers being more useful!
- By Nasrin
- Posted October 22, 2009 at 6:16 pm
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I have not used any of the devices yet. I will make an appointment with an OT first. Since I can not move my fingers probably there's not much I can do.
- By Learning1
- Posted October 22, 2009 at 9:53 pm
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Muscle stimulation doesn't seem to be restricted to situations where the signal is currently able to get past the injury point. Some of the things I've read seem to indicate that muscle stimulation, by several methods, can help reduce pain and muscle spasms. Part of the thinking for muscle spasms even seems to be that it is often caused by pain that can't make it past the injury site.
Standard TENS and muscle stimulation are one form that sometimes helps. You may not be able to use the hand exerciser that Tracy talked about, but some form of stimulation may help - it is at least worth a try. A more advanced version - 20 to 35 years past TENS in technology - is the Scenar and Cosmodic technology - unlike TENS, which stimulate only A fiber nerves (the ones nearer the surface), Scenar and Cosmodic stimulate the C fiber nerves, triggering the body to release endorphins, the body's natural pain killers, and a chemical trigger for the body to work on, or heal, an area.
Another option is acupuncture - that often helps relieve pain for days at a time. And a much less invasive and faster method is laser acupuncture - Janders199 has mentioned that he's had better success with laser acupuncture once a week than he had with pain medicine. And this is something that can be done easily at home once the points and methods are learned. Regular lasers also help with pain relief at times, so that is another option yet.
Most OT and standard therapists have only limited knowledge many parts of this, though the more progressive usually have some knowledge of TENS, muscle stimulation, and basics of lasers. For more advanced use of any, you may need to step outside the normal treatment facilities unless you have an extremely progressive and open minded therapist who is willing to try some new things, and can get some basic funding for equipment.
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