It is funny how it is common to get a run of patients who have a similar problem needing treatment. This month I have seen a number of patients who have come to see me due to problems with their wrist. Both my son and my wife have sustanined a break to their scaphoid bone – this is a small bone in the wrist at the base of the thumb that has a limited blood supply and consequently is hard to heal. With a scaphoid break it is really important to get the hand immobilised quickly. Often surgery is required. My wife needed a pin and a bone graft and then a further operation to take the pin out as it did not heal. 5 years later I am helping to improve the range of movement she has but I don’t think she will ever do a handstand again! The lesson she learnt was the importance of lots of rest and total immobilisation for many months when the break first happened.
Patients I have seen recently all have an old wrist injury that continues to niggle and cause distress. SCANAR, Osteopathic soft tissue techniques, accupuncture and gentle adjusting have helped to improve the range of movement and reduce the pain. Don’t loose heart if you have an old wrist injury. We may not be able to make your wrist 100% perfect but we can definitely use techniques to reduce the pain and improve the range of movement.
Neil Gregory