Rehab help

Re: Rehab help

Paul In NJ

>Bob,

I hope your surgery goes well and that you have a speedy recovery.

Paul Dzioba

Here's what I'd do....

Bryan Danner, Broad Ripple, IN

>For you friend, talk to an occupational therapist about her questions. She may want to see one to properly rehab from the accident.

For your surgery, I'd really recommned extensively educating yourself before the surgery. The first time I had surgery, I didn't know what to expect about the recooperation, and the surgeon was little help. Partly because I didn't know the right questions to ask, and partly because my surgeon really didn't deal much with the re-hab end of things.

Think of all the questions you want answered, and discuss them with your surgeon. If they don't seem able to answer them to your satisfaction, you may want to consider going to another surgeon for advice or a second opinion (I really wish I had done this). Also, get the name of the occupational therapist that will be working with you during rehab, and ask them the same types of questions.

Ask questions like:

1) What will the first 24 - 48 hour of post-op be like for me from a mobility and pain stand-point?

2) How intense will my pain be and how long will it last?

3) What kind of medication will I be on, how long will I be on it, and how should I ween myself off of it (it's bad to go completely cold turkey on some types of pain meds)?

4) What will my rehab involve, and how long will it last?

5) What should my milestones be during my rehab process, and how quickly can I expect to acheive them.

There are lots of other things to ask, but this is just a starting point.

Good Luck!

-Bryan

Re: Rehab help

Andrew Pallas

>Hi Bob

I'm a newbie at woodwork, but now your moving more into my dayjob territory!

Any tissues that are healing initially need to be protected from stresses to prevent the newly repaired tissue from being damaged. At the same time, tissues need to be used the way you want them to function in the future, or they wont grow strong and flexible enough.

So you go from very limited movement and function at first, progressing towards full function as the tissues strengthen. Professional guidance as to how much to do and when is really usefull here.

A good quality multivitamin &multimineral will help ensure you have the raw materials for the repair work.

Good luck to both of you, let me know if I can be of further help.

Andrew

PS. You might find my book "Beating Sports Injuries" helpful, it covers the principles of healing/recovery in plain speak!

Re: Rehab help

John Truxell-Svenson (jvs)

>Between an earlier culinary career and a single woodworking accident (electron driven), I have managed to retain full sensation in 7 out of ten fingers, so I have been over this ground. The advise above is very good, and I can pretty much only second it.

Occupational and physical therapists are solely focused on recovery and rehabilitation--they were infinitely more useful and interested in this than any of the surgeons that worked on me (one of the former still gets yearly Christmas cards). PT is getting to be an extremely competitive field, and fully accredited therapists have pretty deep and broad training. The specifics of the exercises they teach will differ significantly with an injury like that (mine were mostly tendon/muscle, with only moderate nerve damage), but the important part is diligence in following the regimen. The recovery times they quote are averages. If the person puts full effort into the recovery, the averages can be beat by a good margin.

Best of luck to your friend!




/jvs

Thanks and...

Bob Hackett

>Here`s the bad news.She`s a self employed WWer so has little to no health insurance.I`m under the impression that most of the bills are being paid directly by her so it`s a bare bones recovery in her future.

I on the other hand am having the work done thru workman`s comp so my worst problems will be the red tape.

I`ll see about getting a copy of that book for her.

Mainely,Bob

What is an ulnar nerve release?

Don Thompson - Cutler Ridge, Florida

>

Re: What is an ulnar nerve release?

Bob Hackett

>This is the first in a series of at least 3 operations.The ulnar nerve is commonly called the "funny bone" in your elbow.Seems mine has been yucking it up for far too long and is sharing the inside(pun intended)joke with the radial nerve.This procedure will involve trying to get the ulnar nerve to settle down and stop being chronicly inflamed.It involves,among other things,grinding and polishing the channel the nerve resides in.There`s also a chance that once they get the arm open they will find they have to move the nerve to the inside of the elbow which requires cutting and reattaching muscles.

The doc wants to do this and the radial release before the big procedure which is the shoulder rebuild.Then we`re(glad we`re a team on this)going to go to an assessment and rehab phase before he decides if more surgery will be nneded to bring me back as much as he can(he`s hoping for 60%).

This is pertinent to handtools in that this was all caused by years of power tool use in the shipbuilding industry(mostly pneumatic tools),yet another excellent reason to work with handtools exclusively.

I tried to minimize Sarah`s fears caused by her accident by pointing out that an edge tools may bite you from time to time but power tools have a tendency to destroy you in a very permanent way.

Another good thing is that I`ve been able to share my misfortune with other craftsmen and cause them to take a good hard look at the way they approach thier work.My long term problems have them looking at better and more ergonomic tools and things like gloves and handles to improve grip and minimize vibration.

They now know the causes and warning signs and are paying attention before permanent damage sets in.There is a silver lining to at least this dark cloud.

Mainely,Bob

Re: What is an ulnar nerve release?

Joe Rogers, Northern Virginia

>Bob,I too have had a work related injury compromising nerves. In my right index(pointer)finger the nerves were severed in a crush /sever partial amputation. When the surgeon reimplanted it and fused the middle joint in the finger he said that I would be numb for up to a year before the small nerves would regenerate. He was right on time for me. over time the sensation has improved till it feels almost normal. Tell your friend not to worry too much, if the nerves were sutured they may come back much sooner.JR

Re: Thanks and... *LINK*

Rossmoor Galoot

>Bob,

Has your friend heard of the Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF)? They offer financial assistance to woodworkers and others who have suffered financial loss due to disasters or who cannot work due to illness or injury.


CERF

Thanks again!

Bob Hackett

>I`ll be sure and tell her.

MB

Re: What is an ulnar nerve release?

Don Thompson - Cutler Ridge, Florida

>Bob, if you have a moment:

What are they going to do to your shoulder?

What are the symptoms or problems that you have had that led to you choosing to have the surgeries?

How did I get here?(long)

Bob Hackett

>The symptoms were loss of sensation in the hands and chronic pain and swelling of both forearms and hands and decreased range of motion in the RT shoulder.

Physical therapy brought the left arm and hand back to close to normal but did nothing for the swelling in the right forearm(I`m right handed).I was put out of work and remained at home for 7 months while the doctors tried to sort it out.Steriod injections brought the swelling down and I went back to work for 4 months at light duty while they fought about the shoulder problems.Had surgery(thru a scope)to rework the Acromial(?) ridge and remove part of my collar bone to help with the tendonitis.While there they took pictures and most of the tendons and ligaments are in trouble(the pics of most aspects look like a bag of wet feathers things are so torn up).MRI also shows bone spurs that were missed during scope surgery.Now begins the waiting game as workman`s comp controverts that this is work related,they don`t want to pay for further surgery.

After a court order for WC to pay for further medical treatment my patient advocate schedules a visit with the top guy on the east coast to see me down in Boston.According to him the window of opportunity has closed in regard to bring the nerves back and the biceps tendon is as good as gone along with the rotator cuff.

Shoulder surgery will include removal of the rest of the collarbone and bone spurs,reworking the acromium and rotator cuff,trimming and cleaning up the ligaments and tendons and if the biceps tendon is too far gone disconnecting my RT bicep.If there`s not too much damage to the tendon they will fix it to the sheath and this will reduce my range of motion even further.The doc will make that call after I`m opened up.All in all he`s hoping to bring me back to 60% of normal function.

His report says my days of making my living with my hands are over and I need to be retrained to remain productive.Not what I had hoped for after 2 years of red tape and problems but at least I know where I stand now.

Part of what helps keep me sane is talking to other folks about what led up to this and helping them avoid ending up this way.

Another big help is being able to come here and talk with all you folks.

Now you know why I sometimes don`t make complete sense or seem to have a hair trigger.When I talk about the meds kicking in sometimes I`m being serious.Anyway thanks for listening and helping me stay the course.

Mainely,Bob

BTW-I forwarded all your suggestions to my friend.She would like me to thank you on her behalf.

Who knows,we may see her here after she gets the cast off.

Re: How did I get here?(long)

Don Thompson - Cutler Ridge, Florida

>Thanks for the explanations, Bob. I do hope that you have good results from the surgery.

Bob Hackett....

CD

>Mr. Bob HAckett,

Does your friend have pain problems???

Suggest that she talks to her MD about the following condition:

1. RSD as known as CRPS

Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy-Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome I and II

I didn't read all of the posts...but I am a M.D....(I don't like posting info like this on open sites...--sorry....)