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Re: Right thumb CMC arthritis

Author: RKing
Date: 2020-07-25 20:00

I have been MIA for the past 18 months because I was recovering from my own right wrist surgery.

I realize that every situation is different - in my case my right thumb had been jammed against the adjacent wrist bones in an auto accident about 30 years ago. I play sax, clarinet, bass clarinet, and flute. Each instrument puts its own stress on the right thumb and the pain had increased over the years to the point that I finally had to do something about it.

I talked to my doctor (a hand specialist) as they say on TV and the x-rays showed that I had no cartilage in that area and the doctor said that my bones were basically trying to fuse themselves together. So I asked her to finish the job.

She fused my Trapezium and Trapezoid bones to the Scaphoid and used staples to hold things together. She joked that she bought the staple gun from Lowes and we had a good laugh. :-)

After a couple of months in a cast and a few weeks of therapy, I was able to play the concert flute okay - I picked up a student C-foot to try because it's lighter. In the past six months I have also been able to pick up my saxophones and the soprano clarinet. But the fused wrist does NOT let me play the bass clarinet. I don't have the flexibility to cock my wrist enough - yet - to play it and that is the same issue I had with a straight-head alto flute.

I wish I could play all of my woodwinds, but I can play my favorites totally free of pain. As more time goes by (and I heal even more) I might regain enough flexibility to play the bass clarinet. Even with this caveat, I consider the surgery to have been a wonderful success and it has allowed me to continue playing music.

I wish you the best,

Ron

Post Edited (2020-07-25 20:02)

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