De Quervain Syndrome's got me down.
How do I draw or play guitar when I cannot even hold a pencil?
In the past week I have really had to back off on how much I practice guitar because my de Quervain's tenosynovitis is flaring up big time in both hands. It is caused by overuse injuries—my initial injuries were from working in a used bookstore for eleven years. Constantly shelving and stacking books took its toll on my hands, filing heavy redwalls at a law firm for three years nailed the coffin shut on them. Nowadays, I do little filing or shelving, but I habitually overuse my iPhone and cause re-injury almost daily.
Fifty years from now, the phrase “BlackBerry thumb” will sound as archaic as washerwoman’s thumb.
Many of you probably have de Quervain syndrome as well, whether diagnosed or not. Not very fun is it?
Though having the ability to shoot out tiny lightning bolts out of my wrist is pretty dope.
This week I’ve had a really hard time playing guitar. Ten minutes a day is my absolute limit right now. Most of this week, I’ve only been able to play for five minutes before my hands utterly rebel and shut down. For two weeks I have been trying to jumpstart my moribund drawing practice, and every single day I stop because I cannot hold a pencil for longer than a minute with my left hand. It’s very frustrating. I feel enfeebled at a relatively young age. But there are some things I’m going to do.
No guitar playing from now until next Saturday. Not even just to noodle. I am clearly injured and any playing will exacerbate it.
I will draw only with a very loose grip and only until pain is felt. This may mean no drawing at all.
I will not hover over my mouse while surfing the internet.
Seriously modifying and curtailing my iPhone usage.
a. All phone calls will be hands free using earbuds.
b. I will not use my phone unless seated at a table or desk where I can type without holding the phone at the same time.
c. No social media on my phone. If I wish to doomscroll Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, or Instagram etc., I have to do it on my computer. I’ll need to stop using Messenger on my phone as well (this will be the hard one).
d. If I cannot stop myself from overusing my phone, I will lock the dang thing up with this:
KSafe, formerly known as Kitchen Safe. A time lock safe for personal devices.
One of my friends is a very successful television writer and producer, in spite of being, in her words, “endlessly distractible”. Last year I was off of my Adderall for some time (a horrible time) and was desperate for help with my distractibility. I remembered that my friend had told about a program for focused writing (Cold Turkey Writer) on her Facebook wall some months prior. Rather than scroll through months of posts, I sent her a message asking what the name of it was. She wrote me back with a series of messages naming and explaining the uses for an “arsenal of software solutions to keep myself from ending my career via procrastination.” Her last suggestion was the Kitchen Safe, “Because I literally have to lock up my phone sometimes.” While distractibility is a constant companion, I need this device mostly to give my poor hands a rest, and for the needed break from doomscrolling all of my social feeds. I am ordering one as soon as I publish this post.
These are all temporary solutions. A couple of years ago my, my primary care doctor made me a referral for a hand specialist, which I promptly lost. I need to ask her for another referral (they’re electronic now) at my next in person appointment in a few weeks.
I would prefer that people keep their home remedies to themselves. I take a veritable pharmacy of meds and supplements already, and am loath to add any more. Also, I am an adult human with access to Google—chances are I’ve seen a large amount of the information available about this syndrome already. Through my excellent physical therapist I know the exercises and stretches for when my hands are not inflamed. If I need any more help of that variety, I’m sure that she would gladly text or email me more techniques. One of the major reasons that I am having hand problems right now is that because of Ol’ Rona, I cannot see my physical therapist. She would regularly release pinched muscles and fascia, allowing the nerves room to move freely. For months at a time I would be relatively pain free. I miss Katie!
Thank you, as always, for reading.
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Ooh, I had de Quervain's for years, though only in my right hand. I tried all the things like changing how I used my phone, how I picked up my babies, got an ergonomic mouse for work, I even tried giving up knitting for a few months, which was like tearing out a piece of my soul. I got a couple of steroid shots for it, but quickly reached the point of diminishing returns on those and wound up having to have surgery. And then the surgeon slipped up and severed one of the two tendons that run through that tendon sheath :P But he did an excellent job repairing it, and though the recovery period really sucked (mostly because I was taking care of a 3-year-old and a 5-month old baby), a year later my hand is fine again.
When I go on vacation and need to *really* escape from work, I delete the work email app from my phone. It may - or may not - be helpful to you to delete certain apps from your phone. Good luck!