Laura and Paul ... this is for you :)
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Shocks and needles and electrodes, oh my!
I had a follow-up EMG today. The regeneration of nerves is such a fascinating thing! In fact, the whole human body is fascinating. Bones break and heal, nerves that receive and deliver signals from the brain can just grow back when injured - all right before our very eyes. It's slow, but SO interesting!
My radial nerve was injured above my elbow and in the past 3+ months since my first EMG, it has completely healed to a point below my elbow, about 3-4" worth of regeneration. As I had mentioned in an earlier post, I was told it would grow about 1mm a day, or 1" a month. It has been 5 months since the fracture, so it does appear to be following the "normal" path of recovery.
The muscle that allows us to lift our wrist is high in the forearm, close to the elbow. My wrist is working well and the EMG confirmed that the nerve up into my triceps from this point is completely healed. (music to my ears!) As the nerve travels further down the forearm, it begins to help with the function of the fingers. There are signs of improvement in my 4 fingers, but very little in my thumb. The EMG confirmed this. There are areas of the nerve that are not showing any signal at all. The Dr. is not concerned, she feels that the healing in this area has just not happened yet. She feels that although there is no guarantee, at this point she is confident that it will come back over the next 3-4 months.
I had another milestone - NO MORE DYNAMIC SPLINT! It has served me well! Both the Dr. and the PT agree that at this point it may hinder the strengthening of the muscles and that using my hand in any capacity as much as possible is the best PT of all. I thought that when I was done with this thing I would want to melt it down like the Wicked Witch of the West but in a strange kind of way it signifies a lot and I don't want to throw it away. It kind of represents 5 months of my life this year .... how weird am I?
My radial nerve was injured above my elbow and in the past 3+ months since my first EMG, it has completely healed to a point below my elbow, about 3-4" worth of regeneration. As I had mentioned in an earlier post, I was told it would grow about 1mm a day, or 1" a month. It has been 5 months since the fracture, so it does appear to be following the "normal" path of recovery.
The muscle that allows us to lift our wrist is high in the forearm, close to the elbow. My wrist is working well and the EMG confirmed that the nerve up into my triceps from this point is completely healed. (music to my ears!) As the nerve travels further down the forearm, it begins to help with the function of the fingers. There are signs of improvement in my 4 fingers, but very little in my thumb. The EMG confirmed this. There are areas of the nerve that are not showing any signal at all. The Dr. is not concerned, she feels that the healing in this area has just not happened yet. She feels that although there is no guarantee, at this point she is confident that it will come back over the next 3-4 months.
I had another milestone - NO MORE DYNAMIC SPLINT! It has served me well! Both the Dr. and the PT agree that at this point it may hinder the strengthening of the muscles and that using my hand in any capacity as much as possible is the best PT of all. I thought that when I was done with this thing I would want to melt it down like the Wicked Witch of the West but in a strange kind of way it signifies a lot and I don't want to throw it away. It kind of represents 5 months of my life this year .... how weird am I?
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Time keeps on ticking ....
Holy cow! The progress over the past 7 days has been remarkable. The muscles are getting stronger every day and it feels really great.
I had my 5 month follow-up with the surgeon and he would like me to have another nerve conductivity test, scheduled in two days. I'm not completely sure I understand why this is necessary since it does seem to be healing, but I am interested in seeing what they say with regards to my thumb. My hope is that this will be able to either confirm that the healing radial nerve is growing back as it should, or if there is anything questionable going on.
We discussed the concern I have about the poor color in my hand and he assures me that there is no direct relationship between the radial nerve and the circulation. Both he and the physical therapist say that the small vessels are just not having the blood pushed through as they should because of the weakness in the muscles. I explained to him how blue it looks at times, especially after I have been running and I'll mention it to the Physiatrist when the EMG is done, but I am not going to worry about it at all since my Dr. isn't. Whew!
My next follow-up with the surgeon is in 3 months. Woo hoo! I've graduated from 6 week follow-ups to 12! :)
I'm feeling great! Am now running 5 days a week and did a 5k this past weekend. I have to say that between the chilly air and the arm, running does irritate my shoulder, but it's just great to be heading in the right direction and I am very close to feeling 100% recovered! My hand will come back when it's ready, until then I just want to keep moving and feeling great. Again I am extremely grateful for the surgeon, physical therapist and the most amazing and supportive friends!
I had my 5 month follow-up with the surgeon and he would like me to have another nerve conductivity test, scheduled in two days. I'm not completely sure I understand why this is necessary since it does seem to be healing, but I am interested in seeing what they say with regards to my thumb. My hope is that this will be able to either confirm that the healing radial nerve is growing back as it should, or if there is anything questionable going on.
We discussed the concern I have about the poor color in my hand and he assures me that there is no direct relationship between the radial nerve and the circulation. Both he and the physical therapist say that the small vessels are just not having the blood pushed through as they should because of the weakness in the muscles. I explained to him how blue it looks at times, especially after I have been running and I'll mention it to the Physiatrist when the EMG is done, but I am not going to worry about it at all since my Dr. isn't. Whew!
My next follow-up with the surgeon is in 3 months. Woo hoo! I've graduated from 6 week follow-ups to 12! :)
I'm feeling great! Am now running 5 days a week and did a 5k this past weekend. I have to say that between the chilly air and the arm, running does irritate my shoulder, but it's just great to be heading in the right direction and I am very close to feeling 100% recovered! My hand will come back when it's ready, until then I just want to keep moving and feeling great. Again I am extremely grateful for the surgeon, physical therapist and the most amazing and supportive friends!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
... And we have LIFT off!
22 weeks has brought me some great progress! I am able to lift my fingers!! Yay! The next step will be the ability to straighten my fingers. I think the hand deserves a little TLC in the way of a manicure!
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