Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Recovery & Shooting Pool

DJSTEVEZ · Aug 20, 2017

I've got Carpal Tunnel Syndrome...in both hands I've seen the best hand surgeon in CT and he wants to do surgery. I've managed to put it off for some time now.
The surgeon tells me that evenutally if it doesn't get taken care there could be permanent nerve damage. In the meantime I've noticed it takes less to agravate the condition.
When flare ups do occur my local Chiropracter is awesome. He can bring relief in next to no time.
I'm doing all the non-surgical stuff the experts have recommended, but sooner or later the surgery will have to be done.

Has anyone here had carpel tunnel surgery?
If so, what was the recovery like in terms of the negative impact on playing?
How long until you could use your bridge hand...effectively?

What question should I be asking that I'm not?

THANX! -Z-

Joe Pickens · Aug 20, 2017

I had Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and never did anything with taking care of it. Now years later my hand and arm shakes and the doctors cannot find out why. After reading your post it has me thinking my hand and arm tremors may be due to never having the operation to correct my problem. Do you have any problems with tremors or is it just pain?

Rimfirejunkie · Aug 20, 2017

DJSTEVEZ said:
I've got Carpal Tunnel Syndrome...in both hands I've seen the best hand surgeon in CT and he wants to do surgery. I've managed to put it off for some time now.
The surgeon tells me that evenutally if it doesn't get taken care there could be permanent nerve damage. In the meantime I've noticed it takes less to agravate the condition.
When flare ups do occur my local Chiropracter is awesome. He can bring relief in next to no time.
I'm doing all the non-surgical stuff the experts have recommended, but sooner or later the surgery will have to be done.

Has anyone here had carpel tunnel surgery?
If so, what was the recovery like in terms of the negative impact on playing?
How long until you could use your bridge hand...effectively?

What question should I be asking that I'm not?

THANX! -Z-

I know dozens of people that have had it done. Only 2 have never had symptoms again!

DJSTEVEZ · Aug 20, 2017

Joe Pickens said:
I had Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and never did anything with taking care of it. Now years later my hand and arm shakes and the doctors cannot find out why. After reading your post it has me thinking my hand and arm tremors may be due to never having the operation to correct my problem. Do you have any problems with tremors or is it just pain?

I've never had any tremors, just the usual tingling and numbing.
If I don't wear my support brace at night regularly I'll get a flare up and most of my arm gets tight and goes into spasm. At that point I call the chiropracter and get in to see him ASAP.

Rimfirejunkie said:
I know dozens of people that have had it done. Only 2 have never had symptoms again!

The results I've heard are more encouraging than that, but I've also heard some stories to that affect as well. Scary. -Z-

-Z-

Rimfirejunkie · Aug 20, 2017

I've had it for 20yrs. I'm not getting the surgery.
Take 2 super B complex everyday. It helps.

rjb1168 · Aug 20, 2017

Surgery is no big deal, get it done and you will be back playing in about 2 weeks to a month. I have had both done 12 years ago and i am good. They did my left first then two weeks later did my right two weeks after that back to work.

maplecap · Aug 20, 2017

I had it in both hands and have had the surgeries. I had my left hand done first. This is my bridge hand. After about 3 years, I can make a closed bridge if I need to. I now use an open bridge and love it. This is after using a closed bridge my entire pool life of nearly fifty years. Less than a year later I had my right hand done. I had one of the best hand surgeons in Chicago. He thought I would be back to normal in 6 to 8 weeks after surgery. It has taken me nearly 4 years to feel normal again, pool wise. I had 4 surgeries on my right hand due to trigger fingers, which may flare up after carpal surgery. If you have the surgeries, make sure your surgeon does arthroscopic surgery vs the 4 inch incision. Hopefully you heal faster then I did. But never give up hope or the game. Switch to 14.1 if you can to avoid hard break type games.

DaveInSC · Aug 20, 2017

Rimfirejunkie said:
I've had it for 20yrs. I'm not getting the surgery.
Take 2 super B complex everyday. It helps.

100 MG of Vitamin B6 every day. I'm 44, had my first CTS issues from playing guitar at about 15.

Doc said to try the B6. It was gone in a week or so. Had a flare about 20 years ago, doc said surgery. Had a severe reaction to a material in the braces I was wearing to get by until they could do surgery. Took the B6 for about a week... cancelled surgery.

Try B6 before you get cut. The surgery is great now, no big deal, but if B6 works for you like it has for me, you won't need it!

Fenwick · Aug 20, 2017

DJSTEVEZ said:
I've got Carpal Tunnel Syndrome...in both hands I've seen the best hand surgeon in CT and he wants to do surgery. I've managed to put it off for some time now.
The surgeon tells me that evenutally if it doesn't get taken care there could be permanent nerve damage. In the meantime I've noticed it takes less to agravate the condition.
When flare ups do occur my local Chiropracter is awesome. He can bring relief in next to no time.
I'm doing all the non-surgical stuff the experts have recommended, but sooner or later the surgery will have to be done.

Has anyone here had carpel tunnel surgery?
If so, what was the recovery like in terms of the negative impact on playing?
How long until you could use your bridge hand...effectively?

What question should I be asking that I'm not?

THANX! -Z-

May I ask what caused it.

DJSTEVEZ · Aug 20, 2017

Not sure because I've had lesser symptoms for such a long time (but didn't know what they indicated). I spend a lot of time on the computer so I'm sure that's a key culprit. I also have Sleep Apnea (I use a CPAP) so I've limited sleep positions that work for me, I'm sure that doesn't help.

That being said, before I got married, I was a 7-day-a-week gym rat. I was hard on my hands with little thought to how that might impact them...especially while on the elliptical. -Z_

Fenwick · Aug 21, 2017

First and foremost I'm not a doctor or a expert at anything. I'm just sharing my experiences second hand. I had the symptoms but changed jobs before it was too late. I was a grunt in the work force for 43+ years.

"7-day-a-week gym rat and elliptical and a lot of time on the computer." = repetitive motion
"It is often seen with people who use computer keyboards or work on assembly lines." that's from a web search.
I can think of at least a dozen co workers who've had it done. More so 10 or 15 years ago but still happening today.
JMO. I would be asking the surgeon his success rate and for references. He's not going to like being asked questioned. I would also get as many opinions as possible 2, 3 or 4 even if it comes out of pocket. There are no guarantees as to the outcome. If it were me, it's not, I would have it done.

dontscratch · Aug 22, 2017

I had it done about 20 years ago.My doctor was honest , and told me it might not make it better, but it would keep it from getting worse, and he was right.
it was done on my bridge hand, and it was about a month before I could put enough weight on it to feel about 50% right. I now shoot with a glove because I can not get my fingers to quite make the bridge that I used to have , and the glove makes it easier for my stick to slide properly.They wanted to do both, but I only had the one done, and both hands are about the same. Mine was due to working on a ice cream truck for about 15 years without using gloves,and my hands got really cold and then hot during the delivery to about 20 stores a day. My opinion is that it probably cant hurt, and may keep it from getting worse in the future. Good luck.

bbb · Aug 22, 2017

like most orthopedic procedures i think your end result has a lot to do with the quality and diligence of your post operatory rehabilitaion
the best person to ask these questions to is your doctor and maybe get a 2nd opinion
jmho

KCRack'em · Aug 22, 2017

THIS. B6 is a natural anti-inflammatory. 100 mg per day is all that a body can process. I've had surgery only on my right hand, so I can't answer questions about my bridge hand. For about 10 years I used occasional acupuncture to treat mine. Then I moved some pool table slates by myself and couldn't get rid of the tingling in my right hand. I had surgery shortly afterward and have had good results. I was playing again in a few weeks.

DaveInSC said:
100 MG of Vitamin B6 every day. I'm 44, had my first CTS issues from playing guitar at about 15.

Doc said to try the B6. It was gone in a week or so. Had a flare about 20 years ago, doc said surgery. Had a severe reaction to a material in the braces I was wearing to get by until they could do surgery. Took the B6 for about a week... cancelled surgery.

Try B6 before you get cut. The surgery is great now, no big deal, but if B6 works for you like it has for me, you won't need it!

Black-Balled · Aug 22, 2017

DJSTEVEZ said:
I've got Carpal Tunnel Syndrome...in both hands I've seen the best hand surgeon in CT and he wants to do surgery.
What question should I be asking that I'm not?

THANX! -Z-

"Is repetitive motion considered a compensable workplace injury in my State?"

flyrv9 · Aug 22, 2017

I have problems with what they call fine motor skills - like writing for example. Testing showed moderate carpal tunnel caused by years of using tools etc. Instead of surgery I was given a series of exercises to do. They mostly involved stretching and agility of the hands and fingers. It helped and I did them until I retired. Now 2 years later with less activity things are better. I know surgery has a better success rate than a few years ago when the odds of a successful outcome were much poorer.

My wife has issues too from years of typing. She has lost strength in her hands and uses braces at night. Perhaps between braces and exercise you can avoid the knife.

Black-Balled · Aug 23, 2017

flyrv9 said:
I

My wife has issues too from years of typing. She has lost strength in her hands and uses braces at night. Perhaps between braces and exercise you can avoid the knife.

sure, noninvasive treatment is successful...in some cases

One would think these options would be attempted or at least given serious consideration, before surgery is pursued, but IMO, that isnt always the case. Responsibility has to be on the patient to decide on cut/ nocut.

I work with a lot of med info, from a big-picture analysis/ management perspective and some drs do like to cut.

DJSTEVEZ · May 5, 2018

DaveInSC said:
100 MG of Vitamin B6 every day.
I'm 44, had my first CTS issues from playing guitar at about 15.
Doc said to try the B6. It was gone in a week or so. Had a flare about 20 years ago, doc said surgery. Had a severe reaction to a material in the braces I was wearing to get by until they could do surgery. Took the B6 for about a week... cancelled surgery.

Try B6 before you get cut. The surgery is great now, no big deal, but if B6 works for you like it has for me, you won't need it!

I missed this suggestion the 1st time around.
I read about the Vitamin B6 elsewhere, tried it, and it worked like a miracle.
I didn't buy a 2nd bottle and now the CTS symptoms are back.
I was taking only 50mg, but I'm going to up it to 100mg.

It's a little late, but thank you so much for your post! -Z-

jay helfert · May 5, 2018

Rimfirejunkie said:
I've had it for 20yrs. I'm not getting the surgery.
Take 2 super B complex everyday. It helps.

Add in Tumeric, the wonder drug. It cured my arthritic condition (severe bursitis) in a month or so. I take it daily now. Make sure you get some with Curcuminoids! It's a vitamin (no prescription necessary), but it can be pricey. It's worth it!

jay helfert · May 5, 2018

bbb said:
like most orthopedic procedures i think your end result has a lot to do with the quality and diligence of your post operatory rehabilitaion
the best person to ask these questions to is your doctor and maybe get a 2nd opinion
jmho

Second and even third opinion is a good thing! I come from a family of doctors and they all said the same thing. Surgery should always be a last resort!

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Recovery & Shooting Pool

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