Seven weeks post-surgery, and I finally met with my wonderful hand therapist, Diane Newman-Branch. She measured my wrist and thumb's range of motion in multiple ways, grip strength (pretty good, considering), and pinch strength (minimal!). Then it was time for some exercises!1. Putty Squeeze - Squeeze, hold, release, relax. Do it again, 10-20 repetitions, several times per day. Looks easy, but it's not!
2. Putty Pinch - Eek! Worse than the last one! This required holding the putty blob with both hands, pinching the putty between thumbs and first two fingers and then drawing the hands away from each other. This one caused me pain in the small, distal joints of my thumb that were still swollen.
3. Thumb to Finger Touches - At the beginning it was difficult to even bring the thumb and first finger to touch each other. Pinky? Give it up! Impossible! But over time, I was able to touch the thumb to all four fingers, first with pain, and eventually with none. In fact, as I write this now at over 9 weeks post-surgery, the only joint that experiences pain with this movement is the thumb joint closest to my fingernail. That portion of my thumb, far from the surgery site, is still a bit swollen, which limits range of motion and causes some discomfort. This, I am told, recedes with time.
4. Range of Motion Exercises - designed to extend the repaired joint in two different planes. I progressed quicker than I expected.
5. Massage - I massaged the scar and also the fleshy area between thumb and first finger. After being so immobilized for weeks, there was some loosening up to do.
6. Bicep curl - Think small! Using only a three pound dumb bell and keeping the wrist straight, I carefully performed bicep curls each day.
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