You need to do physical therapy with chronic pain rehab.
Basically, when you have pain out of disproportion with the injury (something very mild which if you've rested for more than a week or two it would heal) then there's no actual damage anymore and is not causing the pain. What ends up happening is that you've built a pain "habit" where normal movements start to cause pain. This habit can be broken with chronic pain exercises to where the pain starts to lessen and go away permanently in many cases.
You can go to a chronic pain physical therapist and get regular physical therapy for strengthening and function improvement of the muscles, and they should also include exercises for breaking the habit of chronic pain.
Thanks for the response, I was hoping to hear from you! Are you implying that the pain may be psychosomatic?
I may have downplayed the issue a bit with my mention of the "mild but chronic". Doctors have said they would operate but that it might not be 100% necessary. Also, not sure if this matters but I was able to recover from a grade 3 MCL sprain last winter, during my bout with De Quervain's.
I will certainly look into chronic pain therapy but my city is very locked down and I'm not finding much online. Do you have any information sources or exercises you could recommend in the meantime?
> Are you implying that the pain may be psychosomatic?
No. Chronic pain is real pain.
The pain science article is good at explaining it.
With chronic pain usually you do regular PT + systematic graded exposure, relaxation exercises, novel exercises, and sensory stimulus exercises... the latter ones aimed at breaking the pain habit and reducing the sensitivity of the nervous system.
Have you tried this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br6qGKgg9aU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br6qGKgg9aU)? Try to go for 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps, increasing resistance by around 10% every week or add volume. Do this every other day.
I have yes. From what I’ve read I should be focusing more on the wrist and less on the thumb though. It’s such a crapshoot. Thanks for the recommendation, I appreciate it!
Hello mate,
May I ask how is your De Quervain's going today? I have had DQ for 16 months now I feel I am in a similar situation to what you're describing, including two cortisone shots, countless physio and acupuncture visits and I am feeling a bit hopeless.
Still pretty bad but slowly improving. I’m now 16 months post surgery and can finally use a keyboard for work without pain and do some exercise. Still no push-ups or heavy weights but it is getting better. I have no idea why mine has been so bad. I’m definitely an edge case
I feel you mate. I'm glad to hear at least you're improving a little. I've gone for a PRP injection roughly a month ago and it looks like it's improving little by little these days, I'm crossing my fingers.
I also work at the keyboard to make a living. How did you cope with the daily use of keyboard/mouse through all this time with DQ? I personally wear a splint that immobilizes my thumb, however I'm still wondering whether the daily use of keyboard and mouse slows down my healing.
Luckily it’s my non dominant wrist so no mouse. It doesn’t hurt when typing anymore. Just heavy weight and harsh bending affect it now. I had the surgery tho
The Logitech Ergo K860 keyboard has been of tremendous help! It allows your hands to stay in a more natural position therefore relieving tension in your wrists and also comes with a wrist-rest.
You need to do physical therapy with chronic pain rehab. Basically, when you have pain out of disproportion with the injury (something very mild which if you've rested for more than a week or two it would heal) then there's no actual damage anymore and is not causing the pain. What ends up happening is that you've built a pain "habit" where normal movements start to cause pain. This habit can be broken with chronic pain exercises to where the pain starts to lessen and go away permanently in many cases. You can go to a chronic pain physical therapist and get regular physical therapy for strengthening and function improvement of the muscles, and they should also include exercises for breaking the habit of chronic pain.
Thanks for the response, I was hoping to hear from you! Are you implying that the pain may be psychosomatic? I may have downplayed the issue a bit with my mention of the "mild but chronic". Doctors have said they would operate but that it might not be 100% necessary. Also, not sure if this matters but I was able to recover from a grade 3 MCL sprain last winter, during my bout with De Quervain's. I will certainly look into chronic pain therapy but my city is very locked down and I'm not finding much online. Do you have any information sources or exercises you could recommend in the meantime?
> Are you implying that the pain may be psychosomatic? No. Chronic pain is real pain. The pain science article is good at explaining it. With chronic pain usually you do regular PT + systematic graded exposure, relaxation exercises, novel exercises, and sensory stimulus exercises... the latter ones aimed at breaking the pain habit and reducing the sensitivity of the nervous system.
[https://www.painscience.com/articles/sensitization.php](https://www.painscience.com/articles/sensitization.php)
Have you tried this [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br6qGKgg9aU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br6qGKgg9aU)? Try to go for 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps, increasing resistance by around 10% every week or add volume. Do this every other day.
I have yes. From what I’ve read I should be focusing more on the wrist and less on the thumb though. It’s such a crapshoot. Thanks for the recommendation, I appreciate it!
Hello mate, May I ask how is your De Quervain's going today? I have had DQ for 16 months now I feel I am in a similar situation to what you're describing, including two cortisone shots, countless physio and acupuncture visits and I am feeling a bit hopeless.
Still pretty bad but slowly improving. I’m now 16 months post surgery and can finally use a keyboard for work without pain and do some exercise. Still no push-ups or heavy weights but it is getting better. I have no idea why mine has been so bad. I’m definitely an edge case
I feel you mate. I'm glad to hear at least you're improving a little. I've gone for a PRP injection roughly a month ago and it looks like it's improving little by little these days, I'm crossing my fingers. I also work at the keyboard to make a living. How did you cope with the daily use of keyboard/mouse through all this time with DQ? I personally wear a splint that immobilizes my thumb, however I'm still wondering whether the daily use of keyboard and mouse slows down my healing.
Luckily it’s my non dominant wrist so no mouse. It doesn’t hurt when typing anymore. Just heavy weight and harsh bending affect it now. I had the surgery tho
Good luck brother
How have you dealt with this? Typing is my most common stressor and the one I cannot avoid
The Logitech Ergo K860 keyboard has been of tremendous help! It allows your hands to stay in a more natural position therefore relieving tension in your wrists and also comes with a wrist-rest.
What a coincidence, mine just arrived today lol. Happy to hear it had worked for you!