Caving with chronic wrist injury/surgically repaired wrist?
Posted: Dec 22, 2014 2:04 pm
In 2008 I was hit by a car while riding my bike. I caught myself on the side of the car with a flat hand and tore a ligament my wrist. Didn't realize I'd done so at the time, and so long story short nearly 7 years later I am at a medical crossroads and would like to get advice from anybody who has been through something similar. My current situation is that caving on the wrist causes some minor pain while in the act of caving, but I tend to not notice it as caving is way overstimulating. After a trip, the pain lingers and is much more noticeable. On a day to day basis, I am mostly not in pain unless I contort my wrist or push hard on something. But I fear for the future. I've spoken to a few doctors, and I basically have two options right now:
Option 1- Ligament Reconstruction
Pros: Might stabilize the joint enough to avoid a partial or full wrist fusion in the future, but it's not even close to a slam-dunk.
Cons: Unlikely to alleviate current pain. Frequently the procedure does not work well for people with as much arthritis and wrist bone displacement as I currently have. The surgery takes part of a tendon out of my forearm and transplants it to the wrist (the original ligament can't be repaired as the injury is too old). Requires 8-10 weeks in a cast, then 6 months of recovery. Once recovered, my hand won't go all the way flat to allow me to crawl. And the one motion that I am supposed to avoid, basically forever, is putting body weight on the hand in any position approaching a pushup (i.e. crawling) or the reconstruction could break. Major potential of still needing a wrist fusion in the future anyway. I can't imagine this repair holding up to my lifestyle.
Option 2 - Do Nothing
Pros: Assuming the pain doesn't get too bad, can still do all the hardcore caving stuff I want to in the next decade and will retain full range of motion.
Cons: Wrist will probably get so thrashed that I'll need a fusion in another 1-2 decades, which destroys wrist range of motion far more than the aforementioned surgery. But it alleviates basically all the pain.
I am torn (pun intended) here on what to do, and it's totally bumming me out because for the first time I am not feeling invincible as a caver. I could deal with this a lot better if it was happening to me later in life, but at 40 it's a little tough to take.
If anybody has been through this, please let me know what your experience is. I'd love to hear from someone who has been caving on a wrist with a torn ligament for a long time, to know how that injury progresses. Also, if you've had a reconstruction of the scapholunate interosseous ligament, let me know how that went for you and how it is holding up to caving. Another question I have is whether it is possible to cave hard on a fused wrist. If that eventuality happens, hopefully I can still do vertical and crawl on a closed fist. Maybe the adjustment is not so bad, and it's not as debilitating as it sounds? Although I do know one person who was basically taken out of caving completely by a wrist fusion. Ugh. Injuries suck.
Option 1- Ligament Reconstruction
Pros: Might stabilize the joint enough to avoid a partial or full wrist fusion in the future, but it's not even close to a slam-dunk.
Cons: Unlikely to alleviate current pain. Frequently the procedure does not work well for people with as much arthritis and wrist bone displacement as I currently have. The surgery takes part of a tendon out of my forearm and transplants it to the wrist (the original ligament can't be repaired as the injury is too old). Requires 8-10 weeks in a cast, then 6 months of recovery. Once recovered, my hand won't go all the way flat to allow me to crawl. And the one motion that I am supposed to avoid, basically forever, is putting body weight on the hand in any position approaching a pushup (i.e. crawling) or the reconstruction could break. Major potential of still needing a wrist fusion in the future anyway. I can't imagine this repair holding up to my lifestyle.
Option 2 - Do Nothing
Pros: Assuming the pain doesn't get too bad, can still do all the hardcore caving stuff I want to in the next decade and will retain full range of motion.
Cons: Wrist will probably get so thrashed that I'll need a fusion in another 1-2 decades, which destroys wrist range of motion far more than the aforementioned surgery. But it alleviates basically all the pain.
I am torn (pun intended) here on what to do, and it's totally bumming me out because for the first time I am not feeling invincible as a caver. I could deal with this a lot better if it was happening to me later in life, but at 40 it's a little tough to take.
If anybody has been through this, please let me know what your experience is. I'd love to hear from someone who has been caving on a wrist with a torn ligament for a long time, to know how that injury progresses. Also, if you've had a reconstruction of the scapholunate interosseous ligament, let me know how that went for you and how it is holding up to caving. Another question I have is whether it is possible to cave hard on a fused wrist. If that eventuality happens, hopefully I can still do vertical and crawl on a closed fist. Maybe the adjustment is not so bad, and it's not as debilitating as it sounds? Although I do know one person who was basically taken out of caving completely by a wrist fusion. Ugh. Injuries suck.