I never thought about my thumb before it started being a problem. It makes sense. Why would I think about my thumb? I have two of them and they do what they’re supposed to do. Period. That’s good enough for me. Until my left thumb started twinging in pain. Nothing big. Not often. Just once in a while, it would tweak. And the joint would pop and lock when I bent it. This was perhaps two or three times a week. The clicking didn’t hurt; it was just annoying. Then, about a week ago, things escalated dramatically. The base of my thumb started hurting more regularly. Again, not in and of itself, but if I touched it or moved it in an odd way. Not hurt, but more like ached. The clicking was deeper for a lack of a better word, but still did not hurt.
It was highly annoying, however, and I knew I did not want it to get worse. I Googled it because that’s what I do. It’s rheumatoid arthritis also known as trigger thumb in this particular case. There are stretches recommended for it, which I’ve been doing every day. In addition, I have picked up a splint for it that I am wearing most of the day and night. Is it helping? I think so? It’s hard to say.
I have to say, before I got the splint, the pain increased dramatically. the base is painful to the touch, though not inflamed-looking. The clicking is more often than not, ranging from a quick, barely-audible click to a deep, grinding click. Bending the thumb is painful at the base and the clicking itself hurts sometimes. Once in a while, the bending pain is excruciating, but it’s bearable most of the time.
I don’t know if wearing a splint all the time is the best option, but it seems to be helping. I’m frustrated because it’s really bothersome to be wearing it as I type, not in a small part because I use my left thumb to hit the space bar. I’ve trained myself to use my right thumb instead for the space bar, but I still can’t hit it quite as quickly as I could with my left thumb. The funny thing is that the few times I’ve tried to type with the splint off, I hit the space bar with both of my thumbs.
I’m wondering if it’s been caused by a relatively-newish spear/staff drill I’m doing. It’s holding the staff in one hand, as close to the base of the staff as possible. Hold it in the horizontal position (I have to do this in the garage) and slowly twist the wrist from side to side. Allow the thin end of the staff to nearly touch the ground on each side. It’s to strengthen the wrist, but I can see it messing with the base of the thumb as well.
I’m modifying it for the left hand so it’s not as extreme to see if that eases up on the pain. I just Googled again and discovered there’s no cure for RA. Great. Also, fiber is good for it–which is bad for my IBS-like symptoms. Caffeine in moderation may help RA. Turmeric and ginger can help RA so I’ll go back to drinking my ginger, lemon, honey, and turmeric tea that I used to drink every day to stave off colds. Vitamin D and fish oil are supposed to be really helpful in reducing inflammation as well so I will have to incorporate both of those as well.
In addition, sigh, cigarettes and being fat. Both are not good for RA, which makes sense. Do I want to do anything about either of these things? No. Will I? Probably. With much grumbling, but I’ll do it, anyway. I just need to do it without going overboard as is my wont.
Another interesting thing is that I’ve barely played video games since I started wearing the splint. Obviously, I can’t use a controller while the splint is on and I don’t want to take it off for significant lengths of time. I did yesterday to play Dark Souls Remastered because I was watching some DSR vids and got the hankering. Imagine my chagrin when the controller wouldn’t work. I could press the Xbox button and bring up the overlay no problem. I could start Dark Souls III with the controller no problem. But DSR? Nope. Never mind that I had already put nearly 200 hours into the game with the controller. I looked at the forums and tried the solutions offered. Nothing. So I went back to the basics and restarted Steam (next up would have been restarting the computer). That worked! Why? Who knows?
I put an hour into the game, a new game, making it past the Taurus Demon with ease. I made my usual mad dash to the Zwei, even though I can’t use it yet. I started as a pyro because of course I did. How long did this section take the first time I played the game? I don’t remember, but I wouldn’t doubt if it were five to ten hours, including Taurus Demon. I left the Black Knight for now, but I will go back to him soon. The Black Knight Shield is my favorite in the game bar none. I want it!
Er, back to the main issue. The thumb was sore as I played, but not bad at all. I really don’t want to exacerbate the pain, though. I know part of the problem is repetitive movement, which is a big part of using a controller. It’s not an issue with typing, although I do think using it to bang on the space bar probably didn’t help.
I hope I can figure out how to reduce the pain to a bearable degree. I’m not expecting it to go back to nothing because that’s not the way my body works. But, if it’s just a twinge every few weeks? I can deal with that.