A 55 year old female childminder struggled to do simple everyday things such as opening jars and turning her front door key due to pain at the base of her thumb. She was very worried about her ability to continue caring for an active 3 year old boy and his baby sister as tasks such as changing the little girls nappy would cause severe pain. She dreaded having to pick up the boy if he fell over or holding his hand when out and about.
She had explained her problem to the children's Mum who was very understanding and prepared snacks and meals for the children as a temporary arrangement to save the childminder from needing to cook meals.
The Childminder attended her GP who recommended an x-ray and a referral to a hospital consultant for treatment for Osteoarthritis. The GP also explained that getting an appointment could take several months. The GP offered to give the childminder a steroid injection in her thumb in the meantime but the lady was unsure what to do. She decided to buy arthritic gloves at her chemist but the different styles available were confusing and the pair she bought were not effective at all. She rang Hand Kinetics to talk to the Hand Therapist to find out if there was anything else she could do instead of waiting for an appointment with a consultant as she may have to stop work due to the pain.
The Hand Kinetics Therapist recommended several other options for treating
osteoarthritis that the lady didn't know about. These included supportive splints, thumb stability exercises, thermal therapy and also electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) to block pain. At her first appointment, she received practical advice on how to protect her joints from further wear and tear and had a wax bath for her hand which instantly helped relieve pain and made her hand feel more mobile.
The therapist measured her hand and made a small plastic splint to wear over the thumb to support it. As soon as she had the thumb splint on, she felt significant pain relief as the thumb bones were no longer grinding against one another.
Before she left Hand Kinetics, the therapist demonstrated some useful small aids and tools to reduce pain from daily activities such as jar openers and key turners. These were not available to buy in shops, and the childminder was able to try them out before buying them. The Childminder now keeps a plastic bottle opener in her handbag at all times so she can open any bottle when out and about without the need to ask for help from a stranger.
The Childminder returned to doing her normal daily activities without the stress of losing her hand function and ability to work. She knows now how Hand Kinetics can help her to manage living with arthritis without the need for early surgery and can advise her on when to consider joint replacement.
