I've googled my symptoms, seen various doctors, tried countless treatments, and have immobilized my wrist too many times to not get valid answers, so I am resorting to this forum. I am deeply frustrated so please try to help me out, tell me if you've had similar symptoms, theorize what it could be, ANYTHING please :(
Hello, I am a 16 year old dancer who injured my (LEFT) hand/wrist/ arm a little over a year ago. I was a competitive dancer at the time, and it was my last year dancing competitively so i was training hard to make my last year the best it could be. I had a typical night of dance; ballet, jazz, than acro (acrobatics/ gymnastics in a way haha) I hurt my foot that night in jazz, and i had acro next and because i couldn't tumble or do much because of my foot, i decided to use my time "wisely" to do handstand walking. I pretty much walked on my hands for an hour straight stupid i know, and for the next couple of i accidently would kind of lean on my hand if i was off balance and tbh fell on it once or twice in dance. I continued to dance not being able to put pressure on my wrist or flex or extend it that far without pain. The doctors visit started then and have not stopped since.
DOCTOR #1:
Saw him for 6 weeks every week through the walk in clinic, had 2 xrays and used a drug store splint for 6 weeks
Diagnosis(s)
Growth Plate Injury?
Scaphoid Fracture?
Sprain?
DOCTOR #2
Saw him at urgent care in the hospital
Put me in a cast including thumb for a week until i saw a specalist
Diagnosis:
Extreme tendonitis along radial side of arm
DOCTOR #3
Saw her at the fracture clinic in the hospitial, she is a hand specalist/ surgeon
Corticosteroid injection and immobilazion of wrist and thumb for six weeks
Diagnosis:
De Quervain's tenosynovitis (bad tendonitis radial side of arm and thumb)
after six weeks my thumb was feeling better but not 100% so i saw a...
CHIROPRACTOR
Saw multiple times a week for a good like 2 months until insurance coverage ran out
Electrode simulation, laser treatments, deep massage on top of wrist (HURT SO SO SO BAD)
Diagnosis:
Same thing, still not getting answers about top of wrist pain :/
PHYSIOTHERAPIST
Saw a few times throughout those 2 months
More laser therapy and used playdough for me to squeeze to strengthen my muscles
DOCTOR #4,5
Saw in different walk in clinics (family doctor on maternity leave)
I started to experience numbness and tingling in pinkie and ring finger just wanted some general answers and advice, they were both extremely rude and uninterested and told me to suck it up
DOCTOR #6
Family doctor finally off mat leave
Told me to wear my old splint when dancing or working
Diagnosis: Tendonitis and soft tissue pain from past injury
At this point i'm getting very frustrated because time never seemed to heal me before but i was compliant and wore my splint when dancing or at school for TWO MONTHS pain didn't improve (it actually got worse)
DOCTOR #7
Another doctor in urgent care in the hospital, i had another minor fall on my hand (no big deal) but started to experience sharp shooting pain ALL OF A SUDDEN so i went to get xrayed
Diagnosis: nothing is broken, "these things take time", "stop dancing", suck it up?, ice it
DOCTOR #3
I saw doctor #3 again in the fracture clinic in the hospital wanting to get reassessed, extremely annoyed and discouraged.
Told me to stop dancing for 8 weeks!!! ( i go to an arts highschool for a dance program so this was pure torture but i did it desperately wanting to heal)
Diagnosis: Soft tissue pain
I also brought up the numbness and tingling i had in my fingers she did a physical examination poking me and such
She made me wear an elbow pad that keeps my arm straight at night for 3 months
2nd Diagnosis: Cubital tunnel syndrome (ulnar nerve compression at the elbow)
She ordered a nerve conduction study to see how bad it was
DOCTOR #8
The neurologist i was referred to said my ulnar nerve was completely normal.. WHAT!? how could that be :(
After taking my history and discussing what it could be he asked if i had any shoulder or neck pain, which i do have surprisingly.
He ordered me an MRI of my cervical spine to see if i have a herniated disk or something that could be compressing a nerve thats causing me all this annoying numbness.
I was shocked with my nerve conduction study results at first, but after alot of research it is actually quite common to have a pinched nerve outside of the arm but still cause tingling in the arm. Although i have to wait 3 months to get my MRI and my numbness and tingling is getting worse, i am satisfied that at least one doctor cares enough to check for an alternate diagnosis instead of pushing me aside.
I have hope for my numbness because i will be getting that diagnosed soon enough, but you have probably noticed a trend throughout my story... What about the wrist pain? Not the thumb pain or the numbness or the tingling, the top of the wrist pain that won't allow me to put weight on my wrist after a YEAR.
I do not want to go back to see the specalist/ surgeon although she is great surgeon, and has a great reputation, considering i haven't been a surgical candidate she seems uninterested in me clinically.
Currently; my wrist hurts at the top when you press on it, i can flex my hand quite well without pain but extending my hand is harder and hurts if you tried to extend it further (popping sounds and feelings on ulnar and radial sides of my wrist), i cannot put wait on my wrist without excuciating pain. I do get localized random pain when i'm not using my hand also at the top of my wrist, at my thumb joint, on the ulnar side of my wrist, aswell as the inside of my elbow extending into my forearm (the newest pain compared to the others and not that bad but hey its still pain). The numbness and tingling i have is worse when bending my elbow, and raising my arm above my head or beside my body. Holding my arm out to the side or moving it is hard because my whole arm feels weak.
Some observations i've noticed of my hand is that my pinkie and ring finger are more bent than the others when my hand is relaxed. my thumb joint sticks out (i'm assuming its from putting weight on my hand when i wore the splint that also immobilized my thumb), and i have a small ganglion cyst on the radial side of my wrist from the steroid injection.
I'm sorry to be so exaggerated and descriptive but i hope my detail helps in anyone who may know what i have. I thank you in advance, this injury has been so devastating because i've worn a splint for so long, i had to sit out of the one thing i love, i can't do acro anymore! But what tops the cake is that ultimately i'm still in pain, and while i've been treated for my thumb, and on the road to treatment for my nerves, the main question still is... What is causing the wrist pain?
Any help is appreciated, and feel free to leave any opinions regardless of how ludicrous they may seem.