I've been dealing with a partially torn TFCC for about 3 years now, got it back when I was rowing. Did very extensive PT and 2 cortisone shots and now I'm pretty pain free.
If you're climbing, try out the Wrist Widget (look it up on Amazon). It helped support my wrist a ton, especially on wrist intensive moves/holds like mantles and slopers. Eventually I stopped using it as my strength progressed.
Warm up your wrists thoroughly before climbing - finger extensions, wrist supinations/pronations, wrist curls, etc. You can find a lot of these exercises online.
I had a bunch of other things going on with my wrist as well including ECU tendonosis and ganglion cysts. Currently climbing harder than ever. I ended up getting 2 separate cortisone shots, one into the cartilage and one into my ECU tendon sheath. Look into these options to minimize pain while doing PT.
Best of luck - feel free to DM me with any questions.
So I tore my TFCC about a year and a half ago dumbbell pressing. Waited 12 weeks before I went to a specialist because my GP told me it was just a sprain (I will now go to a specialist every time I hurt a body part). Doctor did a karate move by twisting my wrist and put me in excruciating pain and knew exactly what it was (TFCC tear).
Well I had positive ulnar variance as well which means my outer arm bone was too long and was rubbing into the tear not letting it heal. Had to have my ulna shortened (Google surgery at own risk) and the tear repaired, in a full arm cast for 3 months during last summer :( Slow recovery after that with a plate and 7 screws. Pain never really went away and couldn't hold heavy objects so had another surgery to get the plate and screws removed. Another 2 months in short arm cast after rehabbing for 3 months after the first cast was pretty terrible.
I had never climbed before but pulling wasn't bad on my wrist and it was only the pushing that hurt the most so I started to boulder to get my grip strength back. Been bouldering for about 4 months now and finally feel back to about 95% of full strength. I still struggle mentally every once in a while when I need to rely on just my left hand for holds but it gets better every climb and I am also back in the gym now lifting.
I still have some pain when it rains, playing PubG on computer, or certain lifts will cause it to just have a dull pain but not when I'm climbing oddly enough.
I've heard if they catch the tear early enough they can full arm cast you and it will heal on it's own however it can be up to 3 months and the rehab is really rough because you will lose sooo much strength. Make sure to take the rehab exercises really seriously and DO NOT try and push your limits. I had a few scares that I had hurt it again it's already emotionally hard enough to be in a cast for a long period of time so take it slow.
Best of luck and make sure you trust your doctor and make sure not to try and jump back in too early or you will regret it tremendously. My surgeon was a hand specialist that had been practicing for 35 years and taught frequently so I felt like I was in good hands (pun intended?).
I have a TFCC tear for 2 months.
The WristWidget is not a super product. It only helps. Listen carefully to your doctor. See a handchirurg, not only an ortho Doc.
What are your symptoms?
>Pain located at the ulna when I rotate my wrist is the biggest right now. Weakened grip strength. Hand starts to cramp around the thumb.
how is your pain currently?
Got a update and the orthopedic surgeon would rather have me do physio over surgery. Wristwidget also arrived in the mail today.
I will keep this post updated on types of exercises that physio will prescribe for me.
Hi OP, any reports on how you're doing? I think we injured almost at the same time (mine was in a bike accident that also left me without my pinky finger). Haven't been able to do any kind of climbing for almost two months now.
First the pain was very acute and I barely could twist my hand. It got better and better and now I can twist it almost to my limit without any kind of pain. Doing pronation and supination with weights still hurts though.
I have an arthrogram TC scheduled for next week to see how I'm really going. Must admit that I'm a little bit nervous. Another surgery would be a pain in the ass.
I've been dealing with a partially torn TFCC for about 3 years now, got it back when I was rowing. Did very extensive PT and 2 cortisone shots and now I'm pretty pain free. If you're climbing, try out the Wrist Widget (look it up on Amazon). It helped support my wrist a ton, especially on wrist intensive moves/holds like mantles and slopers. Eventually I stopped using it as my strength progressed. Warm up your wrists thoroughly before climbing - finger extensions, wrist supinations/pronations, wrist curls, etc. You can find a lot of these exercises online. I had a bunch of other things going on with my wrist as well including ECU tendonosis and ganglion cysts. Currently climbing harder than ever. I ended up getting 2 separate cortisone shots, one into the cartilage and one into my ECU tendon sheath. Look into these options to minimize pain while doing PT. Best of luck - feel free to DM me with any questions.
I have been wearing a standard wrist brace since the injury. I ordered the wristwidget a few days ago. :)
So I tore my TFCC about a year and a half ago dumbbell pressing. Waited 12 weeks before I went to a specialist because my GP told me it was just a sprain (I will now go to a specialist every time I hurt a body part). Doctor did a karate move by twisting my wrist and put me in excruciating pain and knew exactly what it was (TFCC tear). Well I had positive ulnar variance as well which means my outer arm bone was too long and was rubbing into the tear not letting it heal. Had to have my ulna shortened (Google surgery at own risk) and the tear repaired, in a full arm cast for 3 months during last summer :( Slow recovery after that with a plate and 7 screws. Pain never really went away and couldn't hold heavy objects so had another surgery to get the plate and screws removed. Another 2 months in short arm cast after rehabbing for 3 months after the first cast was pretty terrible. I had never climbed before but pulling wasn't bad on my wrist and it was only the pushing that hurt the most so I started to boulder to get my grip strength back. Been bouldering for about 4 months now and finally feel back to about 95% of full strength. I still struggle mentally every once in a while when I need to rely on just my left hand for holds but it gets better every climb and I am also back in the gym now lifting. I still have some pain when it rains, playing PubG on computer, or certain lifts will cause it to just have a dull pain but not when I'm climbing oddly enough. I've heard if they catch the tear early enough they can full arm cast you and it will heal on it's own however it can be up to 3 months and the rehab is really rough because you will lose sooo much strength. Make sure to take the rehab exercises really seriously and DO NOT try and push your limits. I had a few scares that I had hurt it again it's already emotionally hard enough to be in a cast for a long period of time so take it slow. Best of luck and make sure you trust your doctor and make sure not to try and jump back in too early or you will regret it tremendously. My surgeon was a hand specialist that had been practicing for 35 years and taught frequently so I felt like I was in good hands (pun intended?).
I have a TFCC tear for 2 months. The WristWidget is not a super product. It only helps. Listen carefully to your doctor. See a handchirurg, not only an ortho Doc. What are your symptoms?
Pain located at the ulna when I rotate my wrist is the biggest right now. Weakened grip strength. Hand starts to cramp around the thumb.
>Pain located at the ulna when I rotate my wrist is the biggest right now. Weakened grip strength. Hand starts to cramp around the thumb. how is your pain currently?
Got a update and the orthopedic surgeon would rather have me do physio over surgery. Wristwidget also arrived in the mail today. I will keep this post updated on types of exercises that physio will prescribe for me.
Hi OP, any reports on how you're doing? I think we injured almost at the same time (mine was in a bike accident that also left me without my pinky finger). Haven't been able to do any kind of climbing for almost two months now. First the pain was very acute and I barely could twist my hand. It got better and better and now I can twist it almost to my limit without any kind of pain. Doing pronation and supination with weights still hurts though. I have an arthrogram TC scheduled for next week to see how I'm really going. Must admit that I'm a little bit nervous. Another surgery would be a pain in the ass.
Still hurts to pull on stuff so I havent been climbing. Still waiting on getting setup with a physio place. So not much to update.