As I become active again – I took my first spin class in nearly four months last weekend – I continue to experience the typical aches and pains that come with adjusting to doing more. Sore quads. Tight hamstrings. Calves in need of stretching. Phantom knee pain that comes and goes.
But I never expected to have a hand issue. (Actually, it’s the carpometacarpal, or CMC, joint of the thumb.)
My right thumb is now in a splint – partly the result, I was told, of having to use crutches, not once, but twice in one year, after my arthroscopic hip surgeries in July and December. The constant texting and game-playing on my iPad probably didn’t help, either. Nor did the thinning cartilage.
How common is it to have hand problems after hip surgery? Common enough apparently for my hip surgeon to have the names of two good hand specialists readily available when I saw him for my 3.5-month checkup recently.
The first question the hand doctor and the physical therapist who fitted me for the split asked was: “Were you using crutches?”
So for the next two to three weeks, I expect to be on anti-inflammatories and wearing my new black hand accessory.
Thank goodness it won’t affect my running.
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