Physical Therapy

Posted on July 10, 2010 in Neurology

My neurologist dispatched me to the physical therapist to see what could be done about my hand. First tests were disheartening. We discovered that my finger did not come back into place when I spread the fingers and drew them together again. It dragged. I also had trouble holding it tight against the ring finger.

I’ve been having trouble getting it to behave when I type. The pinky likes to wander, ignoring the A key and reaching for the cap locks. It’s been bad enough to force me to use a pen tablet when on the laptop and consider switching to the DVORAK keyboard on the other. The A is much too vital to ignore.

The physical therapist has me doing a variety of exercises, beginning with a warmup on the bicycle wheel for hands, then stretches with a large, softish rubber band called a Theraband. Then lessons commence in the many uses of putty to exercise my hand. Squeezing, pulling, and spreading it stimulates the affected digits. Finally the session ends with a stint on the Purdue Peg Board, a devilish exercise that calls on me to put pins in holes. At the end of these tortures, I need ice for a sore wrist and shoulder.

The good news is that I am recovering the motor functions of my hand, though the numbness remains, will always plague me so I am told.