Thumb Pain

[Lefty72]

Hi, I need your help. I'm 18 years old and last year in April I started playing golf. I enjoyed it so much that I played every day for two weeks. I then developed pain in both of my thumbs, mostly in my right thumb (I'm a lefty). Since then I haven't played any golf and been resting my thumb as much as I can. I've also had a thumb splint on my right thumb most of the time, making it almost impossible to use the thumb. Now, almost a year later, the pain is still there, though I have a little less pain, it's still there. I've done an X-ray and it showed nothing. I've seen an orthopaedist and the appointment took 5-10 minutes and the only thing he said was that, if you have this form on the thumb that I have, you can get overextended connective tissue and the diagnose I got was deformed thumb. He told me not to worry too much about it. He said I had to live with this and that there was nothing to do, except arthrodesis, if the pain gets much worse. An example of when I feel pain is when I press my thumb against something, for example when I'm writing with a pen. The pain vary a lot, some days I barely feel it and some days I feel it more. The pain is mostly at the base of the thumb.

I'm thinking of changing my backswing, and try thicker grips and gloves that I've seen people with arthritis are playing with. Maybe that will help a little?

This thumb is almost identical to mine:

Have anyone here been in a similar situation as me? All help is appreciated.

Thank you in advance

Happy golfing! 😃

[boogielicious]

1 hour ago, Lefty72 said:

Hi, I need your help. I'm 18 years old and last year in April I started playing golf. I enjoyed it so much that I played every day for two weeks. I then developed pain in both of my thumbs, mostly in my right thumb (I'm a lefty). Since then I haven't played any golf and been resting my thumb as much as I can. I've also had a thumb splint on my right thumb most of the time, making it almost impossible to use the thumb. Now, almost a year later, the pain is still there, though I have a little less pain, it's still there. I've done an X-ray and it showed nothing. I've seen an orthopaedist and the appointment took 5-10 minutes and the only thing he said was that, if you have this form on the thumb that I have, you can get overextended connective tissue and the diagnose I got was deformed thumb. He told me not to worry too much about it. He said I had to live with this and that there was nothing to do, except arthrodesis, if the pain gets much worse. An example of when I feel pain is when I press my thumb against something, for example when I'm writing with a pen. The pain vary a lot, some days I barely feel it and some days I feel it more. The pain is mostly at the base of the thumb.

I'm thinking of changing my backswing, and try thicker grips and gloves that I've seen people with arthritis are playing with. Maybe that will help a little?

This thumb is almost identical to mine:

Have anyone here been in a similar situation as me? All help is appreciated.

Thank you in advance

Happy golfing! 😃

I've had thumb pain in the backside knuckle from overextending it, but ice and rest resolved the issue. Have you tried altering your grip at all? Does it hurt worse with driver than irons? I have a friend (8 HC) who uses a baseball grip with woods very effectively. It takes the lead hand thumb off the shaft.

[Vinsk]

2 hours ago, Lefty72 said:

Hi, I need your help. I'm 18 years old and last year in April I started playing golf. I enjoyed it so much that I played every day for two weeks. I then developed pain in both of my thumbs, mostly in my right thumb (I'm a lefty). Since then I haven't played any golf and been resting my thumb as much as I can. I've also had a thumb splint on my right thumb most of the time, making it almost impossible to use the thumb. Now, almost a year later, the pain is still there, though I have a little less pain, it's still there. I've done an X-ray and it showed nothing. I've seen an orthopaedist and the appointment took 5-10 minutes and the only thing he said was that, if you have this form on the thumb that I have, you can get overextended connective tissue and the diagnose I got was deformed thumb. He told me not to worry too much about it. He said I had to live with this and that there was nothing to do, except arthrodesis, if the pain gets much worse. An example of when I feel pain is when I press my thumb against something, for example when I'm writing with a pen. The pain vary a lot, some days I barely feel it and some days I feel it more. The pain is mostly at the base of the thumb.

I'm thinking of changing my backswing, and try thicker grips and gloves that I've seen people with arthritis are playing with. Maybe that will help a little?

This thumb is almost identical to mine:

Have anyone here been in a similar situation as me? All help is appreciated.

Thank you in advance

Happy golfing! 😃

Hello and welcome to TST. I’m a physician ( Family Medicine) and just have a few questions: Was the orthopedist a hand specialist? Did you have this pain occur anytime prior to playing golf? If I may be so bold I’m not sure I agree with your ortho’s opinion. Like @boogielicious said ice and rest can be very beneficial. If your pain has remained for a year I think an MRI would be very reasonable and beneficial. Certainly adopting a different grip may be a solution but first the ligaments of your thumb need to be cleared of injury.

[snapfade]

Arthrodesis seems kind of extreme, but I am no doctor. From what you are saying it seems like maybe you have developed arthritis.  Maybe @Vinsk can shed some light, I think he is a doctor. JMO.

 

He just did. 

Edited March 20, 2020 by snapfade

[Lefty72]

11 hours ago, boogielicious said:

I've had thumb pain in the backside knuckle from overextending it, but ice and rest resolved the issue. Have you tried altering your grip at all? Does it hurt worse with driver than irons? I have a friend (8 HC) who uses a baseball grip with woods very effectively. It takes the lead hand thumb off the shaft.

I'm glad you got rid of the pain. I will try to put ice on it every day from now on to see if it helps. I haven't played anything since the pain started so I haven't tried a different grip. I will definitely try out the baseball grip. Thank you for the tip. I'm thinking about going to the range soon when the weather is better and see how it feels.

[Lefty72]

10 hours ago, Vinsk said:

Hello and welcome to TST. I’m a physician ( Family Medicine) and just have a few questions: Was the orthopedist a hand specialist? Did you have this pain occur anytime prior to playing golf? If I may be so bold I’m not sure I agree with your ortho’s opinion. Like @boogielicious said ice and rest can be very beneficial. If your pain has remained for a year I think an MRI would be very reasonable and beneficial. Certainly adopting a different grip may be a solution but first the ligaments of your thumb need to be cleared of injury.

Hello, thank you. I don't think the orthopedist was a hand specialist. No, the pain started first after playing golf. I will try to put ice on it every day from now on to see if it helps. Maybe an MRI would be good, but according to the ortophedist there is nothing to do and I will probably not get any more help with my thumbs, at least not from the public health care. I will also try a different grip when playing, I don't know if there is anything more I can do right now.

10 hours ago, snapfade said:

Arthrodesis seems kind of extreme, but I am no doctor. From what you are saying it seems like maybe you have developed arthritis.  Maybe @Vinsk can shed some light, I think he is a doctor. JMO.

 

He just did. 

Yes, arthrodesis is only an option if it gets much worse, it is not to think of right now. According to the first physician I meet, it is very unlikely that I have arthritis, because of my age and also that the X-ray showed nothing.

[Vinsk]

31 minutes ago, Lefty72 said:

according to the ortophedist there is nothing to do and I will probably not get any more help with my thumbs,

That just seems a bit premature of a diagnosis to me. Skier’s thumb, De Quervain’s tenosynovitis, Ulnar metacarpal ligament tear, and others. Try the ice and alternate with heat each for 20minutes. Grip a tennis ball gently with increasing pressure then relaxation. 

[Lefty72]

28 minutes ago, Vinsk said:

That just seems a bit premature of a diagnosis to me. Skier’s thumb, De Quervain’s tenosynovitis, Ulnar metacarpal ligament tear, and others. Try the ice and alternate with heat each for 20minutes. Grip a tennis ball gently with increasing pressure then relaxation. 

Yes, I feel the same. Feels like he didn't put so much effort into my problem. It might be De Quervain’s tenosynovitis. How many times a day do you think I should do the ice/heat thing and for how long? 20 minutes of ice and 20 minutes of heat each time?

[Vinsk]

48 minutes ago, Lefty72 said:

Yes, I feel the same. Feels like he didn't put so much effort into my problem. It might be De Quervain’s tenosynovitis. How many times a day do you think I should do the ice/heat thing and for how long? 20 minutes of ice and 20 minutes of heat each time?

I would start with just one session of heat/ice in the evening after you’ve done some tennis ball grip therapy. Do this for a week. Then move to twice a day.

[Lefty72]

9 hours ago, Vinsk said:

I would start with just one session of heat/ice in the evening after you’ve done some tennis ball grip therapy. Do this for a week. Then move to twice a day.

Alright, I'll come back with an update in 3-4 weeks. Thanks a lot for the help 😃

[boogielicious]

11 minutes ago, Lefty72 said:

Alright, I'll come back with an update in 3-4 weeks. Thanks a lot for the help 😃

If you do anything during the day that aggravates it, ice after. This is in addition the therapy.

[Lefty72]

2 hours ago, boogielicious said:

If you do anything during the day that aggravates it, ice after. This is in addition the therapy.

👍

[DrvFrShow]

I suffer from DeQuervain's. 1) I wear Bionic Gloves (the ones for arthritic hands - they make two types); 2) I have Golf Pride CP2 Pro Midsize Grips on my clubs. While they're a little large for me, they seem to help; 3) When I had the clubs regripped I had Sting Stoppers inserted into the shafts. Also I have graphite shafts on my irons. This combination seems to help a lot. 

Corded grips like Lamkin Crosslines will sideline me for a couple of weeks. This includes simply testing clubs in pro shops.

Edited March 22, 2020 by DrvFrShow

[Lefty72]

15 hours ago, DrvFrShow said:

I suffer from DeQuervain's. 1) I wear Bionic Gloves (the ones for arthritic hands - they make two types); 2) I have Golf Pride CP2 Pro Midsize Grips on my clubs. While they're a little large for me, they seem to help; 3) When I had the clubs regripped I had Sting Stoppers inserted into the shafts. Also I have graphite shafts on my irons. This combination seems to help a lot. 

Corded grips like Lamkin Crosslines will sideline me for a couple of weeks. This includes simply testing clubs in pro shops.

Thanks for your comment 😃 For how long have you been suffering from De Quervain's? One hand or both hands? How has this affected you golfing and your daily life? I will definitely try out the Bionic Men's ReliefGrip. I'm thinking about using gloves on both hands, do you think that's a good idea? I've actually been thinking about buying the Golf Pride CP2 Pro Midsize Grips. I'm using standard size om my grips now and I'm actually supposed to wear midsize due to the size of my hands. Maybe I've been squeezing the golf club too hard. I will consider adding sting stoppers if I change grips. I'm already using graphite shafts.