My Problem Thumb

This morning I went to see a physiotherapist about my problem thumb and he observed that I’ve got a high level of arthritis in my thumb joints, along with crepitus – a grating sound or sensation in said joints.

I felt this grinding and grating most when he manipulated my right-hand thumb joints:

• The MCP, the Metacarpophalangeal joint, midway on the thumb
• The CMC, the Carpometacarpal joint at the base of the thumb

When he performed the same actions on my left hand, I didn’t feel a any ache or pain whatsoever.

“Have you ever had a hand injury?” he asked me.

I couldn’t think of a specific injury so I suspect that my main problem is wear and tear over the years and possibly my misguided attempts to strengthen my thumb joint by overdoing the hedge trimming with a basic pair of secateurs just over a year ago. That led to pain and swelling around and beyond my thumb joints.

The good news is, provided the pain stays below 5 on a scale of 1 to 10, I can keep on as normal, drawing, gardening etc, meanwhile doing some fairly undemanding exercises to keep movement in the joints and very gradually to add some strength to them.

I’m not doing myself any harm by working with a lowish level of pain, provided I don’t overdo it.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

As for my essential – also known as familial – tremor, in recent weeks I’ve made good progress, not on the tremor as such, but in controlling my frustrated reactions to it using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

CBT is pretty similar to the process I go through every time I draw, you find a calm space while staying alert and aware.

Ironically it could be that all the drawing I’ve done over the years and perhaps my attempts to control the tremor that have contributed to my high level of arthritis.

I was reassured to see that even my physio – who I guess was half my age or less – had a small level of tremor as he demonstrated some of the exercises for me. It’s natural he assured me.