If you even suspect a torn tendon or ligament, I strongly suggest you visit a hand specialist.
A few years ago, I had odd pains in my hand and wrist, mostly near the base of my thumb but intermittent and hard to describe, for many weeks. Kept thinking it would get better, but it didn't .(Oddly, one thing that really hurt was trying to cast on knitting.) Finally a nurse-practitioner, unable to diagnose it herself, insisted I see a specialist. It took him about 30 seconds to find that I had ruptured a thumb tendon, and tell me I needed a tendon replacement. Otherwise, he said, my fingers would curl uncontrollably toward my palm within a few months. So he took a tendon from the index finger, which has two, and put it in my thumb. It is outpatient surgery. Afterward you are in an odd cast for a time -- no spinning or weaving. It's not much fun, but the alternative is much worse, and apparently if I had let it go much longer, the surgery would have been far more difficult and the outcome more problematic. That may not be your problem, but if it should be, it's well worthwhile to have it checked out. I have completely recovered and have total use of that hand. Jane Reid [EMAIL PROTECTED] Carol writes: I have torn some ligament or tendon in my left thumb lifting heavy books in the library. . . . Heat helps, so make sure you keep your hands warm and even run warm water over them occasionally. To stop mail temporarily mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: set nomail To restore send: set mail
