It’s been almost a month since I went to the emergency room with an injury. I’ve been taking Aescin Teva and Neuromultivit every day since then. Recovery has been slow but steady. In those early days I hardly used my right hand because I would barely open it, and I couldn’t apply any pressure with it. I did most of my computer work with voice to text and by maneuvering with my left hand. Being unsure about how much I should use the hand and how much I should rest it, I give preference to resting it for the first two weeks. I massaged my arms and hands several times a day.
After a fortnight, I decided I could do a bit more. I started to use my right hand as much as possible for doing chores, even if I needed to use my left hand to help it. This was when I started using my pointing finger to type. The tingling in my arm and fingers was still very pronounced.
Combining Eastern and Western Medicine
During the third week, I decided to try acupuncture. I had regular acupuncture treatments while I lived in Japan and figured it wouldn’t hurt my progress. After an extensive questionnaire, the acupuncturist treated me with needles and some gentle massage. I was still suffering from shoulder pain and taking (over the counter) painkillers before bed every night. The pain and discomfort regularly woke me up from my sleep. I would sit up in bed several times during the night and even tried to sleep on the couch. The acupuncturist suggested moxibustion. I had also tried it in Japan, where it was a applied as a hot compress. This time, she attached two cones made of herbs to my shoulder and lit them (like an incense cone). She took them off once I felt their heat on my skin. Moxibustion is used to reduce inflammation. It may be effective but it smells terrible. The entire process took about 1 hour. At the end, the acupuncturist said that it might be helpful to have 3-4 treatments in a short time frame. She said that I should decide if I wanted to come back in a few days depending on whether or not I felt any improvement. She warned that it might feel worse before it felt better.
A Turning Point for Improvement
During the acupuncture treatment, my fingers had a greater range of motion, but I seemed to lose some of the mobility as the day went on. My shoulder and hand both felt more painful the next day so I did not schedule a follow-up appointment. I did start using my hand a bit more and testing the range of motion of my shoulder. I started trying to to use my right hand more often.
This week, week 4, I started to use all my fingers for typing. My hand gets quite painful and the pinkie finger was very tingly, which meant that it sometimes hit the wrong key on the keyboard. Today, 4 weeks to the day after my fall, it almost always presses the correct key.
What’s Next in the Recovery
Today, I saw a neurology doctor for my one month follow-up. She did not do an EMG because progress is as expected, but she gave me a prescription for physiotherapy. She says that if there isn’t much improvement after 2-3 weeks of physio, then they would do an EMG. I should also continue to take the multivitamin.
Now most of my worry is about the shoulder. I can kind of comb my hair now, which is a welcome improvement. I can wear most of my clothes if I am creative and put them on with my hands and head hanging down. I’m feeling very positive about the hand so it’s time to focus on the shoulder.
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