groomers and carpal tunnel surgery

[dobemom]

I am having carpal tunnel surgery next month. Have any of you had CT surgery and if so how long were you out of work ?? I have owned a small shop and work by myself, so I do it all. Just wondering how long other groomers have been out of work with this surgery. I groom small breed dogs only.
Thanks

[janelle]

I will be watching this thread as I get the tingles also and finger tips go numb I sleep with braces on my wrists ..gotten injections in the once

[sittingpretty]

There was alot of conversation on this quite a while back, you may want to lokk for it. I followed it as I have problems too.

I have a massage therapist that has given me excercises to relieve some pain. Also, I wear arthritis/ CP gloves at night. They help alot, I can usually sleep all night by wearing them. Without them I often woke up during the night in pain.

You may have to wait a day or two for answers to this because of the holiday rush. Good luck.


sittingpretty

[doggydivas]

I had CT surgery last January. I was out of work for 6 weeks. then went back part time for about 2 weeks to get back in the swing of things. After that I was back to normal. And I recommend ANYONE having problems with CTS to get the surgery. Best dang thing I ever did! Good luck on your surgery....

[RevWind]

I will be watching this thread as I get the tingles also and finger tips go numb I sleep with braces on my wrists ..gotten injections in the once

In my experience, all my tingling and aches go away with a variety of stretching exercises and regular Rolfing sessions. My Rolfer got rid of a numbness issue in my arms I'd been dealing with for a year, in 1 session. Hasn't been back since. I picked up another numbing issue farther down the arm, and she got rid of that in 1 session too. I see a massage therapist regularly in addition to the Rolfing. I also do stretches occasionally in between houses, or when I get home, or when I get to bed. A lot of the numbing problems we have are based on nerve entrapment from over-used, tight muscles. If dealt with quickly and often, it greatly reduces the need for surgery and drugs, both of which leave you in a less than perfect state in the long run.
Groomers think massage and other complementary therapies are a luxury. They're not. They're a requirement in our line of work. Most of our problems stem from overused and uncared for muscles, which later develop into spinal, tendon, or nerve problems, which later develop into more permanent problems that lead to drugs and surgery. Neither of which "solve" our original problems. They complicate them and create other problems.

I've only been in the grooming industry 6.5 years, but it's certainly been long enough to develop the usual aches and pains and numbness everyone else gets. What I don't understand is why everyone is so quick to go the route of drugs/injections and surgery when a lot of our problems are relatively easily maintained or even avoided with self care and healthy therapies.

I started out as a brand new massage therapist, just fresh out of massage school, though still in college. I was only a bather to get through college and massage school and to help pay for them. I switched over to grooming because the massage places I'd spent 2 years applying to wanted more experience than I had to offer. I'm glad I switched because I'm much happier working with animals than people. But my massage background has helped considerably in keeping myself moving. Soon after I got into grooming, I found this board and found out what I could expect a few years down the road with injuries and surgery and injections and it scared the living daylights out of me. I didn't want to end up with a useless broken body before I was even 30. So I took my knowledge of the "alternative" therapies, experimented with several, and found what has worked for me so far. I'm not saying my life is all perfect, peachy keen and super healthy. I have my massage and Rolfing set up on an every other week basis BECAUSE I don't do the self care as often as I should, but I'm aware of what I can do on my own to reduce or even eliminate my aches and pains when they come up between sessions.

Sorry to go on and on. I just want everyone to be aware that there are so many options out there that aren't as drastic and potentially damaging as injections and surgery. They have their place, but not as a first line of defense.

[janelle]

What I don't understand is why everyone is so quick to go the route of drugs/injections and surgery when a lot of our problems are relatively easily maintained or even avoided with self care and healthy therapies.
.

This has been an ongoing problem for me I have been grooming about 27 yrs and I have been though the massage therapy , workers comp, chiropractor and rolfing starting about 20 yrs ago to present

Surgery is my last option ,I have had several dr's(not just MD's) tell me that my anatomy is prone to this syndrome . I have also had ganglion cyts removed from the tops of both wrists . Nothing about this thought of this surgery is a quick to act sort of thing .yes I agree the massage rolfing and chiro both should be tried 1st ,with workers comp and mostly use of my own private insurance. nothing has helped .
I may HAVE to get surgery

[petpalswi]

how did it go?

I am having carpal tunnel surgery next month. Have any of you had CT surgery and if so how long were you out of work ?? I have owned a small shop and work by myself, so I do it all. Just wondering how long other groomers have been out of work with this surgery. I groom small breed dogs only.
Thanks

I had my right wrist done on the 7th. a little nervous. it feels too good. a little achy cuz I use it and shouldt, but no pain. I get my left wrist done on the 21st. did you have the surgery? maybe, you might not be typing yet. let us know. the people I have talked to say it was the best thing they ever did. hope so. I want to do this job a little longer.

[heartmadeforyou]

Bi-lateral Carpel Tunnel Surgery

I'm not a professional groomer (I do groom my own Maltese) but I am a professional machine quilter. I had both wrists done at the same time because I couldn't afford to be out of work for two different recovery times.

I had gotten to the point where I couldn't hold a pencil, seam ripper, paint brush, etc. I use both hands equally and both were just as bad. Not only did I have pain, but I also had numbness that never let up. I went from having some problems managed by alternative therapy (for about 6 years) to having severe problems rather quickly.

My doc said it was a combination of entering menopause, the vibration from my old machine, and moving into a new house (did alot of painting/repairs myself.) He said that when a woman goes through hormonal changes her connective tissues can thicken. For me this caused the carpel tunnel problem to flare-up.

I regained feeling in my hands and had no tingling right after surgery. I was back to work 6 weeks after surgery. It was hard not to do things sooner because I felt so much better. I still use alot of care not to cause myself to have wrist problems again (ergonomics, alternative therapy, etc.) and I don't have as much strength in my grip, but it was well worth the surgery and recovery.

Good luck!!!

[Yorkie_Gal]

Carpal Tunnel has reared it's ugly head once again in my life.
Years ago and I mean YEARS, I had carpal tunnel release on both wrists at the same time. In my early twenties I was diagnosed with rheumatoid(sp) arthritis, even though the factor never came up in my blood. With that I developed carpal tunnel, as I also worked with horses and there was alot of wrist action. Almost 5 years ago, I became a dog groomer...........well, for the past few weeks, my wrists have been bothering me. I'm back to wearing my braces when I'm not working. On the advice of another groomer, and the pharmacist, I started vitamin b6 yesterday. For those of you suffering from carpal tunnel, google vitamin b6 and carpal tunnel.......... I was suprised!!!!! And I'm trying it.

[pjsgroom]

I worked in a factory for 20 plus years before I started grooming. I had surgery on both hands at different times. I had tryed all the exercises and cortizone injections before having surgery. Since I have had my hands done no more pain. I just hope it doesn't come back now that I'm grooming. To those of you that are having it done, My dr. told me to be very agressive with using it afterwards. It hurts like hell but you have got to use it the best excercise I found was using a hand held can opener and brushing my horses. I was back to work in about 2 wks each time.

[Jacsrbetter]

Carpal tunnel

After grooming dogs and cats for 15 years I got the carpal tunnel. My friend got that surgery and it didn't work. So then I didn't want to go threw it. I quit grooming and did other jobs. After 4 years of missing grooming I still feel pain and drop things. I am just afraid the surgery will not work. I just don't do as many dogs as I use to.

[Robinell]

laproscopic surgery

I stood the pain for 8 years. I had the surgery on both hands the day after Christmas 2008. I will never regret it. I was back to work in 9 days, and grooming with no assistance in about 3 weeks. Research surgeons very carefully. My only problem now is arthritis in both s from overuse.

[Gee]

I have been grooming for only a few years and was wondering why my hand was tingling constanly and the numbness woke me up at night. Thanks very much for the insights. Is it caused by the avibrations of the clippers or just overuse in general grooming?