Wrist Ganglion

[kaiowas]

Hello all

After injuring my wrist 5 months ago at work I had an MRI on the wrist to tell me it was Ganglion, which isn't visible on the outside like I see on the some of the images on google. It's located deep within my wrist and very very small, 4mm apparently, however because of its location whenever I bend my wrist back or apply any pressure it feels as if the bones are pressing together. It is near impossible to do push-ups without pain and after trying a handstand for the first time in 5 months, it was very unpleasant. I spent three months in a splint and have been taking anti-inflammatories for 5 months now and it feels exactly the same. After seeing my GP and the hand surgeon, who insist that I didn't hurt my wrist at work (strange how it started hurting the exact moment my hand was twisted while dragging a 20kg object) and I must have done it somewhere else. They seem to downplay the Ganglion. However, I find it extremely frustrating considering there is very little I can do at gym without pain.

After my own research (typing 'ganglion' in google) a lot of the articles state that is common in gymnastics and weight lifting and for the life of me I can't see how anyone would be able to train with a ganglion, and considering mine feels exactly the same after 5 months of rest and there is no time limit on how long they heal I thought it would be a more well known problem?

Anyone else experienced a ganglion and found it healed? Because I am getting impatient and I'm tempted to opt for the surgery and have it sliced out of me.

[Alvaro Antolinez]

I also have a pain like this at both wrists from tumbling (at least trying ) in a too soft mat. Although I dont know if it is a ganglion I feel the same pain you describe since July. It didn't improved since then but I keept trying handstands and suports on rings ( it doesn't hurt on suports I don't know why). Two weeks ago I decided not to do a single flexing movement, it has improved but don't want to test it to its maximum since the last time I tried some days ago It began tu hurt a bit again. I must be healed for the seminar!!!! I hope this works, but need some opinions aswell. ( definetely surgery is not an option)

[Philip Chubb]

I don't know if it was ganglion, but I used to be a bboy for a while and eventually earned myself a pair of very injured wrist. The wrist series here after many many months finally fixed them to the point where I no longer feel any pain when I move my wrist.

[Blairbob]

the ganglion is a noticeable bump of fluid. i asked my friend's dad who is a senior nurse about it and he was pretty useless

i got mine soon into gymnastics and smashed and broke it against a hardwood fence edge. not what the medical community will reccomend. i've heard the procedure can be hit or miss and they can come back. personally I just got sick of it.

[Alvaro Antolinez]

Well Blairbob that ireally is a Paleo kind of surgery! . I have been trying the wrist prehab since summer but it seems to don´t work right now as the inflammation is too high, some rest seems to improve it enough to begin rehab-prehab.

[Blairbob]

the ganglion impeded my ability to wrist flex and very little mobility work would make it better back then. it still would impede mobility of it.

[John Parsons]

A guy at work had the visible ganglion issue, a few people including the nurse present recommended the phone book method, similar to Blairbobs just the modern version, and it worked a treat. I understand it to be a build up of fluid solidifying so a hard whack breaks it up and allows the body to deal with it.

Strangely on the same job the gaffer had an internal ganglion in his ankle. This however was only treated with surgery. He was informed no amount of rest can heal it. although that was one surgeons opinion and he makes money out of it.

[kaiowas]

I hear they are referred to as "bible bumps" because people used to whack a bible on the bump and the ganglion would disappear (not due to a spiritual miracle but because of the weight of the book). However, this method won't work on me (believe me, I tried... it just hurts) and as John said the ones deep inside usually require surgery. But I get different views from different people and some tell me it will go away on its own, others say that surgery is the only option. However, as John pointed out the surgeon would be making money from it and a lot of people have testified that the surgery made it worse, as they spent months in a cast which left them with a very stiff wrist. It's a hard choice. I'm tempted to try and make it worse so that it protrudes out of the skin so I can use the bible/phone book method, but I'm uncertain it will protrude from the skin because it is deep within the wrist instead sitting on top like it does with most people. I did try a handstand the other day, just as a test of the pain, it was rather excruciating, I think it hurt more than when I broke my finger. Regardless, any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated.

[Blairbob]

See about the procedure where they just drain it.

[Alvaro Antolinez]

I just went to a hosteopath and he told me that what I got is a semilunar wrist bone slightly moved( he has fixed it) he also told me this is quite common with people who has stoped a fall with his hand ( this same bone is the one that usually brokens in that case), while not the same injury as the ganglion , this may help some people who suffers pain at the wrist when doing handstands. I still have to see if it really helps me, but I suppose it will do.

Lets see if I can practice handstands at the semminar!

[Mikael Kristiansen]

I am doing several hours of handstands every day, and I have had a ganglion on my right wrist a couple of times. They basically are membranes with carpal fluid inside, and mine appeared on the top of my wrist after too many drops to planche from handstand on the floor. I never had much pain, but it was slightly discomfortable to do handstand. The first time, I tried smashing it, which had it return a month or so later. After that I stopped doing planche drops entirely for a while, and it dissapeared completely. I also know others who had them dissapear after a while. Anti inflammatories will do you no good as far as I know, since ganglions have nothing to do with inflammation.

How much can you flex your wrist without pain? If you can get it to a certain angle without pain you should build yourself a couple of decline handstand blocks. What you do is that you try to find the angle where you can apply pressure without pain and cut yourself 2 blocks(fitting your palm, I can give you some measurements tomorrow) which you cut at an angle so that you can do handstands, pushups, etc on these. In the circus community this is quite normal. I have a guy in my class who had wrist surgery over a year ago, and up until now he has been doing handstands on decline blocks to save his wrist. He can finally do on the floor without pain, but for longer sessions he still uses those.

If there seems like there is no other option and you can not flex your wirst enough to use blocks for teh time being, maybe you should look into the surgical solutions.