Wrist Osteoarthritis

Hello everyone,

I am seeking advice/experience from others here. Long story short, I am currently 29 years old and have been having hand/wrist pain and swelling on the pinky side of my left hand (I play golf right handed) for about 4 months. Got an MRI and saw a hand surgeon, and discovered "high-grade" arthritis between two of the bones in my left wrist (hamate and triquetrum bones). Basically, this means cartilage has been worn down to almost nothing in one specific spot between the two bones, and is nearly bone-on-bone.

As of now, it only really hurts on the initial takeaway, and does not bother me at any other points in the swing. The pain is moderate and not severe, and seems to loosen up after hitting about the first 20 balls on the range and doesn't bother me for the remainder of the round (and is not stiff/painful until the next morning).

Has anyone experienced this, and suggest a course of action? I got a cortisone injection, and really saw zero results in swelling/pain (doesn't hurt that much doing daily activities anyways, only golf). The next step according to the hand surgeon was arthroscopic surgery to clean out the joint and grind down the bones so they are not touching each other. I am not keen on any surgery, especially of the wrist, but if it needs to be done, fine. Is it anyone's opinion that foregoing the surgery and trying to just deal with the pain via physical therapy/strengthening could be a better option?

I'm getting a second opinion Thursday, but just wanted to see if anyone has gone through the same thing and what their course of action/results were.

Thanks!

I had this exact issue in June 2014. I took two weeks off from playing, but the (considerable) pain remained even when I started playing again.

Because taking more time off golf was a lame option, I decided to reinforce my left wrist instead. I tried quite a few things here, but the best solution was to use beige, ace bandage-style stretchy tape (available at any pharmacy).

Wrap this tightly around your left wrist just under the palm pad (3 or 4 wraps ought to do); you want to make sure the wrap is tight enough and significant enough to provide some structural support for your wrist.

After about 45 days, I no longer needed the tape anymore. I've not had any reoccurrences of this injury, either.

Hopefully a similar solution will work for you.

I had this exact issue in June 2014. I took two weeks off from playing, but the (considerable) pain remained even when I started playing again.

 

Because taking more time off golf was a lame option, I decided to reinforce my left wrist instead. I tried quite a few things here, but the best solution was to use beige, ace bandage-style stretchy tape (available at any pharmacy).

 

Wrap this tightly around your left wrist just under the palm pad (3 or 4 wraps ought to do); you want to make sure the wrap is tight enough and significant enough to provide some structural support for your wrist.

 

After about 45 days, I no longer needed the tape anymore. I've not had any reoccurrences of this injury, either.

 

Hopefully a similar solution will work for you.

Thanks for the advice. Did you get an MRI or anything to diagnose what was originally wrong, or just went straight to the ACE bandage and that worked?

I didn't get an MRI, but a specialist suggested it might be a slight TFCC tear or a hamate fracture. Because I retained my range of motion and was not in crippling pain all of the time, I think my injury was the former and not the latter. Hamate injuries for golfers are like torn labrums for pitchers—they could be the beginning of the end.

I tried a few solutions; the most effective were the stretchy athletic bandage tape and the "wrist widget" (available on Amazon). The widget was effective but very uncomfortable (and sweaty) where my wrist meets my palm pad. The tape was more comfortable and actually seemed to provide greater stability as well.

I didn't get an MRI, but a specialist suggested it might be a slight TFCC tear or a hamate fracture. Because I retained my range of motion and was not in crippling pain all of the time, I think my injury was the former and not the latter. Hamate injuries for golfers are like torn labrums for pitchers—they could be the beginning of the end.

 

I tried a few solutions; the most effective were the stretchy athletic bandage tape and the "wrist widget" (available on Amazon). The widget was effective but very uncomfortable (and sweaty) where my wrist meets my palm pad. The tape was more comfortable and actually seemed to provide greater stability as well.

Thanks again. The MRI showed my TFCC was normal, just the arthritis between the hamate and the triquetrum bones in the hand/wrist. I feel like surgery is a little extreme, considering everyday life activities don't cause pain. Plus, there is no guarantee surgery will solve the problem and it will also put me out for 6-9 months. Hopefully the hand surgeon says it won't get worse if you keep playing because I can deal with the pain, but just don't want to cause irreversible damage that cannot be solved later on.

Although presentation was a bit different, I started developing OA in my hands at age 35 (or maybe sooner). Mostly MCP and PIP joints and pain was limited to impact and then general soreness during and after playing.

If you haven't, switch to graphite shafts in your irons. That is what had the biggest beneficial impact for me. I probably would have quit the game a long time ago if I had to keep playing steel. Depending on your swing, the stock, off the shelf ones you find in stores may not be the best option but there are some custom options available out there that can suite almost any type of swing.

Also try a range of different grip sizes and possibly softer grip material. Anything to reduce the grip pressure and tension should help.

Although presentation was a bit different, I started developing OA in my hands at age 35 (or maybe sooner). Mostly MCP and PIP joints and pain was limited to impact and then general soreness during and after playing.

 

If you haven't, switch to graphite shafts in your irons. That is what had the biggest beneficial impact for me. I probably would have quit the game a long time ago if I had to keep playing steel. Depending on your swing, the stock, off the shelf ones you find in stores may not be the best option but there are some custom options available out there that can suite almost any type of swing.

 

Also try a range of different grip sizes and possibly softer grip material. Anything to reduce the grip pressure and tension should help.

Thanks. I have read that graphite shafts and softer grips help. Graphite material has been improved greatly over the past few years, so like you said they can almost fit any swing speed out there (Matt Kuchar plays graphite shafted irons if I remember correctly).

Did you ever consider surgery (not sure if there are procedures for the hand or finger joints) or did you just decide to deal with the pain? My main concern would be making the arthritis worse, although I'm not sure how much worse it could be than it's current bone-on-bone situation. If this is the worst the pain will get, I think I could manage with heat/ice, pain meds, and maybe physical therapy.

Did you ever consider surgery (not sure if there are procedures for the hand or finger joints) or did you just decide to deal with the pain? My main concern would be making the arthritis worse, although I'm not sure how much worse it could be than it's current bone-on-bone situation. If this is the worst the pain will get, I think I could manage with heat/ice, pain meds, and maybe physical therapy.

Last I checked with my rheumatologist, there is no procedure and not sure I can expect any in the near future. It would effectively require an actual joint replacement (like what is done with hips, knees, etc..). A bit different from the metacarpal joints which sometimes can be altered or even fused to prevent contact or relative motion (and pain) but without loosing significant functionality.

Although presentation was a bit different, I started developing OA in my hands at age 35 (or maybe sooner). Mostly MCP and PIP joints and pain was limited to impact and then general soreness during and after playing.

 

If you haven't, switch to graphite shafts in your irons. That is what had the biggest beneficial impact for me. I probably would have quit the game a long time ago if I had to keep playing steel. Depending on your swing, the stock, off the shelf ones you find in stores may not be the best option but there are some custom options available out there that can suite almost any type of swing.

 

Also try a range of different grip sizes and possibly softer grip material. Anything to reduce the grip pressure and tension should help.

 

Thanks. I have read that graphite shafts and softer grips help. Graphite material has been improved greatly over the past few years, so like you said they can almost fit any swing speed out there (Matt Kuchar plays graphite shafted irons if I remember correctly).

 

Did you ever consider surgery (not sure if there are procedures for the hand or finger joints) or did you just decide to deal with the pain? My main concern would be making the arthritis worse, although I'm not sure how much worse it could be than it's current bone-on-bone situation. If this is the worst the pain will get, I think I could manage with heat/ice, pain meds, and maybe physical therapy.

Same boat. Own a indoor facility with sims, not swinging sucks. Any suggestions on the graphite shafts? I always sort of breeze by the threads about them. Now it seems pretty important.

Any suggestions on the graphite shafts? I always sort of breeze by the threads about them. Now it seems pretty important.

Lots of possibilities and will depend a lot of your swing and particular preferences. Finding the right shaft weight tends to be the most important aspect of the choice. What iron shafts are you playing now? and were you fit to them or do you consider them a good fit? That might be the best place to start.

also look at changing your grip and your grips, maybe more wraps of tape to make the grip much fatter on the lower part. This will ease the amount of force you need to grip the clubs.

I have had issues in my left wrist at impact and tendentious as a result. The problem is caused my my wrist is in a cupped position then rolling it into a flat or bowed position while the wrist is hinged towards the ground fully. Visually, hinging towards the ground fully would be like having the palm facing upwards and the hand hinged to the right as far as it can go. When i have my hands a bit lower into impact so my wrist is in more of a natural position (relaxed position) I can roll my wrist from cupped to flat without causing tendentious in my left wrist between my pinky and my outer arm.

When i had tendentious in my left wrist between my pinky and my outer arm, if I set-up with my hands hinged towards the ground, in my takeaway I would get pain as well. In my case I was having to lift the club head up more to get the shaft to parallel at the end of my takeaway. I would carry most the weight of the club head in my left hand. To fix that problem, I dropped my hands down a little in set-up so my wrists were in a natural "relaxed" position. From that point in-motion my wrists didn't have to carry as much load in one area to get the shaft to parallel with the ground at the end of my takeaway.

One thing I started to notice with the change in set-up to my wrist position is that the frequency of the hands hinging down at impact causing the tendentious was also reduced. One of the things I have been told in gold is to return the hands at impact roughly how they started in address so maybe that's what's going on in my swing sub-consciously.

That stretchy athletic tape might not be a bad idea to give some extra support in the wrist. If you were to tape just bellow the palm but over the wrist, it would be a lot harder to hing the wrist downward towards the pinky.

I would seek the advice of a chiropractor that specializes in extremities.

Osteoarthritis is a common finding (although to be honest, at your age, it's liar less common). While it shows a degenerative process is taking place in your carpal bones, the osteoarthritis in itself does not mean you have to have pain with it. You are just as likely to have no symptoms with it, than you are to have symptoms.

I'm presuming they ruled out any inflammatory arhritides.

Any old injuries to the same hand/wrist?

I would seek the advice of a chiropractor that specializes in extremities.

 

Osteoarthritis is a common finding (although to be honest, at your age, it's liar less common). While it shows a degenerative process is taking place in your carpal bones, the osteoarthritis in itself does not mean you have to have pain with it. You are just as likely to have no symptoms with it, than you are to have symptoms.

 

I'm presuming they ruled out any inflammatory arhritides.

 

Any old injuries to the same hand/wrist?

Yes, no inflammatory arthritis outside of that one particular area in the carpal bones. I did break that same wrist back in 2001 running backwards at baseball conditioning. I also had a boxer's fracture in that same hand in 2007. They think these prior injuries have something to do with it.

As a side note, just got back from a hand surgeon for a second opinion. He basically said to play on it until it hurts to much to play, then he would consider surgery. He feels that since it feels good enough now to play/live daily life, surgery was risky (could be better, worse, or the same after surgery), and was especially hesitant because I was an avid golfer. The first surgery option would be cleaning out the joint, and drilling holes in the carpal bones to try and get some cartilage to form between the bones. The second option would be a partial joint fusion (mid-carpal joint fusion) that would cause some loss in range of motion of the wrist. I do know of a professional senior tour player (Bart Bryant) that plays with a TOTAL left wrist fusion, which is unbelievable. My guess is it is a very body oriented swing with minimal wrist c0ck, probably keeping the clubface pretty shut throughout the swing. I believe he said in an interview it was very hard for him to hit a fade (due to a shut club face).

Thanks all for your responses.

Hello everyone,

 

I am seeking advice/experience from others here. Long story short, I am currently 29 years old and have been having hand/wrist pain and swelling on the pinky side of my left hand (I play golf right handed) for about 4 months. Got an MRI and saw a hand surgeon, and discovered "high-grade" arthritis between two of the bones in my left wrist (hamate and triquetrum bones). Basically, this means cartilage has been worn down to almost nothing in one specific spot between the two bones, and is nearly bone-on-bone.

 

As of now, it only really hurts on the initial takeaway, and does not bother me at any other points in the swing. The pain is moderate and not severe, and seems to loosen up after hitting about the first 20 balls on the range and doesn't bother me for the remainder of the round (and is not stiff/painful until the next morning).

 

Has anyone experienced this, and suggest a course of action? I got a cortisone injection, and really saw zero results in swelling/pain (doesn't hurt that much doing daily activities anyways, only golf). The next step according to the hand surgeon was arthroscopic surgery to clean out the joint and grind down the bones so they are not touching each other. I am not keen on any surgery, especially of the wrist, but if it needs to be done, fine. Is it anyone's opinion that foregoing the surgery and trying to just deal with the pain via physical therapy/strengthening could be a better option?

 

I'm getting a second opinion Thursday, but just wanted to see if anyone has gone through the same thing and what their course of action/results were.

 

Thanks!

Thread likely closed but if anyone is listening... I have not been able to complete more than a few holes recently before the pain in my right wrist/thumb joint area near the wrist makes it impossible to hold the club on the takeaway and transition. Club turns in my hands or I do some sort of weird moves to lessen the pain and hit toey duck hooks almost whiffs. So I walk off the course. Now signed up for stem cell injections and while I know that is iffy for the hand (and really expensive) I see it now as the only help.

When I had a real flare up 2 years ago I went on this anti inflammatory diet, there are plenty out there, but basically I was trying to address any food sensitivities that might contribute to inflammation. Prevailing research now in osteoarthritis is that inflammation causes arthritic conditions so if you address the condition without addressing the inflammation it will recur--maybe not exactly in the same spot but it will come back because it's the real reason you're experiencing arthritic conditions.