Zapped again ....

I knew my arm and elbow wouldn't be 100% better after the surgery in October 2006. I knew it wouldn't be back to completely normal. It was actually amazingly good after just 60 days actually!

However, shortly after I started playing cello again in September, I started getting numbness in the top of my right hand. It would happen whilst doing just about anything, including not doing a single thing. It would start up my right thumb area, sometimes include the index and middle fingers, and radiate up my arm. It felt different than the compression in the elbow of the ulna nerve. It hurt too.

So, I showed up at the orthopedic surgeon's last week and told him what I've been experiencing as of late. I didn't want to be there. I was done with the Year of the Elbow. But I did the only thing I could do, other than ignore it. Dr. S*** sent me to the nerve doctor, again....

Being zapped again by the very kind Dr. W*** was worse than the first time. I knew it would hurt again. I knew what to anticipate.

Yet again, Dr. W*** was as wonderful as he could possibly be, treating me as a person and taking the time to talk me through the painful zapping process. He explained exactly what he was doing, and what he was looking for. I told him I was going to blog this, so this is my giant THANK YOU! to Dr. W***! (Wait for the applause!)

Diagnosis (to be confirmed by Dr. S***) is that I have yet another compressed nerve - a branch of the radial nerve - the posterior interosseus nerve.

Fig. 1. —Drawing shows course of radial nerve (thick arrows) deep in relation to brachioradialis muscle (arrowheads) at elbow where radial nerve divides into posterior interosseous nerve (thin arrows) and superficial radial nerve. S = supinator.


To be continued.....(sigh)