Comments on: They should do all assistive technology this way.

By: amber

amber — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 16:40:19 +0000

I studied anatomy and most movement in your hands is controlled by muscles in the forearm. flexing the thumb across the hand is the only muscle actually in your hand. Everything else is a tendon, you can see the movement in the right position or on built guys when they show-off.

By: ballastexistenz

ballastexistenz — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:29:00 +0000

I was actually diagnosed (with hypermobility syndrome, not EDS or Marfan’s) by a jaw specialist of all things. It turns out he screens his patients for it if (like me) they’re having trouble with their jaw popping out or dislocating. Because it’s one common cause of it. (He also found some structural problems so he said it was probably a combination of both.) I’d previously been to doctors who told me I could not be in pain because I was so flexible (headdesk), so I just barely had the nerve to admit widespread joint pain to this guy. I’m glad I did though — ankle braces, finger splints, and assorted modifications to my wheelchair changed my life.

By: s. johnston

s. johnston — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:46:45 +0000

Check out edfn.org–the Ehlers-Danlos website. There is lots of helpful practical advice there. Also, to be properly diagnosed it helps to see a specialist in this type of disorder (EDS, Marfan syndrome) such as a geneticist. I wear the thumb splints too, and when I wear them I have little or no pain–without them, I’m in pain again after a few days. I get a lot of “nice bracelet, kinda punkish!” comments.

By: Nyara

Nyara — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 09:38:42 +0000

I’ve seen this post before, but I just noticed that I grip pens the same way you do without the splints. Which would explain why I write so slowly, not to mention the pain it causes. Even a short note makes my forearm start hurting. Writing anything of substantial length, like what I had to do in school, is literally agonizing. (The last time I had to hand-write an essay, my arm was spasming by the end.)

By: Tacitus

Tacitus — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 07:48:15 +0000

Mucho agreement, Evonne

By: Evonne

Evonne — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:49:05 +0000

Mmmm, yes, those triangular things smelled awesome! Sweetish, and texturey. But yeah, they didn’t make writing any easier. I think they made it harder.

By: Andrea S.

Andrea S. — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:35:55 +0000

I wouldn’t have thought of it until I saw your comment, but it makes sense that arm muscles would be affected too. You’ve mentioned gripping pens, etc., harder without the splints (so your fingers will grip the pen enough to actually move it rather than just bending backwards). I’m not exactly a muscle/physiologist/anatomy specialist, but I believe the muscles between the wrist and elbow are involved in certain types of finger/hand movements.

Incidentally, I have recently realized (after being alerted by a neurologist who was checking me out for something completely unrelated) that I seem to have mild hypermobility in some of my fingers. No other joints I don’t think. And not even all my fingers. But one very slightly affected finger does seem to be the one I use for holding a pen. So I have to wonder now if that might be part of why my handwriting is so terrible!

By: Stefan

Stefan — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:39:33 +0000

Most of the muscles used for gripping are in your forearm, so maybe that’s the connection.

By: ballastexistenz

ballastexistenz — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 22:02:57 +0000

I get both hand and arm cramps, and these things helped with both. (I was surprised they worked on things like my arms being sore up near the wrists and elbows, but they did.)

By: tacitus

tacitus — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:08:46 +0000

I don’t get hand cramps–I get arm cramps. I dun geddit