Topic: De Quervains Tendonitis

[vaughan.barry]

Hi,
This is my first post on this forum,
I was wondering if any of the lifters on the forum have dealt with or experienced De Quervains Tendonitis of the wrist?
A friend of mine is struggling with this injury for over 6 months, and is unable to train with any serious volume or intensity,
our best guess from speaking to a number of physios is that the injury occured due to overtraining, especially due to the hook grip, specifically in the snatch...we have heard that treatment options include corticosteroid injection to break up scar tissue, and possibly
surgery on the wrist adductor tendon...however there is a shortage of any physios/surgeons/physical therapists over here (Ireland)
that have any experience in dealing with injured weightlifters....so he is obviously slow to trust a surgeon over here!
Have any forum members:
a) Had this injury and returned to competitive lifting;
b) Coached someone through this injury, or
c) Trated a weightlifter with this injury..physical therapy/surgery, etc..

What time course of recovery is common/what rehab exercises are suitable?

Sorry for the long post, just trying to help a very frustrated friend to get back under the bar and sort his life out!

Thanks for any and all advice,
Barry Vaughan, BSc Sport & Exercise Science,
University of Limerick Weightlifting Club,
Ireland

[Mike Wittmer]

Barry, I have seen this in the office but I have never heard of it in a weightlifter and I am talking over more years than I care to remember.  Weightlifting may aggravate it, as an existing problem, but I don't see how it could be the cause.  For starters, is it one or both wrists?  If both, I'd be ready to entertain weightlifting as a possible causitive factor.  But if it is just one, then it doesn't make sense.  Overtraining?  Is not the other wrist doing as much training?  Snatch grip?  Hook grip?  That should be the same for both wrists so how come one develops this and the other does not?  Maybe there is a reason but that is the type of question I would be searching.

I'd look around for other causes.  Perhaps that could explain why it has persisted so long and once that is determined, a solution can be found.

Good luck to your friend.