Ok guys so i have some questions hopefully you can
alleviate my mental anguish:(. so i was shot in the
forearm/wrist....went in through my wrist came out
by my elbow, and ive been to the
specialist(orthopedist) when it first happened in ER
and a week later for a checkup, we talked about how
I could not feel my pinkie and only about half of my
ring finger, he performed a couple test(i was xrayed
and all that other stuff when i was in ER the day
of), he said i had Ulnar Nerve Palsy, he also said
that 75-80% of the time, this heals on its own,
because he said my nerve was badly bruised. i should
also add that icant feel those fingers and those two
fingers are stuck in "claw deformity" and when i
flex them(or try to)...the gun shot hole moves if i
open my hand(as much as i can, cuz its painful to
flex it open) you can see it pull up and if close it
into a fist(which i can do cuz its already claw
hand), u can see the shot push itself down, my
question is, will this really fix itself?...cuz i
could see my nerves/tendons through the hole when it
was fresh, i told the doctor this he said it was
normal, wont scar tissue form around my tendons and
cause me not to be able to move my fingers?...as its
happening now...this happened about 3 weeks ago, and
i have a constant pins needles sensation in those
fingers, should i be worried? I would be SO grateful
as this happened in my right hand and i am right
handed, i keep thinking how can this fix
itself?...it looks like my tendons nerves are too
short now to be able to open my hand so its stuck in
claw hand, its driving me insane and any help or
words of advice would awesome, thanks for any
help!.....PS. i also lost the muscle between my
thumb and pointer finger, you guys seem to know
whats up with these kind of problems, i find it
really hard to believe this will just heal and be
normal, any help or advice or thoughts would be
GREATLY appreciated as i am very down worried,
stressed and greatly concerned, thanks -John
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John,
Wow! A gun shot wound? There must be a story behind
that.
But anyway, at least the word that your getting from
the ER doctor is that your bruised nerve and Ulnar
Nerve Palsy will likely heal on it's own.
Will it really fix itself? It very well may. That's
a question only a doctor can answer. You say your
nerve was bruised. To me that sounds pretty good as
bruised things usually heal.
A long time ago I had a friend who sliced his hand
open in a fishing accident and he ended up with bent
fingers and a clawed hand. For the longest time in
the office (we worked together in an office) I would
see him using one of those TENS machines
(Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) and
watching his fingers twitch. I would also see him
pulling and yanking on his thumb and fingers
(physical therapy). I don't remember how many months
it took, but his hand and fingers eventually came
back to normal. He also told me that his doctor told
him to begin the therapy as soon as possible so his
hand and fingers don't have a chance to "set". He
would also keep his fingers/effected skin lubricated
with some kind of ointment so they would remain
supple when stretched.
In my own case (the guy in the website) my fingers
have straightened, my hand is strong and I have
pretty good dexterity mostly I believe as a result
of exercise and hand/finger therapy.
So, I would guess in your case all is not lost
(especially since the doctors didn't say so).
If I were you and I was worried about my hand and
fingers I would:
1. Gather up all the medical records, x-rays and
stuff and bring them to another nerve specialist for
a second opinion.
2. Before you go write down all the questions you
can think of that you would like answers to and ask
them at your meeting with the specialist.
3. Find out what type of therapy you should be doing
for your "claw deformity". Learn about the different
types of therapy and do them all (as much as
possible).
4. Ask the specialist your main question, how can it
fix itself and make sure you walk away with a clear
understanding. This will take away much of your
worry.
5. Ask them if you should be using splints to keep
your fingers straight.
6. Find out how far you can "push" your fingers for
therapy without causing damage.
7. Ask them also about your muscle loss.
You may have to put up with some pain when you work
your hand and fingers. That may be unavoidable, but
it's better than having a permanent condition.
I would suspect the more your move and push/stretch
your fingers, the better, and as you mentioned about
scar tissue the less chance scar tissue has to
develop (my guess).
Good luck,
Tanner
Follow-up Message
Yeah, it is quite a story, it involves a shootout
with illegal aliens bringing drugs across the
border. First off, thanks for your very fast
response, secondly i would like to expand a bit on
my diagnosis, it seems you are experienced and i
have very limited options, the company i work for
pretty much hung me out to dry and i have no
insurance, thats why im searching online low and
high, anywho, when I went to the ER, i was stabled
and fine, but I did tell them, i cant feel my pinky
and part of my ring one as i said in my previous
message to you, so when i said this, they rushed me
to San Antonio texas, to a huge hospital(according
to the ER doc, just to be safe) he said they had the
best orthopedics there, I got there and i was
treated for the actual gunshot, xrays, the whole
nine yards, then i spoke to a couple specialist, i
got evaluated to see if i would need surgery and all
that, but i guess according to my tests n results(u
know they make you flex ur hand, can u feel this,
can you make this motion ect) they said i was
bruised, i said i was numb and they just made a note
of it on the discharge papers and sent me home with
a follow up appt with the orthopedist the coming
week, I went back and pretty much got told the same
thing, its just bruised, 75%-80% chance of it
healing on its own completely and "youll be fine",
He also added that its rare that it doesnt heal when
its a gunshot and they gave me another follow up
till Feb which is ridiculous in my opinion, keep in
mind this happened early Nov, Now as im sure you
know when you see doctors, you get that feeling that
youre being rushed and they just wanna move on, i
did ask as much as i could, i see you talk to alot
of people with diff cases concerning the ulnar
nerve, have you ever seen it just heal itself?..i
guess debruise? I cant really just see it healing,
idk if im just pessimist or what, Lastly I must
apologize for flooding you with all this, i should
add, that I'm 23 yrs old and in(well was) in the
process of becoming a peace officer and maybe move
on to border patrol as you might imagine this is
making my world crumble around me because if my hand
fails to heal(im right handed) im done with my
chosen career, sorry if I made it somewhat of a sob
story Lol, it was not my intention, again thanks for
any info and advice you can provide, as far as my
insurance and such, im going to mexico to a
specialist over there, you would be surprise at how
cheap things are(but you dont feel as safe), but its
better than nothing right? Again, thanks very much
for your time Tanner -John
Response - John
From what I see on the internet the ulnar nerve does
seem to heal itself most of the time (depending on
the injury).
You might need to have a little patience because
apparently it may take a long time for the healing
to occur. Maybe that’s why they told you to come
back in February. To give your nerve time to heal?
In my own case, if my ulnar nerve didn’t repair
itself, my hand and fingers would have continued to
get worse instead of better.
As far as the people that write in with different
cases, I never hear back from them after things get
better so I have no specific knowledge of their
healing.
While you are waiting to see your specialist, you
may want to try to speed the healing process by:
1. Research and try the nerve regeneration
supplements that are on the market. They may not
help but they may be worth a try.
2. If you don’t already do it, eat healthy and take
supplements to help your body speed up the healing
process.
3. Try stuff like this. It's from one of those
linked pages below.
•Keep the elbow as straight as possible. A straight
elbow puts less pressure on the ulnar nerve.
•Avoid crossing your arms across your chest.
•Consider wearing a splint at night. Something as
simple as a towel wrapped around the elbow can help
keep it straight.
•Use elbow protectors if you play sports to avoid
bumping the elbow.
4. Buy and use a TENS machine and finger splints.
5. Exercise and stretch your hand and fingers all
the time throughout the day.
Here are a couple of sites with some related
information. Odds are you probably already have
visited them.
http://www.ssoc.co.za/nerve-entrapment.html
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Neurology/Will-bruised-nerve-regenerate-fully/show/895252
http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-303527.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100927141144.htm
Good luck with your Mexican specialist. He is
probably your best bet to get answers to all your
questions.
Tanner
Related Posts/Links:
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Muscle Atrophy & Ulnar Nerve Damage
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