I have carpal tunnel in my strong hand. Yesterday, my physician suggested a cortisone shot into my wrist. The needle stuck far into my wrist, dodging all the little bones in the wrist.

At first, there was no affect. 4 hours later, my wrist strength is completely gone. My grip strength is almost non existent. The pain now is a little more than the pain before.

A buddy wanted to go shooting, and we already had plans to go this morning. No way I'd be able to shoot a center-fire pistol. I brought the M&P 22. Lightweight & almost no recoil. Shooting was still painful, but I could still shoot with a wrist support cinched on tight.

I learned today:

1. Depending on the level of physical malady in a person's hand/wrist, the M&P 22 can be the only gun the individual can fire.

2. The pain during shooting was worthwhile. Shooting in less than optimal condition pushed my limits in trying to apply grip, stance, sight, and trigger press. I know my current limit, and that I need to practice more in less than optimal physical condition.

3. I have to put more practice time shooting weak hand both single weak handed, & two handed with the weak hand primary.

Right now, my M&P 22 is my primary HD pistol. I'm absolutely grateful that I own one.

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-John

That .22LR bullet has about the kinetic energy of a 12 Ga. #00 Buchshot ball. And there are nine more where that came from.

The .22LR will do the job if shot placement is right.

Hope you recover quickly and get back to centerfires.

__________________
Fuego

It takes a while for the cortisone to take effect, and it is painful in the injection site for a while. I've had a couple of them in my knee, and within a few days I would tell a big difference. Give it some time, and I hope you get better. In the mean time, you may want to consider giving your wrist a rest, and lay off of any shooting until the pain goes down. When you have pain your body is trying to tell you something.

I had carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists. Cortisone was the first treatment tried. It worked the first time, but I never experienced the loss of wrist strength that you have reported. I don't think that is normal and you need to see your doctor about it. And I think you should consult an orthopedic surgeon about your problem.
The surgeon who treated my wrists told me that he would only do cortisone three times, then surgery was the only treatment left. Three cortisone shots to my left wrist over a period of several months alleviated the problem for a time, but I finally went for surgery. I wish I had done that sooner.
Surgery was quick and I experienced very little pain. In fact, I did not use any of the pain reliever medication he gave me. It was so successful that I had him to the right wrist without even trying cortisone there.
Result - I have had no symptoms of carpal tunnel since the surgery and it has been more than ten years for the left wrist and almost as long for the right.
Good luck to you. See your doctor!

- - - - Buckspen

Thanks for the advice Buckspen. This is my first experience with cortisone. My wrist is still weak, but I'm regaining some range of motion and strength. I have an appointment to see my physician next week.

I think that the cortisone did enough to relieve the symptoms of carpal tunnel that other pains not associated with carpal tunnel are now coming to the forefront. My wrist hasn't felt like this since I changed my weightlifting goals from pushing heavy loads.

Thank you for your insights & giving me some frame of reference to put this into context.

__________________
-John

JaPes,
Time to learn to be ambidextrous. I almost cut my right hand off in a snowmobile accident in 83 (hit a patch of ice doing about 80 on my Liquafire on a curve on the lake where I live). Got everything about 90% back,but learned how to be left handed quick. Durring tons of therapy and pure bordom,I started shooting again only left handed. Now I'm equil both handed. I had carpal tunnel start in a few years back and lucked out with wrist braces. So far so good.... I can still shoot (love off hand shoots).

I'm definitely going to put time in shooting weak hand only. Having to shoot weak hand right now is just a minor inconvenience. What if I have to shoot weak hand during an emergency? Yup. I got to get on that quick.

__________________
-John

The CCI Velocitor rounds expand to .36 and penetrate 14+ inches. If limited to a 22, that would be a good choice for Defensive ammo.

Could be a great time for weak hand shooting practice...the M&P 22 is a great option in your case... My platoon Cpl. had the same problem, he did have surgery done. Hope you heal up well and good luck. P.S. those CCI Stingers are a great .22 option!!!

John - I would definitely see an orthopedic specialist. When I described my carpal tunnel symptions, my primary care physician sent me immediately to the specialist. Orthopedic guys are better equipped to deal with this sort of problem than a GP physician.
I might add that recovery from surgery was quick and no rehab was needed. I was back shooting in less than a month. This is really minor surgery these days.

- - - - Buckspen