Minutus

I have just had a phone call from a patient of mine who has been hospitalised when she cut through her thumb carving a pumpkin for Halloween!! She cut through the tendons of her thumb and had to be operated to stitch them up. She has her thumb in plaster but has a dull ache , a tingling like pins and needles and occasionally gets a sharp pain. Before it was put in a cast she was asked if she could bend it and said that it felt as if she was bending it but it was still straight!!

I was thinking of Hypericum, Calendula or Staph. She told me that she has been taking Arnica.

Any suggestions what would be best for her to heal the tendon, stop the sensations and get it back moving again as quick as possible?

All the best
Rochelle
Registered Homeopath
EFT(Advanced) Practitioner
www.southporthomeopathy.co.uk

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I have decided on Calendula 200 - 1 dose
Ruta Grav 6 - tds
Hypericum 30 pn

When I see her in 10 days time nfor her usual monthly appointment I will decided whether she needs Staph.

Rochelle
Registered Homeopath
EFT(Advanced) Practitioner
www.southporthomeopathy.co.uk

Hi Rochelle,
I'm betting this is a situation that can be handled in a number of
ways...
The Calend 200 sounds good to me (tho I wonder if 6 would work as
well??), but beyond that, I would give her the other remedies and have
her *try* them if and as needed, and *see* what works for what
situation, and repeat only as needed. That way she has the chance to
learn what "a ruta pain" and "a hypericum pain" feel like (not that
there is only one type of pain associated with any remedy!); and if one
remedy or the other is not doing anything, she will *know*, and can
just skip it, and get on with taking what *is* helping. I am just a
huge fan of the "as-needed" method, and find that my "patients" become
just as fond of it as I am. It's just so... well, charming, to feel
the remedy kick in, and to have the familiarity and sense of control.
Much better, IMO, than passively following a schedule.

The only situations that I ever use a "schedule" for are (rarely) if
the returning symptoms might be *truly* disturbing, or perhaps if the
symptoms themselves impair judgment. Otherwise, why deprive the
patient and yourself of that delightful aspect of "education"?

Shannon
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HI Rochelle - one of the main problems encountered with severed tendons is 'when to start testing it' - I am surpprised that they have put it in a cast - is it a conventional cast? There is the possibility of adhesions if the hand is kept too still and therefore restricted movement in the future. It is necesary then to keep some movement (passive only) going in the digit affected so that the tendon continues to move a little. My partner severed a tendon (a flexor) in his finger recently and they put it in a quite convoluted cast made of plastic molded to his arm but the digits free but kept in lillte 'hammocks' attached to the cast by nylon fishing line and rubber bands. He was advised to move the finger at least once an hour during the day by moving the nylon lines manually with the other hand. The other worry is losing the muscle tone in the hand and lower arm so any exercise that doesnt involve the tendon(s) that were severed is good to keep the entire arm/hand strong - it also encourages lymphatic drainage from the area and therefore helps in the healing also. I used Ruta grav thru this time for him. It has taken some weeks to get full movement back in the hand and full stretch in the tendon - physio is very impt. We have another friend who did similar but did not push the physio and has no where near the recovery that John had. I hope that this is helpful Regards Pauline

Dear Pauline,
I believe the stitches are being taken out next week so they will have to take the cast off to do that!! She said she couldn't move the thumb because of the cast and when she was told to try and move it before it was put on she thought she had bent it but it remained straight - I thought this sounded a bit like the phantom limb sensation hence sender her Hypericum as well as the Calendula and Ruta. Am pleased to hear that your partner has made a good recovery and know that this will make my patient feel a lot better about the whole thing as she is off work, losing money and can't go back until she has full movement.

Rochelle
Registered Homeopath
EFT(Advanced) Practitioner
www.southporthomeopathy.co.uk

Rochelle John had similar in that at first it didnt move much even when he thought he was moving it - hence the passive movement is needed in the beginning - ie move the thumb (finger etc) with the other hand - not too big or gross movements but enough to start sliding the tendon along its track - the healing tendon often has quite a lump in it depending on how they did the rejoin so it can take a bit to get it going. No weight or load bearing movement for some time though (John was about 3-4 weeks) and then only build it up gradually, increasing the load as time goes on. Remember that tendons are slower than bones to heal due to having no blood supply of their own (relying on being bathed in interstitial fluid) so the movments in the arm and hand (that dont involve the tendon) are very impt in mobilising the interstitial fluid in the area so that wastes are removed and fresh fluid/nutrients/immune products have room to come in. Once the movement and strength is back in the hand getting full stretch in the tendon again can take some time and perserverence but it does come even though it will feel tight for some time. Regards Pauline

fyi

quite a number of years ago i had a serious hand accident which
included severing the tendons in my middle finger and cutting
some nerves. actually, i lost half my index finger. being very new
to homeopathys then, i had tried hyper 30c which i had avail but to
little avail. i then used hyper 200c several times daily to keep the
nerve pain down. it was tremendous. i went through the entire
healing pain free and never sufferred phantom limb syndrome.
my hand, also, has never been a weather vane as i was warned
would happen. i reduced the dosage as the need dictated.

at the time they put my hand in a half cast with a soft wrapping
to hold it. i removed the bandaging 2x daily to soak the hand.
the md directed me to not move the hand which was the jerkiest
advice and if i hadnt called him on it and requested info on
beginning exercise i probably would have very little use of the
digit. the remainder of my arm lost all muscel tone within 2 weeks.
it took several months to regain most of that strength and tone back.
so it is possible to rebuild after. i did do physical therapy for several
months. my accident was very severe, injuring all 5 digits on 1 hand

tanya

Thank you for that Tanya. Your experience is most valuable. If the Hyper 30
hasn't worked when I see her next week I will give her the 200.

All the best
Rochelle
Registered Homeopath
EFT(Advanced) Practitioner
www.southporthomeopathy.co.uk

Coming in late on this thread. Recently I treated a young woman who'd crushed and partially severed her big toe. The surgeon who reattached the toe did not expect his repair to take because the bone and flesh were so badly damaged. Pain meds were taking her out of body, making it inevitable that she'd reinjure the toe.

I gave her Hypericum 1M and Calendula 1M, combined, in water, to succuss and take as needed for pain. Ordinarily I'm strictly classical and don't combine remedies, but in this case both were well indicated -- and I had doubts that the patient would be able to handle a more complicated regimen.

Weeks later, the toe is fine and pink, and the patient rarely had to resort to painkillers. She's now on a constitutional remedy.

Peace,
Cinnabar

Sounds good and not too dissimilar to what I have given. Thanks.

Rochelle
Registered Homeopath
EFT(Advanced) Practitioner
www.southporthomeopathy.co.uk