Tendonitis from Holding Baby And/or Bad Nursing Position?

I had the same thing when I had my first baby. My doctor had me splint it (a splint that immobilized my thumb) but mine didn't resolve with just splinting, so I ended up getting one cortisone injection and it fixed the problem immediately.

I had this very severely after my first daughter. My wrists also swelled up and got bumps along the tendons that you could see outside. I did take naproxin and I wore supportive wrist guards for a couple of months to help give support. I resisted the guards a first, but my symptoms only got worse. I actually lost quite a bit of strenth in my hands because of it. I did not have it very much after baby #2, but I took care of it right away. It's been 6 years, and within the last year, I finally felt like most of my strenth is back. SO TAKE CARE OF IT NOW!

Greetings! I had the same thing with my daughter. My doctor referred me to a hand surgeon who told me it is a condition called dequervain's syndrome. It is a kind of tendonitis that is common in new mothers because it is often caused by the strain of lifting the car seat in/out of the car or carrying the baby. My doctor said icing or wrapping wouldn't help much. The best treatment is to get cortisone shots in both my wrists and it went away. It did not reoccur with my second child. Good luck!!

Ice by your elbow, but on the top. By the bend, that is where it swells up. It should relieve the pressure/swelling. Good luck.

Sounds painful. Maybe take some Tylenol, do some carpel tunnel exercises and use a support pillow when nursing. That should help to relieve your arms a little.

Here's some physical therapy you can do:

http://physicaltherapy.about.com/od/flexibilityexercises/...

Acupressure says:

Press your right thumb into the webbing between your left thumb and pointer finger for a minute and then switch.

Rub the knuckles of your right hand on the top of your left wrist about 2 and 1/2 finger widths from the wrist crease. Switch.

Bend your right arm and place it across your stomach with your palm facing down. Press your thumb on the top of the right arm where the crease ends. Hold for 1 minute while taking deep breaths and switch.

The combination of stretching, acupressure and using a pillow when nursing should help.

Ask about massage therapy and yoga to bring circulation into the areas that need it the most.

I had that with my 2nd baby. No snap though, so maybe yours is worse/different. I wore carpal tunnel wrist braces at night to keep them in the proper position. It went away on it's own after several weeks.

Love some of the advice--but try to avoid getting cortisone shots. This can cause more issues unless you're also learning preventive care, like if you're also seeing a certified hand therapist or an occupational therapist. This is your best bet: a referral from your primary or midwife/gyn to a CHT or OT that specializes in this.
Massage can help, as well as icing for 5-10 minutes (can rub an ice cube you hold in a washcloth over the area).
The my brest friend really helped me as well.
Good luck!!

this happened to me. it's called dequervain's tendonitis and can be rectified by complete splinting. however, that's not practical for the mom of a baby. i ended getting a relatively painless cortisone shot into my wrist. fixed everything.

in the meantime, splint your wrist with a device that includes the thumb, ice and take anti-inflammatories.

try to find a chiro, and they will usually be pretty good at working within a budget

R....Congrats on baby girl! Welcome to motherhood :-)It sounds like you have what I did when my oldest was born-he is 3. It's called De Quervain's tenosynovitis. That's a mouthful I know. It's sometimes referred to as "new mothers tendonitis". It's from exactly what you thought it was-the holding of the baby which is new to you. Why some women get it I do not know. I will try to attach the link about it on here. The amazing orthopedist I saw treated me with cortisone injections. 3 was the magic number and it was GONE! My pain was actually so bad I was worried about dropping the baby :-( Interestingly enough, I now have an 8 month old and I didn't get it with him! You can take some type of Ibuprofren for the pain and I believe it's ok to take if you are nursing. Hope this helps.I know you said your insurance won't cover doctor visits, but I think you may have to see one. Good luck! Btw, I couldn't attach the link here but goto MayoClinic.com and type it in and a nice bit of information will pop up for you :-)Take care!

K. C

I am sorry for your pain. I didn't have that pain, but I used the Brest Friend nursing pillow until my daughter was about 5 months old. I didn't have to hold her up to nurse b/c it is so big and adjustable. It's great. I figured this could help with the nursing part.

http://www.mybrestfriend.com/

Hi R.!
I had the same thing. I went to the doctor and he told me to get a wrist splint from the drugstore (I got mine at Walgreens, I think it was $20)and wear it when I went to sleep. It took a couple of weeks, but it did improve and went away after about a month. It is very common in new mothers. I would try this and then go to the doctor if you do not see any improvement.

Good luck and take care!
E.

Hi R.,

I would recommend that you use a nursing pillow (I'm a big fan of My Brest Friend) to help support your baby (and take some of the awkwardness away). And nursing in a comfortable chair with arm support helps, too. I also sleep in a way that my wrists are supported (usually hugging a pillow). Doing some stretches for your wrists (rolling them around back and forth) might help. I took a postnatal yoga class which was great for this!

Arnica can definitely help, and tylenol and motrin/ibuprofen are safe to take when nursing. Wrapping (especially while you're sleeping) and icing your wrists certainly can't hurt (but don't ice too much!). And I would just suggest that you try to be mindful of the ways you move your body when holding and nursing your baby (this is hard to do as a first time parent!).

All the best,
Another R. S.

I had this very badly in my left wrist/hand after I had my son. It started as a tingling in my lower arm and fingers while I nursed. I thought my arm was just falling asleep because of the way I was holding him. It started to get very bad all the time...even when I wasn't holding him. I would wake up in pain. One morning I woke up and my fingers were clenched in a fist. I literally couldn't move them on their own. I had to take my other hand and pry my fingers opened. That is when I headed to the doctor. He diagnosed tendonitis after a few simple movement tests...flexing of the thumb being one of them. He did give me a brace to wear and it helped, but it's hard to take care of a newborn with a brace on one arm. Basically he said the only way to heal it is to NOT USE IT. yeah right!!! I looked at him like he was crazy. I had a newborn..how was I supposed to not use it. So, I muddled through with the pain and eventually...almost a year later, it has totally cleared up. I hate to say it, but once your baby starts being a little more self sufficient...crawling, holding his own bottle, etc, it will start to get better...but until then, you might be out of luck. Good luck to you!! I know your pain!

As a postnatal/prenatal personal trainer, I always train my women about this. We call it "achy wrists" - and its caused by bending your wrist in any one or more of three different positions. The main thing to think about is KEEPING YOUR WRIST flat - whether its typing on the computer, holding your baby, doing exercises, the position your hand is in while sleeping( REALLY pay attention to THAT one!) and even holding pots and pans while you cook. You are probably bending them at times you would have no idea unless you were observing yourself in this way. The relaxin that flows(ed) through your wrists can leave them prone to achiness in certain positions. You have relaxin in your body up to 6 months after birth, but you are still prone to the achy wrists.

After keeping your wrists straight at ALL times, you should notice the inflammation decreasing.

Hopefully the arnica is helping, I get tendonitis in my wrists from sleeping w/my wrists all curled up under my cheek on my side, or under the pillow. I bought a left and a right wrist guard at walmart, I think they were less than ten dollars each, in a purple box, designed for women. I sleep w/those on when it's acting up and it goes away. I don't wear them every night, only when it flares up. I hope your wrists are feeling better.

You've gotten a lot of good advice. I had the same thing and I used a wrap that looks like one for tennis elbow, on my wrist. It helped a lot, but it only completely rectified after I stopped nursing and carrying him around all the time. Advil or another anti-inflam. can help some too.

I had the exact same thing - along with an audible "snap." I'd follow what Mom LK said. Also, try to keep your thumb tucked against your hand when lifting anything & nursing.

The fact that you are feeling a snap may be a sign of
"De Quervain’s Syndrom." Do a search on www.mayoclinic.com for good information about this -- maybe you can tell if this is really it the issue. In summary, it means that a tendon that runs down your arm to your thumb has become inflamed and a "nodule" has been created. The tendon runs through a small sheathe and the nodule is getting caught when it tries to move through the nodule. This can be *extraordinarily* painful!!!

I think there are early treatments for this that can help, such as immobilization. However, I ended-up trying several cortisone injections and, ultimately, needing out-patient surgery.

EDIT: I remembered that there is an easy way to tell if this could be your issue. First, extend your arm out, straight in front of you. Put your hand in a handshake position (with the thumb in the air) so that the side of your wrist (the part that hurts) is facing up. Second, tuck your thumb into a closed fist, without tilting or turning your arm/wrist. Then, bend your wrist down toward the floor (keeping the thumb tucked in the closed fist). Some pain can occur in the normal individual, but if severe, DeQuervain's syndrome is likely.

You might have pulled the tendons on your hands from repeated positioning and overextending your wrists--not necessarily carpal tunnel syndrome. I did this about 5 years ago and it hurts so much. For me it was at a point that I could not even use my right. There isn't really much that can be done unless you really damage the tendons and then there is a surgical option. But a former neighbor to my parents is a massage therapist. She told me that flexing my hand gently and trying not to always keep it in the same position would help. Also massaging the wrist from the inner hand, along the thumb and up to the elbow would help heal. My pain started in August. The first week of January I realized it did not hurt any more. I used a wrist brace to help at night and when I was not really busy, though what parent isn't. Try to pay attention to how you use your wrists and hands. We are so used to being able to do whatever, that we don't realize how we are moving. Also, you can take Tylenol if the pain is really bad. Occassionally my wrist gets sore but I figure that is my clue to watch what I am doing.

Welcome to being a new mommy.

I highly recommend Daniel Mass and University of Chicago. He's an awesome hand surgeon and is treating me for the same thing.

You'll probably need the cortisone shot to get the swelling down. After that, the main thing I found helped avoid additional flare ups was keeping my hands as straight as possible at night. Yes, holding the baby makes you use your wrists improperly, but there's also a natural tendency to bend your arms at the wrist at night which really aggravates the swelling. I literally bury my right hand under my pillow for sleeping.

Hopefully, you can get in as soon as possible - the shot works wonders.

Hi R. -
My friend is going thru the same thing right now. She just got a cortisone shot in each wrist. I actually had it in my shoulders and one knee after my 1st child. I was on an anti-imflamatory at the time and it worked for me. I don't have any suggestions since you can't go to the dr. I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone or doing anything wrong. Oh - the things we go thru for our little babies!! Good Luck!!