Hello everyone,
This is a rather odd question but one I would really appreciate any advice or info people may have. I have a Ganglion Cyst in my right wrist, and is really more of a nuisance than anything. It was aspirated once about three years ago, reformed and has been there (pissing me off) ever since. My understanding is they are completely benign, and form or disappear for no reason, or one that medically we don’t understand. Well, the tenderness and discomfort associated is a real pain in the ass, but the worst part is the limited range of motion. Extension of the wrist is most limited, thus cleans and front squats have given me the most trouble. Reverse wrist ext. is basically not gonna happen. I still clean and front squat, just deal with the pain and hope my fish oil will stamp out the inflammation…my real concern here is the impact it has on overall wrist strength and the carryover that may have on training. There is no noticable pain while benching for instance, but there may be no pain assocaited with comprimised joint stability. My body may just interpret it as “too much weight”…this is a problem, presuming my logic is feasible. Hopefully some of you may have some insight on this, methods to get rid of ganglion cysts. Aspiration is a possibility but I would be without a functional wrist for about three weeks, surgery would be even worse. THANKS!
Standardized T-Man Response 122003B:
“Cut it out yourself”
I have at least minor ones in my wrists due to repetitive motion injury many years ago. (Late 80’s) Since I quit that job they have improved, and only bother me from time to time if I am overusing or overextending my wrists.
One way to treat it is to hit the cyst hard with a book, or smack it against a hard object to rupture it.
But ask a doctor before trying this. (Now you can’t sue me.)
I would search for a PT trained in ART, although I am not sure ART would be applicable.
I had one form on the inside of my wrist a few years back, caused by playing bass guitar. Once I stopped playing, it disappeared and hasn’t returned.
Try to identify the source of the problem, and eliminate it if possible.
My doctor also advised me about hitting it with a book. he said they call them “Bible Bumps”. He also told me that, even with surgery, they have a tendancy to return. So, if it isn’t causing pain or reduced ROM, avoid letting them cut it out.
Sorry, I don’t have any more to offer, my went away quickly after the cause was eliminated.
Thanks for the help,
I suspect the cause was a bicycle accident some years ago where I landed on an outstretched arm (with an extended wrist)…then the years of boxing, heavy bag work, and weight training have probably just worsened the problem. Well im not about to stop training, although perhaps a few weeks off would be better than years of comprimised cleans and front squats ect… BUT will definetly smack it with a large blunt object a few times and try and rupture that SOB!
my understanding of these is that it is caused by stress either physical mental work whatever when mine comes up i look at my life and think what is stressing me and then i make changes maybe you need to make changes
I also have one of these in my right wrist and it annoys the hell out of me. I talked to the doctor about it, and learned a few things. Basically, it occurs when a small pocket is formed, perhaps from injury, underneath or around a tendon in the sheath, causing the fluid to pool and back up, which causes the swelling (I think I remember this right). You can do surgery, you can smash it with a book, but it’ll come back. What he recommended to me (and has worked extremely well) is to do a lot of stretching and massaging, basically get the fluid distributed again. Any time I feel it start to come back, I spend some extra time stretching it and rubbing it and I’ve managed to keep it at bay.
Take it easy,
Toby
No kidding? Im not gonna lie, smashing it hurts like hell…stretching and massage, i’ll give it a shot. Thanks man.
Is it possible to get it drained?
Where exactly do these occur at, on the hand or on the wrist? I think I might have one or two myself.
edit:
I did a little googleing and it appears I have one on each of my hands. The left is much smaller than the right one. However, the only real discomfort I ever feel is when I try to do barbell curls. Also chinups can feel the same way. I like the book smashing idea, I think I’m going to try that. Sounds like it’ll hurt like a motherfu---- though.
discuss it with your personal physician, but usually I get good results when prior to draining, I puncture the hell out of it several times (after numbing the area), and then injecting a local steroid like TAC, then applying a compression bandage for a few days. It won’t leak, when punctured, and will still have to be aspirated (the fluid is like jelly) but it will break up the capsule and cause it to scar down. I rarely see them return thereafter.
Good luck bro.
I’ve never had one, but my 9 year old son had one cut out of his hand last year and took second place in an AAU wrestling tourney 2 weeks later.
To me, two weeks on the shelf is well worth not having it bother you all the time.
[quote]Ghost22 wrote:
Standardized T-Man Response 122003B:
“Cut it out yourself”[/quote]
A co-worker/friend just smashed his with a tack hammer. It was kinda freaky.
BTW, at work I have a tack hammer hanging on my cube because of the Tommy Boy quote,
"And… what about seat belts? To fasten, take the little end and stick it in the big end and… you know what? If you guys don’t know how to use a seatbelt, just ring your call button and Tommy will come back there and hit you on the head with a tack hammer because you’re a retard. "
Being in tech support, we have a lot of tack hammer calls every day.
I figured this thread was worth resurrecting (gotta love that Search feature!), as I’m in a similar situation now.
My girlfriend was just told that she most likely has a ganglion cyst on the first joint of her index finger (where finger meets palm). As soon as her doctor mentioned that “a lot of weightlifters get these” I was given a look of death. Yes…this is all my fault for having her do some kettlebell work recently.
Anyway…the general consensus of the above posts is to have the cyst drained/removed or just smack it (after doing some research, it looks like the ole’ book thwack makes them prone to reappearing.) But it sounds like most of the experience has been with cysts on the wrist. Is anyone familiar with having them on their fingers?
[quote]Ghost22 wrote:
Standardized T-Man Response 122003B:
“Cut it out yourself”[/quote]
Standardized T-Man Response 122003A
“Bite it out”
Seriously any chance of a pic? I’ve never seen one.