Physio access advice for wrist

I've my annual remission appt soon (by phone this yr) & wondered others experience of ongoing physio access (especially if in remission). I had a physio/OT hosp appt 2 yrs ago & have religiously done the hand/wrist exercises. I do feel I've 'plateaued' tho & need some different exercises (the exercises & gym weights have helped massively tho in that time, both in improved strength & dexterity).

Can anyone recommend any specific hand/wrist resource they used online or advise if they ended up paying privately for physio & if so, how many sessions they had (have never had private physio before)? My only problem is my right wrist doesn't quite bend fully in/out at right angles like the other (unaffected wrist). Think the GP thought I was moaning about nothing but to me it is significant (!) Any physio advice gratefully received !

[Boxerlady]

"annual remission appointment" sounds blissful - I like the sound of that! 😍😂

I had a second OT appointment recently (first one was last year, a couple of months after diagnosis) after a rheumy nurse referred me. Not only were they very happy to see me despite me feeling that things were improving but they emphasised that they aim for prevention so like to see people before they have problems if possible and that I can always ring them and that I can self-refer now that I'm in the system.

Obviously every area is different but maybe this is an option for you?

[Hidden in reply to Boxerlady]

Haha yes it is only an annual appt 😂 Funny you mention the OT -I think I'll ask about that as well as they measured the movement/alignment etc. So difficult to know what is out there as the Dept don't advertise it.

[99Michelle]

Do you not have a rheumatology physio? I know at my hospital they have a physio attached to the department that you can self refer to .

[Hidden in reply to 99Michelle]

No sadly not. The Rheumy nurse kindly referred me to Physio & OT. They were experienced with RA though (is big Hosp/Physio). Think will have to ask for a referral (it was their suggestion last time)

[Aliceeliza]

Physio, OT? Wondering what these are within inflammatory arthritis. Unfortunately I was diagnosed in February when I saw the Consultant and have had an emergency registrar appointment and there has been the nurses by phone but that's it. I am on Metoject 20 mg but have no idea when I will be seen/phoned again. I have looked online and been following a Salford Hospital video for hand exercises and hope they are good.

[Hidden in reply to Aliceeliza]

Physiotherapy & Occupational Therapy were suggested by the (very switched on) Rheumy nurse to help my wrist movement. Unfortunately they didn't have videos etc at the time but that has given me the idea to ask as with lockdown they might now have more online material 🤔

[Boxerlady in reply to Aliceeliza]

Have you got a rheumy nurse helpline you can call? If so, I'd ring them and ask how you can access OT/Physio. It may be that your clinic usually provides that sort of thing but all the usual systems have been changed because of the current situation.

I was referred to OT as soon as I was diagnosed but that might have been because my work depends on finger dexterity.

All clinic patients were given leaflets showing exercises; mine were from Arthritis Research UK but NRAS provide them too and I think that you can access them through the websites. We were also invited to a 2 hour course where we were given talks from a nurse about medications and from an OT and a physio who again gave us exercise leaflets (those ones provided by the clinic itself.) Sadly, you've probably missed out on all that because of Covid but hopefully there are some resources you can tap into.

[Aliceeliza in reply to Boxerlady]

Yes I think it is all due to Covid unfortunately. I would love a 2 your course to teach me more about everything. I don't really want to ring the nurses unless it is a real problem, when I did they moved quickly to get me help, but minor issues can wait but it would be nice to know when planned appointment is due

[Hidden in reply to Boxerlady]

Will have a look for the leaflets you mention online. All the documents I saw though were not for wrists so I wonder if those are not availabke now 🤔 Sounds really useful resource. Will have to ask for that in my appt call.

[Hidden in reply to Aliceeliza]

Hello Alice...have tried to access the salford video without success. are you allowed to send me a link via my email ?

have had PMR/RA for 5 yrs and hands/wrists mainly affected. on Tocilizumab and methotrexate but steadily getting worse. hopefully the Toc' will start to work soon

have never been referred for physio...steroid jab soon!

thanks

[Aliceeliza in reply to Hidden]

I will try but pretty clueless with such things. First job is to find the reference again!!!!

[Aliceeliza in reply to Hidden]

Found the reference but it is not a video. I looked it up as rheumatology hand exercises and when the Salford Hospital Pdf came up I just followed it. Hope this helps

[Hidden in reply to Aliceeliza]

Hello Alice...very impressed with your comp' skills. found it straight away. thanks for your efforts.

[Fruitandnutcase]

Haven’t had physio in connection with my inflammatory arthritis but I’ve just finished some video conference hand occupational therapy when I developed CRPS after breaking my wrist in January this year.

Before I got that I did a lot of Googling of various hospitals and found a lot of exercises I could do to help strengthen my hands and wrists - I found that most exercises were very similar, some places just present the information better than others.

I also bought a pair of Dr Arthritis compression gloves from Amazon and they came with a very good, clear exercise booklet. The best piece of advice I was given was that I should only be working at a pain level of 3/10. I realised then that I was doing far too much and cut right back which was much better for me.

At the moment I’m looking for a physiotherapist to help with a shoulder problem I’ve been left with. I think there are long waiting lists for NHS physio though so I’m thinking of looking for something private - it’s a bit tricky because I don’t know of any physios in my area. I’m hoping that I won’t need too many sessions.