#ring splints

[powerchairpunk]

tried to make diy ring splits for my hypermobile fingers! i think i made them a little too chunky to be practical but i think they still turned out pretty good for my first attempt

[aibidil]

Why you should wear your ring splints while crafting

Hypermobile hands suffer from a number of painful issues, the most common of which is swan neck deformity, which I have in index and pinky fingers. This is when hyperextension of the PIP (middle joint) damages the tendons, which pull on the DIP (top) joint, making that point downward.

It doesn’t cause me much pain (yet?), though sometimes it causes locking/snapping of the joint, so I often end up not wearing my ring splints on those fingers, even though I know I probably should for long-term reasons. So I was curious about how the ring splints would affect hand movement while knitting, and I recorded it with and without the ring splints.

The way this type of ring splint works is preventing hyperextension of the PIP. These photos show it pretty well in my left index finger. With the splint, I can still bend the top of my finger at the DIP (because I’m using it), but the PIP doesn’t collapse down. It doesn’t seem as important on the right hand with knitting (or on the thumbs).

(This type of splint doesn’t help a separate issue, which you can kind of see here, at the thumb MCP. I think it’s subluxating? It looks like an indentation in these pics but it only happens when I push the thumb forward. I have a thumb splint with an MCP stabilizer and extends down into the palm, but I tried it and it didn’t stop the subluxation.)

Related: holding a pencil. You need splinting on the DIP joint this time. Hot tip: my rings from my pinky PIP fit my index DIP, so when I’m writing I can just move it over.

Sharing because I went to a hand orthopedist about this and when I asked what I needed to do to reduce progression of deformity and preserve function, he literally was like 🤷🏻 I really don’t think they know what to do with young people in whom these problems aren’t associated with arthritis and hand weakness.

[badger-and-bloom]

DIY RING SPLINTS FOR MY STUPID HYPERMOBILE FINGERS‼️🗣😎

[daydreamsandcrashingwaves]

These oval-8 splints, yeah, they’re all the same size. Wtf.

Thumb hurt so bad I decided to try it

[enbydragon02]

I just ordered two ring splints for my hypermobile fingers. This is my first time trying them out-- I've been having considerable pain in my top middle finger joints while crocheting recently, so I decided it's time.

I'm excited about this, especially because I ordered from a small, queer- and disabled-owned business (if I like the splints I'll try to remember to reblog this with a link to their site). But the sad part is that I want to tell my brother about this, cause he's also hypermobile and I think has ring splints, but he seems like he's ignoring me. He hasn't replied to any of my messages in a very long time. He does have AuDHD, which I know makes it harder to reply to messages, and I haven't sent too many messages cause I don't want to be annoying, but it hurts and I really miss him.

[fierling]

May is Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS) and Hypermobility spectrum disorders (HSD) awareness month. I thought to make a little post about it, especially because this topic has been in my mind more than usual this year. I have HSD myself and I don't (at least currently) meet the criteria for Hypermobile EDS. I keep seeing only EDS mentioned in the internet but reality is that not everyone who has hypermobility issues meets the strict criteria for EDS. HSD keeps getting overlooked and I felt for the longest time like I didn't really have anything wrong since it's not EDS. That's not true, and joint problems in HSD can be just as difficult as in EDS.

I physically over exhausted myself at the beginning of the year and I started to have pain all over my body. First it was my knee and big toe joint, then my hip, then my fingers, then my thumb dislocated, then my lower back started hurting... I haven't been able to exercise much and I'm totally out of shape since something is always hurting. I went to a doctor who once again diagnosed me with hypermobility syndrome which is especially severe in my fingers. I've been seeing specialists this year and got custom made insoles (which have helped a lot!) and after a long process I got ring splints for my fingers just yesterday.

They look like cool jewellery and I'm very excited about them! They prevent my fingers from hyperextending which can easily lead to osteoarthritis. My fingers have been hurting even when I type or use my phone. It affects my job and obviously quality of life too. I'm getting used to these now and I should start to use them daily. People will probably be curious about them when I go out wearing them. I don't think I've ever seen someone wear these IRL either.

You can learn more about HSD and EDS on The Ehlers-Danlos society's page. You can also donate to research on their page. There's still a lot we don't know about this syndrome, and even the diagnostic criteria will likely change in the future. It's also very interesting how HSD and EDS are much more common with people who have ADHD and/or Autism. I'm very curious to see what researchers will find out in the future.

[anotherdayforchaosfay]

I have temporary ring splints! Next week, I'll receive splints for my thumbs. They bend back by 90 degrees, which is very not okay.

[iplaywithstring]

So I reached out to m local hand physiotherapy clinic about ring splints and found out there is a Canadian company that offers them!

I'm setting up an appointment for an assessment in the new year.