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whitenight
Apr 3, 2003, 9:10 PM
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Has anyone ever had a ganglion cyst and had it removed? I had one on the top of my wrist near where the tendons of the hand join the wrist. I also had it removed on Friday. I was wondering how long of a recovery time it took for anyone else. I am confined to a splint until this coming weekend and then I can slowly return to normal activity over the next week. I figure a slow careful climb (indoors) would be fine in two weeks after some strength training and rehab excercises. Any thoughts?
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aimeerose
Apr 4, 2003, 9:04 PM
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Did they have to disrupt any of the tendons to remove the cyst? If not, then start range of motion activites (passive and active) as soon as you get out of the splint. When full range of motion is achieved, do some resistance work (light weights with wrist extension, supination and pronation.) I think I would wait closer to 3 weeks to begin climbing or more if the tendons were disrupted. If it hurts, don't do it. That's the most important part. And if you have any swelling, be sure to ice. you don't want to develop adhesions.
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zetedog
Apr 4, 2003, 9:41 PM
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My wife had a really bad one removed in about the same spot last June (12th I think). Her doctor didn't want her to use it at all for anything for at least 3 weeks, no weight, biking or climbing. We went on vacation the first full week of August, and she went water skiing, which would be the six week mark, and had no pain. We were climbing again pretty regularly after that. She said that while it didn't hurt, it still felt "loose, gimpy and weak" until near november.
A couple of things to consider:
1st, my wife doesn't climb any hard, and nothing overhanging, yet she was still complaining for 4+ mos of it feeling not quite right.
2nd, her's was pretty bad and caused her tendons to move pretty far. she had no range of motion before her surgury (her wrist was literally fixed when the cyst would flare up, normally every 2-3 days and last at least 24hrs, the go back down allowing a minor range of motion). Because of this, the doctor stated that her tendons would take a while to find their way back home, and that stenous activity before they did could result in tendon damage, which is far worse.
3rd, everyone is different. A person that we talked to about the procedure (fellow climber) said his wrist was worthless for the better part of 6 months before it would take even minor stress. I don't think his cyst was really anyworse, but it moved his tendons in a wierd way, causing a longer recovery time.
While the cyst itself is no big deal, the potential tendon damage is. I would try to keep it immobilized, not put it through any stress until you started regaining significant motion. Then slowly work up to putting stress on it. Any pain = immediate stop, probably for at least a week.
Also, lots of fluids during this part. Overhydration is a tendons friend.
The good thing is my wife has been pain free for 4-5 onths now after dealing with non-surgical corrective procedures for over 5 years. Don't jeopardize the long run recorvy out of short term boredom.
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brianinslc
Apr 4, 2003, 9:51 PM
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Probably not good advice, so, for historical reading purposes only...
I had one. So'd my dad (hmmm...wonder if its a genetic thing...probably).
Two by four. Gone, never came back.
Brian in SLC
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jumaringjeff
Apr 4, 2003, 9:52 PM
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I had one removed from the same area 4 years ago. I am a drummer so this procedure freaked me out but I was back playing after 2 weeks. It hasn't come back either.
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timstich
Apr 5, 2003, 2:33 AM
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A friend of mine had one that kept coming back. I hope yours doesn't decide to revisit.
These stupid bodies we get! Jebus.
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mreardon
Apr 16, 2003, 12:48 AM
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I've suffered them a couple times on both feet. When bouldering, apparently I blow the arch out on the highball landings over time and the cyst appears right in the arch (the tendons fray when overstretched repeatedly and these frays cause the cyst is what I was told). I've had Cortosone (spelling?) shots on them and am able to climb within a couple days. Not sure about the wrist though.
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bitsofsod
Apr 16, 2003, 8:24 PM
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I used to be plagued by ganglion cysts in my wrists. They'd come and go. After a while I noticed a correlation between remembering to take a multivitamin and the things shrinking. I'm much better at taking my vitamins and haven't had a cyst for years. I later read somewhere that a study made the same connection.
Granted, it sounds holistic and too simple, but it worked for me.
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jumaringjeff
Apr 16, 2003, 8:34 PM
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when mine was first diagnosed, I was give several options:
1. Stick a needle in it, suck it out, and then inject cortizone. This can work but often it comes back, and the procedure also introduces scar tissue to the site that can restrict motion. I had this done anyways and they told me to try to take a lot of vitamin B supplements. This worked for awhile but it came back within 6 months.
2. Take a book and slam it into the cyst. Very painful, and cyst often comes back (this is an oldschool treatment that the surgeon joked about). I didn't do this, but I did fall on it once while skiing and I guess the way I fell caused the cyst to burst. It came back though.
3. Cut the wrist open and remove the cyst AND repair the damaged membrane that surrounds the bones in the wrist (which is the cause of the cyst). This was performed in the summer of '99 and all I have now is a small scar.
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squish
Sep 15, 2004, 12:55 AM
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Mine's back. I had it surgically removed from the back of my wrist less than a year ago.
Initially, I complained about my wrist to my doctor because it was becoming painful to press against anything--e.g. pushups, yoga, mountain biking, stalled cars, etc. The range of motion was almost normal, but it would flare up and become painful after bouts of activity.
Surgery went fine. I had the wrist immobilized in a tensor bandage for a week, then told to go easy on it for a few weeks. I pulled my own stitches after 10 days. The tissue in the scar area felt stiff for some time, but ended up healing nicely.
It took a good while for the joint to loosen up after that. It hurt when I tried to bend the wrist, but felt relatively fine when kept within its limited range. Could that be because of "adhesions" as someone else pointed out? For a long time I felt that the result of the surgery was not an improvement, as I still had pain when bending the wrist and pressing against any surface.
I spoke to the surgeon and had a follow-up visit. This was I guess about 6 weeks after surgery. He told me it looked normal, and that if I felt like it, I could resume normal physical activity such as biking and climbing--it would hurt a bit to stretch it, but it would eventually loosen up and return to normal.
In the end, it felt different than before the surgery, like there was more freedom within the joint, but it was still somewhat limited by "stretching" pain near the limits of normal motion. If I had to compare, I'd say that it's only slightly better than it was before.
About a month ago I noticed that the little bastard is back. Last week, I tried working it pretty hard to see if I could rupture it, but that didn't do anything except flare it up. Right now I'm wearing a tensor bandage to immobilize it and I'm going to try taking it easy for a few weeks to see what it does.
Any suggestions? Should I have it operated again? I'm kind of reluctant to smash it with a book--not that I mind pain or anything, but I somehow doubt the effectiveness of that method...
PS, I read that the large heavy book had to be the bible--and hence the bump on the wrist became known as "Gideon's Disease." Out with thee, demon!
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prufrock
Sep 18, 2004, 7:29 AM
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Hmm. Now I am curios. I went to my doctor just a few days ago for a bump on the back of my wrist. Her diagnosis was ganglion cyst.
She mentioned both needle draining and surgery, but counseled against them. Mine is only a week or two old, and is presently only uncomfortable. She said to wait.
So why did you folks have yours removed? Were they painful? My doctor gave me the impression it was rare to remove them and that the cyst was harmless.
Me begins to wonder if I don't need a second opinion...
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upgirlclimber
Sep 19, 2004, 1:07 AM
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Hey whitenight,
I actually had three ganglion cysts removed over a period of 4 years (two in the left, one in the right) exactly where you're talking about. I was in a splint for a few weeks, then did intensive rehab for three or four weeks before I had full range of motion and full strength (not climbing strength, regular people strength). Good news is, I really don't have any problems with them now - I can climb hard and they hurt sometimes, but not too bad. Just be careful and take it slow - you don't want to mess them up and set yourself back even more!!! It's worth the wait.
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cully_larson
Jun 13, 2006, 9:40 PM
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I get one every so often in my wrist. It goes away after about a week. I usually don't change my activities. Though, it does hurt to do most things with that hand. I think it comes back every 2-3 months. I could imagine getting it removed if it never went away or if it totally restricted the movement of my hand (as was mentioned of someone in the above reply). But, as it is, I would rather deal with the painful annoyance than pay for surgery and risk some complication.
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jumaringjeff
Jun 16, 2006, 1:35 PM
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I had a ganglion on the top of my right wrist years ago. It was large and very painful at times. I first treated it with a procedure where the doc stuck a needle in my wrist and essentially 'sucked' it out. However, the cyst came back months later and I eventually had to have it surgically removed.
It's been over 6 years now and I have had no problems.
good luck!
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kiwijason
Jun 28, 2006, 9:07 PM
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In reply to: Hmm. Now I am curios. I went to my doctor just a few days ago for a bump on the back of my wrist. Her diagnosis was ganglion cyst. She mentioned both needle draining and surgery, but counseled against them. Mine is only a week or two old, and is presently only uncomfortable. She said to wait. So why did you folks have yours removed? Were they painful? My doctor gave me the impression it was rare to remove them and that the cyst was harmless. Me begins to wonder if I don't need a second opinion...
I had one and went to the doc, got told to suffer with it, went to another doc was told to get it sucked, went to another doc was told to get it cut out, but as I was about to leave for 3 months climbing in Peru they just injected it with cortizone and it went away (has been a year now) but I also stopped typing so much (I wonder if the repetative movements had anything to do with it)
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scoobee
Jun 28, 2006, 9:34 PM
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Had a doc stick a needle in mine to pop it...couldn't suck the stuff (joint fluid?) out through the needle though. Too thick. We pushed all the fluid out but the cyst is on its way back now only a couple months later. I'd try the vitamins first as the needle seemed to irritate a nerve that causes sharp pain while stretching now.
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librik
Jul 2, 2006, 12:56 AM
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I have one on my wrist, it could not be aspirated (the fluid was not coming out), but it did not bother me, except for its ugly looks, so I decided to just let it be. Funny thing, now that I started climbing, it really has regressed a lot. My (completely unprofessional) theory is that climbing strengthened tendons/ligaments in my wrist, so the liquid does not bulge out so bad.
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billhilly
Jul 2, 2006, 2:53 AM
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Ganglion cysts are also called bible bumps because people used to smash them with a bible- I prefer a ballpeen hammer, I had my dad who is a machinist smash it.
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