Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome - CMC Splints

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is managed with proper splinting. These splints hold my thumbs on, made by the best hand therapist OT in the world. I just got them today, they hold all my hand bones in place except my fingers.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• braces
• collagen
• danlos
• discover
• double
• double-jointed
• EDNF
• EDS
• ehlers
• flexible
• hypermobile
• hypermobility
• jointed
• splints
• ehlers-danlos

[Flaminirish10]

I have EDS 3, and I was first diagnosed with it when I was 12. I eventually had to have surgery on my hands to keep my joints in place, but before they did, I wore silver ring splints for 2 years, they helped a lot and looked like rings.

[ufo8mykat]

@Flaminirish10 Would you mind sharing what the procedure was, how long ago, and whether or not it was successful?

[aLittleBitLonger0095]

thanks, maybe I'll try wearing them. I am only 14 its hard to accept wearing those kinda things. Watch my video for the Jonas Brothers contest, i got out of my wheelchair to dance woohoo!! Its called Aryanna and Emma's dance to what did i do to your heart. Thanks!

[ufo8mykat]

Thanks for your comment, I'll check out your vid. :) They aren't comfortable to wear, but when my hands don't hurt it's a nice day. I wore long sleeves with them until I was comfortable letting people see them. Sometimes I still do, but I'm more comfortable knowing I'm being responsible about my health :)

[ufo8mykat]

Carpal tunnel braces do a very different thing. CMC splints are for structural support of the thumb, whereas carpal tunnel braces are intended to keep the hand in a natural position, relaxing the muscles and preventing actions that contribute to the constriction of the trans-carpal ligament, which impinges on the nerve. :)

But yes, everyone mistakes my CMC splints for carpal tunnel braces.

[Flaminirish10]

@ufomykat I found out when I had surgery on my right hand that as far as physically therapy went less was better. PT's are used to getting things "back to normal" and that helped to progress my tendons and ligaments stretching back out. I saw my ortho/surgeon about a month ago and I have another 5-10 years before I need another surgery to tighten things up a bit, my last one was in 2002 on my right hand, 2004 on my left.

[Flaminirish10]

@ufo8mykat I had 1 1/2 years between surgeries on my right and then left hand so I could still perform daily stuff. The surgeries over all were very successful, I still dislocate from time to time but it's usually when I am over using my hands. I have gotten to the point where I basically know when it is I need to stop.

[Flaminirish10]

@ufo8mykat My ortho/surgeon, cut and shortened the tendons and ligaments in my fingers, to the point that they still don't fully straighten but are still fully functional, and had pins temporarily inserted at the PIP, they were removed during a second surgery about 2 months after the first surgery.

[drooooopy]

those look very much like some Carpel Tunnel Splints I have, except those you have have specific support for the fingers that my regular carpel tunnel splints don't.

Unfortunately I can also do that with my thumb, its one thing I have overlooked until this minute as even being another part of Ehlers Danlos, figured all people's thumbs went that way until you explained just now

I was 9+ on the brighton scale, geneticists at the University of Michigan said I was the most hypermoble they had seen