Just found this group. I have some questions for you. I had surgery 4 weeks ago on the right hand. The pinky finger was at approximately 70 degree contracted and the ring finger had developed nodes in the palm, but with no decernable contracture yet.

The surgeon did a good job as the finger is very straight. He removed most of the nodes from the palm and hopefully that will keep things at bay for awhile there.

I saw him last week and he was pleased with everything overall.

The finger is still swollen and a bit tender and the range of motion is still not where it should be, but that's to be expected at this point, I believe.

What surprised me and prompted me to Google around and find this forum is this. Other than the night brace and instructions to "Keep stretching it like you're doing" he didn't set me up with any therapy.
This isn't a criticism on him. I believe he honestly forgot as I was pushing him rather hard to be released back to work.

My insurance sucks and therapy is one more cost I would like to avoid if possible.

So, other than stretching and making a fist regularly, is there any advice or links to specifics about post surgery threapy that you could help me out with?

Thanks in advance - Unk.

Hello Mark, and thank you for your response. As I mentioned in my original post, my insurance isn't great and the added expense of therapy was one of the reasons I was looking for suggestions here.

Did I mention the recent fire? Maybe I should have. Yeah, my finances have been hit very deeply as of late, so I'm kind of in a bind and trying to avoid any more costs at this time.

Just one of those things that happen and even with insurance, both health and home, my finances have taken a huge hit. Thanks again.

Thank you for taking the time to answer, Diane. I've been searching through the archives here and gotten a few things that have helped.

I agree that 4 weeks out is still very early, but knowing that I won't be getting the professional therapy, I want to make the best effort I can to maximize recovery and function.

I just went and soaked my hand in very warm water, while stretching and clenching it and that seems to have made the morning stiffness much improved. Felt great and really helped the movement.

Thanks!

That's the kind of practical advice I was hoping for.

I wish I'd found this place a few years ago. I thought I knew quite a bit about DC. Hah. Not even.

Mark,
Just to show you how good life can be and to say "There are no coincidences" in this world ........... Today was my first full day back at work.
One of the first people I met? A Physical Therapist! This young man (His name is Mark also) took the time to show me a whole group of exercises, explained that I wasn't using the Cocoa Butter and messaging near often enough. Then came back several hours later, on his own time, with some exercise bands and a device to squeeze that will build up the strenght in my hand. He also brought back some printed instructions to make sure I remembered how to do all the exercises correctly!

He took almost an hour of his time instructing me in great detail. And then spent, I don't know how long, gathering and bringing me back the other materials.

It's things like this that help me keep my faith in humankind.

Thanks again for your reply, Mark!