What expediates the mending of flexor tendons?

Question

Do's and don'ts
time factors
recovery
etc
experience

Ob1

These locations are referred to as "zones", as shown in this diagram. The areas shown in red are referred to as "no man's land" - because stiffness is such a common problem after injuries in this area.

The above comment is from the first answer thanks by the way but where are these "RED ZONES" can you link a comment back to show where these pics are?

It's the thumb flexor- working on week 4 this week

Answer 1

I have some answers & some sites so U can find out more, all at Ur finger tips. I'm only sending U the best of the healing sites.

What can you do to help?
Ice, elevation, and have it checked out by a doctor. If the injury involved a cut, medical evaluation is particularly important - to check whether or not a tetanus shot, antibiotics or other treatment is required, even if stitches aren't needed.
After injury, if surgery is needed, there is a limited amount of time to operate and get the the best possible result. Surgery delayed for more than two weeks has less of a chance of having a satisfactory outcome.

What can a therapist do to help?
Surgery is only half the battle for this problem. Therapy is a necessary and essential treatment for most people recovering from a flexor tendon injury.
Special hand therapy usually involves making one or more custom splints, performing and supervising special exercises, and making the hand feel better in general.

What can a doctor do to help?
Confirm that this is the problem, and check for nerve injury or other problems which can occur at the same time.
Treatment really depends on the type of injury. Your doctor may recommend:
Moving the fingers and doing exercises right away.
Hand therapy.
A splint or a cast, along with special exercises.
Performing surgery to repair the damage.

How successful is treatment?
It depends on many things - getting full motion back is less likely if
there is a nerve injury or a broken bone next to the tendon injury
there is a long healing period before surgery
the person is prone to thick scars
the damage was caused by a crush injury
there are problems participating in hand therapy after surgery
The location of the injury also has a big influence on how well people recover after surgery - cuts in the fingers don't do as well as those in the forearm. These locations are referred to as "zones", as shown in this diagram. The areas shown in red are referred to as "no man's land" - because stiffness is such a common problem after injuries in this area.

In addition, there are many other factors which can also affect the odds of having a good result versus a stiff hand.
After a flexor tendon injury, most people lose some movement in the finger, despite all efforts. It really takes everything going in your favor, including luck, to have a full recovery. However, if all goes well, the hand will work better after surgery than if surgery were not done, and that's the reason for doing it.
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"I'm upset. It's been months since my surgery and my finger is still stiff and bent. When is it going to be normal?".
Reality check: Many finger flexor tendon injuries do not sound all that bad, but in fact present a terrible problem - technically difficult to repair, requiring an extraordinary amount of therapy, and often not resulting in a full normal perfect recovery. You had a serious injury. Your finger may never be the same as it was before the injury. However, it will be better than it is now, and you will adapt. Recovery of function is more related to your brain's ability to adapt than your finger's ability to bend. That's how people return to productive, satisfying lives after having half of their hand blown off. After a serious hand injury, motivation to get better is critical: the more you work on your own recovery, the more likely your recovery will be satisfactory. Focus on what you can do, not what you may have lost. Get on with your life. If you're not working because of the injury, get back to work in any capacity possible. Don't keep your life on hold waiting for a full recovery or for more surgery to solve your problems.
There is hope: Most hand tendon injuries take longer to recover than most other operations elsewhere in the body. The entire process can be very stressful. Two months after tendon surgery is the usual time that many people run out of steam, lose faith and get depressed about their recovery - this is normal. If you feel that this event has triggered a clinical depression, get professional help for this - it will help your recovery, not to mention your emotional well being, and you still may have a way to go - final plateau of recovery may take about a year. Don't let your finger take over your life - you will eventually find that you will be able to do much more with your hand than you currently think possible, despite the changes brought on by the injury

Also see

http://www.AidMyTendon.com
http://www.emedicine.com/orthoped/topic94.htm
http://www.eatonhand.com/hw/hw012.htm
http://www.assh.org/.../NavigationMenu/PatientsPublic/HandConditions/FlexorTendonInjuries/Flexor_Tendon_Injur.htm
http://www.wheelessonline.com/ortho/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
http://www.springerlink.com/index/38ELUNVCR89GM1UX.pdf
http://www.findarticles.com
http://www.ejbjs.org/cgi/content/full/85/3/539
http://www.ihop-net.org/UniPub/iHOP/pm/9998929.html?pmid=14507513

I hope these help U see what U can do. From what I see keeping it moblized is the best thing U can do. See 4 Ur self. I hope this helped U.

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
What expediates the mending of flexor tendons?
Do's and don'ts
time factors
recovery
etc
experience

Ob1

Answer 3

Did your vet tell you the chances of this procedure actually helping your horse? 3 out of 5 horse's will die due to this injury if not from lameness, but from bone infection. 1 out of 2 horses will die from the surgery needed to go in repair the damage, and treat the infection. If your vet believes the only way to repair the damage and draw out the remaining infection is for surgery, then chances are that your horse is in pretty bad shape. Your vet will have to debride the laceration, suture the tendon, put an elevated trailer shoe on your horse, and cast your horse for 6-8 weeks with gradual reduction every 3 weeks or so. Truth. Your horse is going to need to be treated by a vet, no amount of poultice is going to help your horse. By declining proper treatment of this animal you run the risk of the horse being lame or dying due to infection. There is sadly no short cut. And if you keep giving him injections not only do you run the risk of infection this way, but also a chance of paralyzing the muscle around the injection sight. Talk to your vet about a payment plan or ask for help through an equine rescue center near you. If you go ahead with the procedure, which I think you honestly should, then also get him gelded at this time so it's not one traumatic surgery after the other.

Answer 4

Did you recently have a flexor tendon/median nerve injury? So did I. See my blog where I talk about the rehabilitation process as I go with pictures and the first person perspective on the injury and what you can expect.

h ttp://flexortendonrecovery.wordpress.com

Answer 5

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