# TFCC Tear in Left Wrist



## plupien79 (Aug 10, 2009)

Well... This is what the orthopedic Dr told me on Friday.

Doesn't sound Like I'll be doing much riding this year, and it's a shame cause I hit the gym hard all winter.
Those Squats 3 times a week were definitely going to help me and the shoulder work too. 
Anyone have this wonderful injury?

So far the diagnosis is try PT and is that doesn't work I've to travel for Reconstructive Surgery (eek).


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## 11053 (Sep 19, 2009)

Yes.
TFCC tears in both wrists.
Multiple tears and repeated injury to right wrist over a 20 year period.
Add in several years of route setting in climbing gyms immediately after the initial injury (lots of twisting resulting in additional wear and tear).
Right wrist clicks, pops, grinds and basically makes doctors shake their head when they examine it.
20 years after the first major injury, I'm still riding the bike a lot and riding hard in the bike park 40+ days a year.
The injury can take a long time to heal, but it can heal VERY well with rehab in my experience.
A few years ago I re -injured what was left of the tfcc in the right wrist worse than the initial injury many years before.
Again, it took a long time to heal and stabilize and to gain strength back, but I never stopped riding the bike during that rehab period.
I opted for rehab over surgery even though surgical reconstruction was recommended.
Rehab takes a long time and I think that many opt for surgery due to the length of time it takes for the wrist to feel strong and pain free again.
You'll likely be riding sooner than you think.
Oddly enough, a day of fly fishing now bothers my wrist more than several days in a row of banging out laps in the bike park.


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## NismoGriff (May 15, 2011)

I have pretty much the same experience as Norman. Both wrists, both of them more than once, the right being the worst. Fall of 2010 was spent with casts on both arms, then braces and PT and although it got better, it wasn't great. Doc was talking about shortening the ulna in my right wrist. I said....NOPE!! See ya when I can't take the pain any more. I bought my first mountain bike that day. December this year, I was at Ray's Indoor MTB Park and took a spill... dislocated my right shoulder and fx'd my right scaphoid SMH. When the cast came off, my tfcc pain was prominent because my hand/wrist was so weak. I thought I might have to have the surgery after all. I still have severe strenght issues (IMO) with shoulder/arm, but as I slowly get stronger, the wrist feels better. I often wear a "wrist widget" (google it) on both wrists when I ride and it helps some. My doc told me that as we get older, that cartilage basically disentagrates anyway. Unfortunately... I think I may have to have surgery on my shoulder for the labrum and rotator cuff tears that happened when the shoulder came out in December. Hopefully I can make it till fall.


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## plupien79 (Aug 10, 2009)

Thanks for the info guys, I'm glad to hear that riding isn't out of the question. This is my first injury that's gonna take more than a couple weeks to heal. 
Very mentally daunting as I've been 100% capable my whole life.


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## vitale232 (Jun 13, 2007)

I've pretty much self diagnosed myself with a mild TFCC sprain. Popping and clicking ever since working in a warehouse about 2 years ago. This year, I've been commuting on a 1980s road bike with drop bars. My dumb self decided it was a good idea to bunny hop and attempt to wheelie said 1980s road bike every day for about a month. That pretty much set the wrist off. I'm thinking a couple of small tumbles on the mtb have made it worse. Gotta break the habit of catching myself with my palms down.

My main symptoms that lead me to believe it's TFCC: Pain on the ulnar side of the wrist upon rotating my palm to face the sky. Pain upon hyper extension. And the popping and clicking. It's weird, after some rides it feels great, after others it feels awful.

Any suggestions on exercises that have helped you guys stabilize the area? What's the best pain reduction? Trying to avoid going to the doc unless it gets real bad. They'll tell me to rest and my insurance sucks.

Thanks in advance.


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## plupien79 (Aug 10, 2009)

After more than a year... things are back to about 80%. The pain is very mild. I can ride the trails and my motorcycle again... but now I've got 40lbs of not working out to get rid of... again.


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## plupien79 (Aug 10, 2009)

Went out yesterday, and hit it HARD. Downhill and the big jumps at the local park. No pain at ALL.

If this happens to you... it's not then end of the road.


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## vitale232 (Jun 13, 2007)

Nice dude!

I recently switched out my handlebars, and I'm just about pain free now, too. As trendy as it is, wider bars made a big difference for me. Not as much force is getting thrown into the wrists, and they're more ergonomic for my build. Don't be afraid to experiment with that cockpit!


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## awai04 (Jul 29, 2004)

Hey guys, glad to see your posts here. Just want to add that I had one of these several years ago. It caused much anxiety since like most of you, I also was 100% until then. I remember thinking about it for almost a year. Though by the end of the second year, I almost forgot about it and was back to "normal."


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## redaunt (Jun 24, 2014)

I had a TFCC repair (open, not arthroscopic) and ganglion cyst removal around 2000 or 2001. Things were FANTASTIC until about 4 years ago when I decided hitting a punching bag in the garage would be good exercise. MRI "cannot rule out small tear" but also showed a new ganglion cyst. The cyst may be the only thing causing pain, but at this point I am not willing to trade the cyst for a new scar.


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## plupien79 (Aug 10, 2009)

Just another update. 2 Years out things are still great. Still have a slight reduction in Grip strength but its only like 5-10% less than it was. Only comes up when doing deadlifts near 300lbs.


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## asookazian (Mar 3, 2015)

I have a TFCC sprain/tear in my right hand according to hand specialist doctor. That happened about 05/01/2015 and now it's doing much better after not lifting or riding for 30 days and using hand/wrist splint all the time (now only at nights). I wasn't able to supinate all the way (and could barely use a spoon with my right hand it hurt so much!)

Cause was likely wide chest press weight lifting (max 270 lbs) and possibly aggravated by mtn biking (there's a ton of pressure on the wrists during descents).

I asked a guy at the LBS about TFCC and they said wrist injuries typically only occur if you fall off the bike. This was not the case for me definitely.


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## useport80 (Mar 6, 2008)

is there any gear to avoid/prevent this?

i jsut crashed this weekend and both of my wrists are killing me. looks like it is a tfcc related, but i can't tell if it's a sprain or tear.


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## frana (Jan 5, 2008)

Wrist injuries are tricky to diagnose. See a doc if it is painful to the point of not being able to do basic activities. I use what is called an ulnar gutter splint. Keeps my wrist from extending past about 20 degrees. I put weight more through the radial side of my hand(toward the thumb/index finger side). If you can ride with your wrist in neurtral (between palm up and palm down) position , less stress on the TFCC. Avoid extreme wrist flexion/extension. Ice regularly. These same principles can be used off the bike too to protect the TFCC.


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