Too Much Alcohol, Being in Love As A Cause For Wrist Drop and its Treatment

Wrist drop, which is also known as Saturday night palsy, radial neuropathy or radial nerve palsy,  is a condition where a person cannot extend their wrist and it hangs down loosly or  flaccidly. A person with wrist drop would be unable to move his wrist from that to a normal position .

Drunkenness and being in love have something in common. Both  may result in an injury called radial neuropathy which can  produce this  ”wrist drop’” condition.

Waking up to find that your hand is ”dead” is why this condition is nicknamed Saturday Night Palsy or Honeymooner’s Palsy.

In Wrist drop  you may feel sensation in the hand, yet not be able to move your hand or fingers one millimeter.

 Causes 

Though there are various causes of wrist drop it frequently results from a compression injury that includes damage or death of radial nerve cells within the arm.

Pain is usually  a warning sign before radial neuropathy develops as the arm builds up pressure over an extended period. But, the pain may be unnoticed, or even ignored, when one is in an intoxicated stupor or in love.

An example would be sleeping on your extended arm or having it swung over a chair after consumption of alcohol, hence the name Saturday Night Palsy. Another example is when one lover falls asleep on the arm of the other and head pressure compresses and thereby damages the radial nerve.

Just resting ones arm on the backseat of a chair at the movies can result in wrist drop.  A young male  may recognize the pain but feel it’s wimpish or that it may hurt his date’s feelings to move the arm to a different and healthier position.

Pain and tingling in the arm should definitely be respected.

Wrist Drop Diagnosis

Usually an MRI and a neurological consult is how a diagnosis would be made in order to determine the extent of damage but also to rule out other possibilities like carpal tunnel syndrome.

Recovery from Wrist Drop

A doctor may be able to predict if there will be a long or short recovery period but he will not be able to quantify it in days, weeks or months. The nerves may heal gradually and movement may be restored. The wrist may heal faster than the fingers. Nerve cell destruction will make the healing time even longer until regeneration can occur.

Treatment for Wrist Drop

While using a hand splint and the healthy hand for support together with a proper diet may help there is no real treatment for wrist drop. However daily exercising is recommended to keep the tendons and muscles from tightening and atrophy.

Fortunately, today there are physical therapy solutions that can provide an excellent exercise program that can begin to alleviate symptoms  leading to complete recovery. The HANDTUTOR by MEDITOUCH is one such product that is in use today for other limb disabling issues but that can be adapted as well to wrist drop. The HANDTUTOR, specifically, can be used to actively exercise extensor muscles of the wrist and therefore strengthen it so the hand does not drop.
The HANDTUTOR together with its sister devices (ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) was originally  created to provide an intensive exercise system for patients recovering from a stroke, brain or spinal injury, Parkinson’s, MS, CP, knee and hip replacement surgeries and other upper or lower limb disabilities.

The TUTOR system consists of ergonomically designed gloves or braces containing sensors connected to dedicated software. Physical and occupational therapists monitor the progress and design a customized exercise program for that patient. The TUTORs are one of the most cost effective limb exercise products available. They are fully certified by the FDA and CE and can be used by adults and children from the age of 5 and up. The TUTORs can also be used at home through telerehabilitation.

See WWW.MEDITOUCH.CO.IL for further information.