How do you deal with tendonitis or De Quervain's tenosynovitis? "De Quervain's tenosynovitis is a painful condition affecting the tendons on the thumb side of the wrist. Swelling and thickening of the tendon sheath make it hard to move the thumb or grip objects." I believe I'm dealing with this now and it really impairs paddling, fishing, and virtually anything else that requires gripping and or lifting. I'm currently wearing a brace/splint which does help to a degree. Other than a visit to my orthopedist, I was curious to see if anyone else has suffered from this and how it affected all aspects of their fishing? Having to paddle against strong winds was a real killer for me and now I'd seriously consider scrubbing a trip if the winds are strong.

Being that I'm niot a doctor, maybe it's just early onset rigor mortis.....😃

Do you have any numbness in your little finger and up the side of your hand? A doctor will have you see a neurologist and they’ll test for a pinched nerve. I had cubital tunnel syndrome. Which was a pinched nerve in my elbow. I needed surgery to relocate the nerve. Totally fine now, but wore a partial cast for at least a month.

14 minutes ago, Scott F said:

Do you have any numbness in your little finger and up the side of your hand?

No numbness at all. Just pain and swelling at the base of the thumb.

I get tendinitis fairly often, shoulders, elbows, forearms, for various reasons. For some it’s just minimizing use, for my shoulders it’s mostly PT and learning what movements to avoid. For hand issues, carpel tunnel and trigger fingers, I go to the hand doc.

When these are acting up I have to avoid fishing. I might be able to paddle some, and cast lightly, but it just aggravates the issue.

Just to throw it out there, I had wrist/hand issues from casting heavy baits on spinning gear, pinching the string going into a cast seemed to be the culprit. Started using casting gear a few years ago for the heavy stuff, cleared that up.

I get some pretty gnarly flare ups a couple times a year in my right wrist/hand. Doc told me to try icing it, which was a pain in regions other than my wrist, but it does help a lot.

My wife found a “Copper Freeze” wrist thing at Wally World, and it was $20 well spent. I ended up buying a couple extras that I keep frozen and toss in the cooler if I’m doing something other than hanging around the house when it’s acting up.

6 hours ago, padlin said:

When these are acting up I have to avoid fishing. I might be able to paddle some, and cast lightly, but it just aggravates the issue.

This is what I'm afraid of.... I'll usually go fishing in less than ideal conditions. Now, I'll scrub a trip if the conditions will exacerbate the thumb/wrist pain.

5 hours ago, ElGuapo928 said:

My wife found a “Copper Freeze” wrist thing at Wally World, and it was $20 well spent.

I ordered one. I'll see if it helps. Thanks for the suggestion.

Hope it helps! They’ve been a lifesaver for me.