In The Flick Of A Wrist

The painful De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis, a condition of the wrist, is something new mothers are at risk of developing. Aditi Sheoran Chhajta shares her experience, and how it can best be avoided.

- Aditi Sheoran Chhajta

LIKE FOR most mothers, my first pregnancy saw me so fully immersed in my baby’s emotional, mental, and physical health that more often than not, I ignored what I needed. I started neglecting certain aspects of self-care without even realising it. Though my family was very particular about my well-being, I often pushed myself to do regular tasks faster or with greater stress on my body. I tried to make the most of the time at hand amidst all the chaos. So when my daughter turned 9 months old and my last set of calcium supplements finished, I didn’t bother replenishing them, even though I was still breastfeeding my little one. This carelessness cost me dearly when one day I couldn’t move my wrist.

There was a piercing pain on the protruding bone of my wrist, which connected to the base of my thumb. Every time I moved my fingers, it felt like something was snapping inside. To add to my misery, it was a cold February in Delhi, and I had a peculiar habit of folding the wrist under my cheek while sleeping. This definitely didn’t help the condition.

De-Coding De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis