Posts
1083
Joined
6/29/2014
Location
Temecula, CA
US
Edited Date/Time
3/6/2022 7:04am
For those of you out there with CTS, another Vital member had recommended a Dr in Florida that developed a proprietary minimally invasive procedure. His name is Dr Jurbala, and his office is in Lakeland, FL. From reading other posts on Vital over the years, I know a lot of others are dealing with CTS, so I thought I'd share my experience.
https://carpaltunnelexpert.com/#
I was diagnosed with CTS about 4 years ago by a neurologist using nerve conduction and electromyography. I have numbness and tingling in both hands sometimes 10-20 times a day, and the worst part is when I ride or race, I can only do about 2 laps before my grip strength starts going away - from then on it's scary as hell - it feels like the bars will fly out of my hands at any second and I'm gonna crash bad. I knew I needed surgery, but after seeing how long the recovery was for others with the traditional surgery, I put it off for years. With traditional surgery, they can only do one hand at a time, because your hand is pretty much worthless for quite a while afterwards. It can take weeks if not a few months for some people to return to work.
Well I checked out Dr Jurbala's website and read the reviews, and it seemed very promising. He could do both hands at the same time and recovery was FAST!
So I flew to FL from CA last week Wednesday, and had both hands done Thursday morning. Dr Jurbala has a diagnostic ultrasound machine he uses to visualize your nerves, and you can see them in real time. Both my left and right Median and Ulnar nerves were swollen to about 22-28mm in diameter - normal is about 8-9mm if I'm remembering correctly. The injections of anesthesia were the only thing painful about the whole process, but there's not much you can do about that. After letting the anesthesia take effect for about 30 min, he started the procedures. Each hand took only 5-10 minutes. About 10 minutes after he finished, I walked out the door, got in my rental car, and drove an hour back to the Orlando airport myself. Pretty amazing. Anesthesia wore off a few hours later, and the pain was totally tolerable. Took a couple Advil and that was it. Back home in SoCal Thursday night.
I'm typing this exactly one week from having the procedure done. Since that day I haven't had numbness or tingling in either hand (Median nerve areas) - pretty much an instant cure for that. I'm still a little sore, but feel like I could easily ride and race this weekend if I wanted to. Just incredible how fast the recovery is compared to the regular surgery.
I'm actually flying back to FL next week Thursday to have both elbows operated on for what's called Cubital Tunnel syndrome. Carpal Tunnel involves what's called the Median nerve - it innervates the thumb, index and middle fingers, and half of your ring finger. Cubital Tunnel involves your Ulnar nerve, which innervates the other half of your ring finger and your little finger. Instead of the wrist/hand area like the Median nerve, the Ulnar nerve gets compressed in the elbow - where your "funny bone" is. If you've ever hit your funny bone and had the zing go down your forearm into your hand and fingers, you know about the Ulnar nerve. Both the Median and Ulnar nerves contribute to grip strength, so I'm really hoping these surgeries will help. If nothing else, getting rid of the numbness and tingling is worth it alone.
Interestingly, from what I've read, I think Cubital Tunnel might be what Adam Cianciarulo has been dealing with this year and just had surgery for. He was saying his Ulnar nerve was involved and he would start losing his grip strength after a couple of laps - that sounded very familiar!!!
Here's a pic of my hands from today - one week after surgery. I'm pretty much back to doing 90% of daily activities. Just avoiding heavy lifting and stuff like that for a little while more - although I feel I could do it, I'm just following the Doc's recommendations.
So for anyone out there with these types of problems, I HIGHLY recommend Dr Jurbala. He holds like 6 patents on the instruments he invented to do these procedures with - I don't think anyone else is in the same league here.
https://carpaltunnelexpert.com/#
I was diagnosed with CTS about 4 years ago by a neurologist using nerve conduction and electromyography. I have numbness and tingling in both hands sometimes 10-20 times a day, and the worst part is when I ride or race, I can only do about 2 laps before my grip strength starts going away - from then on it's scary as hell - it feels like the bars will fly out of my hands at any second and I'm gonna crash bad. I knew I needed surgery, but after seeing how long the recovery was for others with the traditional surgery, I put it off for years. With traditional surgery, they can only do one hand at a time, because your hand is pretty much worthless for quite a while afterwards. It can take weeks if not a few months for some people to return to work.
Well I checked out Dr Jurbala's website and read the reviews, and it seemed very promising. He could do both hands at the same time and recovery was FAST!
So I flew to FL from CA last week Wednesday, and had both hands done Thursday morning. Dr Jurbala has a diagnostic ultrasound machine he uses to visualize your nerves, and you can see them in real time. Both my left and right Median and Ulnar nerves were swollen to about 22-28mm in diameter - normal is about 8-9mm if I'm remembering correctly. The injections of anesthesia were the only thing painful about the whole process, but there's not much you can do about that. After letting the anesthesia take effect for about 30 min, he started the procedures. Each hand took only 5-10 minutes. About 10 minutes after he finished, I walked out the door, got in my rental car, and drove an hour back to the Orlando airport myself. Pretty amazing. Anesthesia wore off a few hours later, and the pain was totally tolerable. Took a couple Advil and that was it. Back home in SoCal Thursday night.
I'm typing this exactly one week from having the procedure done. Since that day I haven't had numbness or tingling in either hand (Median nerve areas) - pretty much an instant cure for that. I'm still a little sore, but feel like I could easily ride and race this weekend if I wanted to. Just incredible how fast the recovery is compared to the regular surgery.
I'm actually flying back to FL next week Thursday to have both elbows operated on for what's called Cubital Tunnel syndrome. Carpal Tunnel involves what's called the Median nerve - it innervates the thumb, index and middle fingers, and half of your ring finger. Cubital Tunnel involves your Ulnar nerve, which innervates the other half of your ring finger and your little finger. Instead of the wrist/hand area like the Median nerve, the Ulnar nerve gets compressed in the elbow - where your "funny bone" is. If you've ever hit your funny bone and had the zing go down your forearm into your hand and fingers, you know about the Ulnar nerve. Both the Median and Ulnar nerves contribute to grip strength, so I'm really hoping these surgeries will help. If nothing else, getting rid of the numbness and tingling is worth it alone.
Interestingly, from what I've read, I think Cubital Tunnel might be what Adam Cianciarulo has been dealing with this year and just had surgery for. He was saying his Ulnar nerve was involved and he would start losing his grip strength after a couple of laps - that sounded very familiar!!!
Here's a pic of my hands from today - one week after surgery. I'm pretty much back to doing 90% of daily activities. Just avoiding heavy lifting and stuff like that for a little while more - although I feel I could do it, I'm just following the Doc's recommendations.
So for anyone out there with these types of problems, I HIGHLY recommend Dr Jurbala. He holds like 6 patents on the instruments he invented to do these procedures with - I don't think anyone else is in the same league here.
They did tell me starting August 1st they will no longer be in-network with Blue Cross/Blue Shield. The fee after that point will be right about $2500 for both hands or both elbows. Still a pretty good price. I'm pretty sure this will do more for my speed on a dirt bike than any modification or expensive parts I could ever buy!!
The Shop
Not sure what old procedure was vs. new described above, but it was a same day procedure and they actually put me under light anesthesia and needed a driver for ride home. It was all covered under my Anthem BS insurance after deductible.
The traditional method is regular surgery: pre-exam and clearance from your family Dr, including chest x-ray, EKG, and blood work. Then regular surgery in an operating room. My late wife had this type of procedure done. she was heavily bandaged and in a lot of pain (and she had a very high pain threshold) for quite some time afterwards. There was about a 3 1/2" - 4" incision/scar. It was several weeks before she could start to do normal everyday things with that hand again. If she was able to ride, it would have been at least 2-3 months before she would have been able to get on a bike again.
Fortunately my Primary care Dr was good about giving referrals (I knew him for 20 years at that point) and the Surgeon I used had previously rebuilt my shoulder and it was flawless- so I trusted him 100%. I also have high pain threshold and heal fast too. Just lucky like that I guess
How did this work on the insurance side of things, or just pay cash?
Great information, thanks for posting!
But if you’re going to a dr that’s in the BC/BS system you’d just have to pay your co-pay like any other surgery
This elbow thing is next though. But that doesn't bother me while riding actually.
YZ763 - heard you were there on Friday but we didn't get a chance to cross paths - how are you doing?
Pit Row
I’ll get back on my bike in 2 weeks to see about the grip strength, but I’m very hopeful seeing as the numbness has been totally cured.
I had mine done that day (July 30th). At 18 days out, I went for a 23 mile road bike ride. My hands were pretty sore at mile 5-6. Just a few nights ago I did a 21 mile road bike ride and they were getting pretty sore at mile 10. I rode the Grom around today for about 50 miles and I really feel like I made some serious progress today. The strength is really starting to come back. I have a hard time picking myself up off the ground with my hands flat but I feel like I am getting better by the day. I have been using them regularly and have done several road trips with no numbness. No numbness on the road bike or on the Grom which is huge!
I am a little surprised at the recovery and pain. The recovery hurt a lot more than I expected. Most people I know that have had traditional carpal tunnel surgery have said the pain wasn't that bad. I give the first two weeks a 7 out of 10 in the pain area. After that, the pain came down about a half a point a week. The recovery seemed to be a little longer than i expected too but I typically don't listen to doctors when they tell me how long I should wait to do certain things. I am hoping to race round one of the Florida Trail Riders series coming up in two weeks. I think I should be pretty good for that.
Anyhow, two thumbs up! I highly recommend Dr. J and he loves our moto crowd.
Anyone who is experiencing CTS symptoms, but isn't a candidate for surgery yet should look into wrist braces while you sleep. I've also noticed I'm sleeping better because I'm not waking up due to my arm/hand having pins and needles. Apparently side sleepers are much more prone to get this due to hand and arm position. I wish I would have looked into this 10 years ago.
My pain wasn't bad at all. The only thing I have still is tenderness if I put pressure on the incision site - like doing a push-up. I think same as you're describing. my numbness in the median nerve areas is pretty much gone. Once in a while I'll feel something, but it's probably the nerve healing slowly.
i haven't raced yet - primarily because I sent my bike's cylinder and head off for some work and just recently got it back. Hopefully this weekend I can ride or race - very hopeful that my grip strength lasts more than 2 laps like it has the past several years.
my cupital tunnel surgeries results are kinda mixed right now - right side doing somewhat better, but left side not as good. I think I waited too long and the scarring and calcification were just too bad to get optimum results. As I mentioned earlier, Dr J had a hell of a time cutting through those ligaments in my elbows. Time will tell - again it can take a long time for nerves to heal. I'll remain hopeful I'll make slow progress with the ulnar nerves.
the real test is when I ride again - I should know more soon.
https://www.amazon.com/Support-Adjustable-Splints-Relief-Tendonitis/dp/…
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