Hand/Wrist Doctor recommendations in Seattle area?

Anyone have any good Dr. recommendations in the Seattle area for wrist/hand issues? I want to find a Doc that understands climbers. Why? Well, let me tell ya. I just saw the Lead Hand Surgeon (sounds impressive) at one of the major Seattle hospitals, and after x-rays, he said there is nothing inherently wrong, and my pain is probably just due to scar tissue, or maybe lack of proper endurance in the muscles that keep my wrist held together. (Huh?) Then he measured my grip strength, and his jaw literally dropped. He said he's never seen that high a grip strength in his career. No joke. (I climb 5.12 range at my best. Even if that's a lot relative to you, it's pretty small on the scale of climbing grades nowadays).

Anyway, I really need a Dr. who understands climbing as a sport, and the forces involved, and who can give me a better answer.

So anyone have any recommendations? Much appreciated!

Oh, the deets. Left hand: Sometimes it's fine, but other times I have shooting pain around the palm-side of my carpals (pisiform or triquetrum , as best I can tell from a online diagram). Also have intermittent severe pain on the back-of-hand side of my pinky. Certain motions REALLY set it off, like screwing on the cap of a jar really tightly (unscrewing is usually ok). Pain lasts a day or two, then settles down until I torque it the wrong way again.

A couple years ago, I saw Dr. Watt at Seattle Orthopedic Center in Wallingford, and he seemed pretty competent (and is an ex-climber himself), but Wallingford is a bitch to get to during business hours (I live in West Seattle, and work downtown). I'll probably just end up seeing him again if no one else has any recommendations, but would prefer a closer clinic.

Tanks!
--scott

Might call the symphony and see who they recommend - worked for me here in pdx a few years back...

The symphony? As in the Seattle Symphony Orchestra?
Not sure I follow you...

I've seen docs at Seattle Hand. They have a good reputation, don't automatically do surgery and have a good rep. They also have a PT group.

The group at UW Sports Med is top notch.

Hey, you might try chinese medicine- has been really helpful for healing my climbing/ skiing injuries without surgery (even when surgery was recommended). I would contact Matt Stern at Four Paths Internal Arts, and see what he recommends: fourpaths@gmail.com (206) 999-6585. Good luck!

I'm assuming you want to avoid surgery, as I think you should. You might try a couple of different avenues. The course you take will depend on who you find, and also what your insurance will cover.

Stay away from surgeons, imo. Their tool is a knife, and that's what they tend to want to use. Try to find a DO (not an MD) b/c their training involves more structural and movement knowledge. I used to go to the Sports Medicine Clinic in Ballard. Most likely, you will get a prescription for physical therapy. That is a good course of action to take.

An alternative is a chiropractor, which in my case has been a better alternative than a DO. There are lots of excellent ones. b/c your injury is hand/wrist, I don't think it's as critical that the doc knows climbing. However, I've learned from mine that injuries down the arm and to the wrist can be influenced by poor shoulder alignment and weak shoulder muscles. I would recommend Stephen Sherman at Elite Sports and Spine.

good luck.

Matt M wrote:Try to find a DO (not an MD) b/c their training involves more structural and movement knowledge.

Thanks for all the advice! And sorry I haven't responded for a while -- haven't logged in to MP for a while due to my busy schedule.

Anyway, I definitely want to avoid surgery if at all possible. It's a really frustrating problem; I'll be fine, and then I'll bend my wrist in just the right way, and have extreme stabbing pain.

@MattM: Merc @ VW has suggested Stephen Sherman to me in the past -- sounds like he's a great choice, if I want to try the Chiro path. I'm bummed that I'll be gone during VW's "Fitness Fair" coming up in a few weeks, since he'll be one of the people/doctors that will be presenting.

Once again, thanks for all your comments and suggestions. I'll post a follow-up down the road.

Happy climbing out there! This weather is sick!