⭐︎What is this? ~ Left Palm 1104

What on earth is this?
When was it that I first noticed it last year?
Was it when I was applying lotion to my palm?


It felt like the area near the center of my left palm was a bit plump, or maybe I was just imagining it.
It looked like that depending on the lighting, or maybe it didn't.
It seemed different from my right hand, or maybe there wasn't much difference.

The color is the same as the rest of my palm.
It doesn't hurt at all.
I have no trouble making a fist or opening my hand.
My fingers don't click when I bend or straighten them.
If I just touch it lightly, I can't feel any swelling.
If I don't look at it, if I don't pay attention to it, it's as if nothing is there.


No, that's not right!!


I spent months pretending not to see it.
No, no, I definitely felt it getting bigger and harder in March.
After leaving it alone even longer, I finally had it checked at an orthopedic clinic on Wednesday, April 2nd.

I think it's a thickening or calcification of the palmar fascia.
Have you been gripping things tightly with your left hand?
Have you been putting a lot of force into your left hand?
I think it's fine to just keep an eye on it.

Do you have any underlying medical conditions?
There is something called Dupuytren's contracture, which is common in elderly men and people with diabetes.
It usually forms on the side of the little finger or ring finger, causing the fingers to curl and become difficult to straighten.
It doesn't seem to be that.

If it gets worse, we will refer you to a hand surgery specialist for an operation.
I don't think you need to worry about that, though.
Let's take an X-ray just in case.
You can keep your watch on.
No, let's have you take it off after all.
We don't want the specialist to wonder what it is, haha.

Gripping tightly with my left hand?
Putting a lot of force into my left hand?

I can't think of anything in particular, but since I'm right-handed, my left hand is clumsier than my right.
When I try to use my right hand, my left hand ends up doing the heavy lifting.
Plus, my hands are small, so it's inevitable that I use unnecessary force.

For example, cooking and washing dishes.
When serving food from a large, heavy pressure cooker (bought when we were a family of five) or an iron frying pan (same).
When washing or drying them.
I'm lifting them with just my left hand.

For example, when using leftover bath water for laundry.
I don't use a hose with a pump.
I scoop it into a bucket one by one, lift it up with effort, and move it to the washing machine.
Due to the layout of the bathtub and the washing machine, it's my left hand that holds the heavy bucket of water.

For example, my black bike (a manual city bike).
I load it with water scooped at the supermarket, rice, soy milk (a 6-pack case), books borrowed from the library, or all of those things.
I pedal on roads with many hills.
I put force into the hand gripping the handlebar.

But you're gripping with both hands, right?
That's true, but my right hand shifts gears while riding and often lets go of the grip (compared to my left hand), so maybe my left hand is gripping tighter.

Is it only when I attach a capo to Core-chan (my ukulele)?
The spring is so strong that I struggle with it every time.

Perhaps those things have been piling up over a long time.
There is nothing you need to be particularly careful about.
Please be careful not to hit it hard against anything.


Maybe wrap the bicycle handlebars with a soft, cushioned material.
Same for the bucket.
If you feel pain or if it becomes difficult to bend or straighten your fingers, we'll consider the next step.
Please let me know if there are any changes.

Yes, doctor, I understand.
I'll be careful, so please come over and wash my pressure cooker.
I'd be in trouble if it got worse and I couldn't play Core-chan.

Still, one thing after another.
If this were the Showa era, I'd end it by writing 'tohoho' (sigh).(4/13)

#Essay #Blog #Column #Prose #MiscellaneousWriting #PersonalNotes #Depression #Unemployed #Unemployment #PalmarAponeurosis #Orthopedics #Thickening #Calcification #DupuytrenContracture #HandOrthopedics Day 882