I don’t know if the use of ring splints in EDS is widespread enough to be called universal, but it is pretty darn common. I’ve used both Silver Ring Splints (SRS) and Oval 8s, both of which have plusses and minuses. I first got SRS, oh, six or seven years ago, though I needed them earlier. Completely losing the ability to maintain a grip was a motivating factor in getting them. I got eight fingers splinted at the time (three fingers on each hand, plus thumbs), leaving out my pinkies in order to reduce my out of pocket expenses. Since then, I’ve managed to lose splints, break splints, and replace some splints. Pinkies are still waiting for the love.
Perhaps you’d like to see pictures? OK, here’s pictures!
This is a front view of my hands with silver ring splints, including thumb splints. I have the thumb splints tied on with elastic band because (1) I find having anything more substantial right at the base of my palm drives me nuts and (2) I tend to snag bracelets. I used to have a splint for my right middle finger, but it is broken.
Here you can plainly see that I don’t have my pinkies splinted. You also get to see my lovely saggy baggy skin. It’s always been that way, sort of flopped on top of bones and veins. My hands naturally curl up–tighter than this–and the splints help keep me from contracting them quite so much.
Both hands, with fingers forced straight. Notice that the unsplinted fingers are taking creative paths. You can also see that my thumbs do their best, even splinted, to disappear into my palm. The splints on them guide them into the correct place, but don’t put a lot of pressure on them. In fact, over time, all of the splints become deformed from my fingers’ tendency to veer off. This is why Carapace prefers 3 Point Products Oval 8 splints. Also, you can buy Oval 8s directly, if you know your knuckle size, but SRS need to be sized by professionals. Because I have so much extra skin on my fingers, and the joints were quite swollen, the hand therapist had quite a challenge getting the right size, so if you are like me, don’t expect that you will get the right size the first time with SRS.
Finally, here is a palm-side view of my left hand. You can see that I have a mixture of extra-strength and regular-strength splints. I would suggest to anyone to get the stronger ones because of the tendency of the splints to deform after a while.
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Please take a moment to speak up for Minna. Her life depends on all of us.
