weight bearing question for thumb and various other questions

Hello everyone, I hope this post does find you well. I just have a few questions to pose and hope to read your ponderings on.

Jan 6th 2017 I was in a car accident. This accident resulted in some injuries that where treated by orthos but part way through I had a job change and lost insurance.

My thumb was fractured close to the CMC joint and a small plate/screws had to be put in. I had....2 days of therapy before circumstances kept me from returning. I've done my own therapy though and I feel like I have gotten a good bit of use back in it.

so...thumb questions!

Will it be normal to noticeably feel the difference in this thumb for my life?

How much weight can I expect to bear on the thumb?

This is actually my main curiosity and the instigator of my joining. I have gone back to light weightlifting and have been rebuilding strength in the arm/wrist/hand in ernest since october. I have moved from manipulating 3 pound, to 5 and as of today... 8 pound dumbell. I feel I have moved slowly mainly due to caution, taking time to test and feel out how the thumb is doing before changing weights. I know my right thumb handles similar tasks easily. The tasks are mostly leverage based, using the thumb to push, slide and grip. 8 pounds on the left is distinclty noticable but not what I would call uncomfortable.


Another question related to the car accident...

I had 2 transverse process fractures. one in L5 and the other in L3 if memory serves correctly. I was told to just take it easy and that they were of no concern. Yet even now over a year passing....I experience pain when sitting, depending on the type of chair the pain can be a gradual onset through out the day or an acute onset but is immediately relieved upon standing or laying. I imagine it feels akin to a tail bone fracture, but as far as I know...that did not happen. I also am very much aware of people when they apply pressure to the lower back...for example...massage and can quickly feel uncomfortable. I haven't allowed anyone to go past this discomfort state as I've no wish to hurt myself.


And my personal mystery issue that is not related to a car accident!

in 2009 I was wearing platform shoes and carrying not only a duffle bag of canned goods but also wearing a backpack of similar nature [I used to shop during my lunch break]. Naturally while carrying all this I turn my ankle. For some reason I shifted my body forward to try and compensate and keep footing instead of just using a break-fall technique. My ankle got turned badly and I got a lightly banged up knee along with it.

So...get home...RICE it and give it a few days. No real improvement. Go to an ortho who ignores my ankle and wants a knee mri...so I do it. Knee was fine except for some old scar tissue from something. When reminded about the ankle he stated "The only reason you feel pain is because your fat." One of the few things I can clearly recapp from any conversation in my life....because his statement was ludicrous. It also killed any faith I had in dealing with Doctors for a long time.

For a year...I dealt with massive swelling and an unexplained nerve pain that went from my toes up to the top of the thigh/lower hip region. A cat walking on me made me want to cry. Holding my child made me want to cry. Walking was agony. I became obese by gaining 80 pounds because it hurt to move. Tried OTCs and various techniques but nah...didnt work. And by that time there where other factors going on in my life and I chose not to see a doctor. In the end...I got desperate and researched which cigarrette brand had the highest freebase nicotine and bought a pack. Messed up thing was that after a few drags the nerve pain died down enough that I could walk...and slowly drag the weight off me. With in 6 months I was back in Aikido. Swelling has never left. My foot stays 1/2 shoe size larger than the other. It still hurts to various degrees at times. For years when ever I tried to quit smoking the nerve pain would flare so burningly bright that I would get a pack to make it stop. I was finally able to quit smoking last year after my car wreak.

I did have a foot/ankle examination done on that foot because after the car wreak it felt like I was splintering bone around the top of the ankle joint. They didnt see anything like that thank god but though I had swelled up bone marrow and gave me a very supportive foot brace which helped tremendously. The only thing they found of note was that my fifth metatarsal is distincly lower than the other metatarsals. That ortho mentioned that she had never seen one this low. I forget the exact amount but there was no question about it even to the untrained eye. My left foot by comparison looks more normal. I have flat feet by the way.

So...late last year I did start getting boughts of nerve pain again and sometimes my leg is just...uncomfortable. The sweliing is in the foot and up the ankle into the lower calf. In case I was being diabetic I cut all soda from diet. In a sense my eating habits are healthier than they've ever been...even when I was regularly training and conditioning I still had soda.

When I can get insurance again I plan to get some second opinions on some things and have some other issues checked out that really should have gone to an ortho. I've gotten a little beat up over the years.

Thank you for taking the time to read this expulsion of things. I hope to hear from those interested in replying!