Doctor Prescribes Jewelry To Ease Pain

For three years, Angela Darragh has struggled with painful, advanced arthritis, 10TV”s Andrea Cambern reported on Wednesday.

Her doctor, hand surgeon Desmond Stutzman of the Mount Carmel New Albany Surgical Hospital, said that he wanted to help Darrah postpone surgery as long as possible.

Traditionally, doctors prescribe a splint to hold the painful joint in place, but splints do not work if patients refuse to wear them, Stutzman said.

"My worry with any of the splints is, are the patients going to utilize them, and do they help?" Stutzman said.

Stutzman said that most splints do not fit under gloves, do not slide through sleeves and need to be removed to wash hands.

Stutzman said that he began to prescribe splits that looked like jewelry instead.

The splints are sterling silver rings twisted into modern art shapes. Some circle the base of the thumb or finger and wind upwards to circle the digit again, Cambern reported.

Most patients, the doctor said, are glad to wear them, and the therapeutic jewelry gets the job done.

"It's more for the stability of the thumb and decreasing the joint forces that go across it and are causing the pain with arthritis," Stutzman said.

In the six months that Darragh has worn one of the rings, she said that she had seen a big improvement.

"I have improved about 75 percent with pain relief,” Darragh said. “I can use my hand a lot more during the day for simple activities, and I've noticed a lot more strength in my hand," she said.

The custom-ordered rings also can be made of gold or decorated with precious gems.

They were created by an occupational therapist,  when she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, Cambern reported.

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