(919) 872-3171(919) 872-3171
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3701 Wake Forest Rd
Raleigh, NC 27609
All the doctors at Raleigh Hand to Shoulder Center are double board-certified in orthopedic and hand surgery by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. Find out more about the high standards of the board certification process at www.abos.org
The doctors and staff at the Raleigh Hand to Shoulder Center are proud to announce their practice mission statement: “To improve the lives of our patients with compassionate, trusted, and cost-effective care.” We look to this mission statement in our everyday practice as a guiding principle in caring for our patients.
Effective 10/28/2024 we will no longer be open on Saturdays. Our doctors are always on call 24-7 for patients with urgent problems. Call our office at 919-872-3171 and you can speak to a board-certified hand surgeon after hours and on weekends. Our doctors can help triage conditions and treat patients promptly.
Raleigh Hand to Shoulder Center doctors are designated Tier 1 with Cigna and Premium Specialty Status with United HealthCare insurance companies! They have also been designated a high value specialist practice by the WakeMed Key Community ACO. This designation is assigned to doctors and practices who provide high value healthcare for their patients.
Andrea Lueken, OTR/L CHT grew up in Minnesota where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in Art. She then received her Masters in Occupational Therapy at Eastern Michigan University in Yspilanti, MI. Andrea moved to Chicago, IL and discovered her passion for upper extremity rehabilitation and orthopedics while working in hospital outpatient programs. Andrea began working for Raleigh Hand to Shoulder Center in 2011. She obtained her Certification in Hand Therapy (CHT) that same year. She enjoys being creative in helping her patients return to their function. When she is not at Raleigh Hand to Shoulder Center, Andrea is driving her two boys to their baseball and basketball games. Andrea also stays busy with her 2 year-old golden retriever Evie who requires constant pets and tennis ball throws! When her boys and dog are finally tired, Andrea mostly enjoys sleeping, reading, playing volleyball, gardening, and baking.
Dr. James Post of Raleigh Hand to Shoulder Center discussed treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis involving the wrist. Orthopedic surgery residents, hand therapy, and Raleigh area hand surgeons were in attendance. Watch the video below to learn more about this condition.
Dr John Erickson was raised in El Paso, Texas. His father was an officer in the US Army, and the Erickson family settled in El Paso after his father retired from the military. As a youth, Dr. Erickson developed a love of the outdoors, was active in Boy Scouts, and earned the Eagle Scout Award. He went to medical school at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He completed his orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Michigan, where he met his wife, Kimberly. He has been with the Raleigh Hand to Shoulder Center since he finished his hand surgery fellowship at Vanderbilt University in 2010.
While he was deciding where to “hang his shingle” after training, Dr. Erickson was immediately interested in the Raleigh Hand practice. He was impressed with the camaraderie among the surgeons, the integration of hand therapy within the practice, and the friendliness of the staff members. He says, “Our practice is unique. We are a small family – an independent, very specialized group of doctors and therapists, who really care about delivering high quality care to our patients. This is a great place to work.”
Dr. Erickson is double board-certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery in orthopedic surgery and hand surgery. He was president of the North Carolina Society for Surgery of the Hand in 2021. He also helps to organize weekly hand conferences at WakeMed hospital for orthopedic resident education.
Dr. Erickson’s approach to patient care is straightforward: he treats people as he would like to be treated. Similar to all the doctors in the Raleigh Hand practice, he begins with conservative treatment recommendations for most conditions.
Dr. Erickson is married to Dr. Kimberly Erickson, a pediatric surgeon at WakeMed Hospital in Raleigh. They have one teenage daughter and a rescue dog. The Ericksons are active members of Christ Church in downtown Raleigh. He has participated in volunteer mission trips in medical school and in private practice. He enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, hiking, and being outdoors. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Erickson began painting landscape art, and he has turned this into a rewarding hobby.
Persistent hand pain after carpal tunnel surgery is a common question patients have following surgery. I want to expand on post-operative pain, as the great majority of the time the pain is related to normal healing.
Let’s start by breaking it down by time following surgery and what is abnormal and what is normal immediate post-operative pain. This is pain within the first 4-6 weeks of surgery. Remember that regardless of the technique used to release the structure causing carpal tunnel syndrome, the ligament being released is a robust structure. You need to realize the transverse carpal ligament released is roughly as thick as the thickness of a cardboard box. Immediately after the release, there will be a period of time not only for the ligament to heal in a lengthened position but also for the bones attached to the released ligament to adjust.
Two common complaints after surgery are “the base of my thumb hurts” and “when I put weight on my hand it continues to be sore.”
Many patients who have carpal tunnel syndrome also have arthritis at the base of the thumb. After the ligament is released, there can be a transient increase in pain in the area of arthritis or occasionally new onset of symptoms at the base of the thumb. As the base of the thumb “adjusts” to its new environment the symptoms will typically resolve without any treatment. If symptoms persist, treatment with topical medications, splinting or occasional injection are required. It is rare that the symptoms of the thumb persist after several months.
Weight-bearing pain in the palm and hand pain with forceful gripping or heavy lifting is normal as well. This is expected with normal healing post surgery, and gets better over time. We ask patients to avoid weight bearing if the pain is significant but mild pain with weight bearing is perfectly acceptable. Pain with heavy lifting and forceful gripping is also normal post-operative healing. We typically tell you to wait approximately three weeks after the surgery before your most heavy activities are resumed. Each patient’s symptoms and activities vary so this needs to be addressed on an individual basis. Patients should increase activities as tolerated at three weeks within their tolerance.
Now we need to discuss abnormal early post-operative hand pain After carpal tunnel surgery. Keep in mind that these complications are rare but need to be differentiated from normal post-operative pain.
Nerve injury related to carpal tunnel surgery is extremely uncommon and is sometimes difficult to separate from normal recovery of the nerve. Significant increased numbness in the hand or individual fingers immediately after the surgery is concerning. Local anesthetic is used during the surgery which causes numbness lasting sometimes 6 hours or more after surgery. Wait until the effects of the anesthetic have worn off before deciding if there is increased numbness. If this occurs the physician would want to have you come to the office in a timely manner to evaluate the hand.
Infection is another rare complication following carpal tunnel surgery. Patients who develop a surgical site infection typically have increasing pain, swelling and redness around the incision. Most patients need few, if any, narcotic pain medications after the surgery. If controlling your pain requires more narcotics or other meds such as NSAIDs daily rather than less meds, this can be an early sign of a developing infection. Increased drainage from the incision, and fever are also signs of infection but typically develop later than increase swelling, redness and pain. If you develop any of these symptoms immediately call the office or physician on call to discuss.
One other symptom post-surgical that we should comment on is “nerve recovery hand pain” after carpal tunnel surgery. This is not a complication but can be very disturbing for the patient.
When the ligament is released the chronic pressure on the nerve is removed. In the great majority of cases the patient’s numbness is resolved without nerve recovery pain. In rare cases as the nerve recovers it is painful.
Think about when your leg goes to sleep after sitting too long. The sensation to the leg and foot is diminished. We get up and move the leg around to “wake it up”. During the waking up phase you can get a burning or tingling sensation in the foot before it fully recovers. This odd sensation similar to warming hands that got too cold can be very uncomfortable. This is similar to what happens in some patients when the pressure is relieved from the nerve. Fortunately this is transient and is a sign that the nerve is recovering. Most of the time this is short lived but may have a more protracted course requiring treatment.
Dr. James Post is a member of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand and is board-certified in orthopedic surgery and hand surgery by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery. Read more about carpal tunnel surgery and many other conditions of the hand and arm on our website.
When it comes to orthopaedic care, Dr. Terry Messer stands out as a renowned expert in the Triangle area. Learn more about his journey and expertise in the field.
Dr. Terry Messer moved to the Triangle in 2001 to join the faculty at UNC in the Department of Orthopaedics, treating patients in clinic and performing surgery at UNC and WakeMed Hospitals. In 2003, he was one of the founding physicians of Wake Orthopaedics. However, because of his desire to focus on hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder care, he joined Raleigh Hand to Shoulder Center in 2006.
Dr. Messer states “My philosophy in treating patients is to perform a thorough evaluation and do my very best to come up with the correct diagnosis for each patient. I then try to present the patient with their treatment options and education them on the pros and cons of each option, letting the patient choose the treatment that is best for them.”
Despite formally leaving academic medicine in 2006, Dr. Messer has stayed up to date on the latest innovations and treatments in hand and upper extremity surgery by being an active member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Society for Surgery of the Hand, Southeastern Hand Society, and North Carolina Society for Surgery of the Hand, having served as President of the latter two organizations. He also reviews scientific articles for several prestigious research journals including the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery and Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.
Dr. Messer is also the President of COAN, a non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of orthopaedic care in Nicaragua. He has participated in numerous medical mission trips to Nicaragua where he has taught their orthopaedic surgery attendings and residents and has performed surgery on hundreds of Nicaraguan patients.
Outside of work, Dr. Messer loves to spend time with his wife, three children, and their dog. Dr. Messer and his family are members of St. Michael the Archangel Church in Cary. Dr. Messer is a sports nut, staying physically active with working out, tennis, golf, and pickleball, and watching all sports on TV. According to Dr. Messer, he especially likes watching ACC basketball, Penn State and Big Ten Football, the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Philadelphia Eagles. Dr. Messer has also been fortunate to care for many athletes over the years, ranging from weekend warriors to those participating in major league and professional sports.
Ready to experience exceptional orthopaedic care from Dr. Terry Messer? Schedule your consultation today and take the first step towards improved health and mobility.
Get started today by filling out the form on the right-hand side of this page. You can also give us a call directly using the phone call button and schedule an appointment button, both located at the top of this page.
We are pleased to announce the addition of Samantha Tobin, OTD, OTR/L to the Raleigh Hand to Shoulder Center therapy department!
Samantha obtained her Doctor of Occupational Therapy from Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences in 2018. She has worked as an occupational therapist at Greensboro Orthopedics and Emerge Orthopedics since then.
Dr. Tobin joins our practice with several years of therapy experience and an interest in pursuing her CHT.
Dr. Tobin’s hobbies include cooking, gardening and spending time with her dogs. Welcome Samantha!
Ready to embark on your occupational therapy journey with Dr. Samantha Tobin? Contact us today to schedule your appointment and begin your path to improved well-being.
Get started today by filling out the form on the right-hand side of this page. You can also give us a call directly using the phone call button and schedule an appointment button, both located at the top of this page.
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