VelpeauCMC Thumb Brace for Osteoarthritis - with Shape-memory Restriction Splint, CMC Joint Stabilizer, Basal Thumb Arthritis Pain Relief and Support for Women and Men (Black, Left Hand, Medium)

Thank goodness for this thing, seriously. I can pick things up again! Hallelujah!I seem to have done a damage to my poor thumb, which also seems to be not that uncommon, from what I've been reading. Many of us are overusing them these days, with typing and texting, or gaming. While results are pending for me with the doctor, that seems to at least be part of the problem. Whatever the reason, it had gotten to the point where I couldn't hold onto anything with my left hand thanks to the pain that would shoot through my thumb.Enter several braces. The one from Futuro works okay, but the thing is, it's bulky and made of fabric, and so every dang time you want to wash your hands or if you need to - god forbid - put a glove on for something, you're just going to need to take it off. That's a hassle. Also the velcro wears out and it's part of the thing so you can't replace it, really...Then I found this one, after trying a couple of other things. It didn't LOOK comfortable. And I'll be honest. Sometimes it isn't. But that's any brace, potentially. It feels a lot better if you wear the little 'liner' they send with it (I bought another pack, in fact, you can find them, and a style that has a little more wrist support in it, too, from the same company, here on Amazon), it helps keep the plastic from chafing, or the velcro attachments from scratching. Critical, if you ask me.Do I adjust it during the day? Yeah. Does it get uncomfortable sometimes? Yeah, usually the end of the day. Do I also wear the thing every single day, for pretty much the whole time I'm awake, and forget it's on for long periods at a stretch? Yeah, and I never thought, from looking at it, that that would be true, but it's way more comfortable than it looks.It also fits under a nitrile glove, and a dish glove. You might lose a few nitriles here and there to an edge catching it and tearing, but it FITS, so you can do your crafts or cleaning and be gloved up and STILL braced! I literally couldn't find a single other one (other than looking at the hugely overpriced ones similar to this) that would fit under a glove like that.Range of motion is slightly restricted (of course) but it doesn't FEEL nearly as restrictive as most braces, which is also kind of amazing. How can it keep the pain at bay AND let me move around enough to feel close to normal?It also comes with TWO velcro straps, the one it starts with and a SPARE (hurray!), which is awesome, and the little liner thing besides, which is a heck of a lot more value than most of these companies want to give you. It's not perfect, but it's close enough for me for now, and it has become a critical part of my everyday routine, for now. Highly recommend.

If you have pain with pinching motions using your thumb - you need this.Do not be fooled by its relatively insubstantial appearance, this brace works wonders. I couldn’t even hold a cat treat between my thumb and index finger without pain, but now I can give my greedy goblins their churu without whimpering.It also vastly decreases the pain from motions like opening jars/caps and the weight from pens/pencils and silverware if you eat/write like I do, which my mom says is unbecoming of a lady.It is low profile and can fit under a nitrile glove. Comfortable but if you use your hands a lot I would get a moleskin to put on the webbing between your index finger and thumb, otherwise the provided sleeve covers the rest.Buying another one so I can have both colors, but also so I can let one have a break every now and then from supporting my entire existence.

Likes:The elastic protection sleeve is nice because the actual splint is fairly stiff. It prevents chaffing and rubbing from the splint and adds some support.The splints are adjustable with the velcro straps and since there are two of them I can customize the support.The splints themselves have metal inside of them that can be bent to the needs of the wearer.They are very supportive and helpful when I know I am going to be doing a lot of lifting and help when I am working on my computer too.They came with an extra set of velcro straps which is nice because they do stretch out over time.They seem less bulky than other splints I have found on Amazon. I like the lower profile.Dislikes:The left hand splint tore where the soft plastic and the metal meet. I have had these for 8 months and it seems like they should have lasted longer than that for the price.The elastic sleeve doesn't breath very well. They don't wash up well either. I tried both handwashing and machine washing. I had to replace them because they get smelly and stretched out.The metal in the splint is a bit difficult to bend because I have arthritis. I had to get help to shape them to my hand.Overall Review:They have been a lifesaver for me and have increased my productivitiy level significantly. I would purchase them again and have purchased new sleeves already. I wear them regularly.