Birth pains - how pregnancy meant agonising arms for Shropshire mum

Music company director and mum-of-one Casandra Beard, from Shrewsbury, was in so much pain she could barely change her son's nappy.

But she has now undergone pioneering surgery, and says: "I feel like a new person."

• The main symptoms of tendonitis are pain and inflammation in the affected tendon, says NHS Choices.

• If you have tendonitis you may have: pain that is worse when you move the affected area a sensation that the tendon is grating or crackling as it moves (this may be felt on examination) swelling, sometimes with heat or redness weakness in the affected area a lump that develops along the tendon.

• If your symptoms persist, the tendon may rupture (split) and a gap may be felt in the line of the tendon. Movement in that area will also become more difficult.

• Types of tendonitis and tenosynovitis Tendonitis can occur in many different parts of the body. If the sheath surrounding the tendon becomes inflamed rather than the tendon itself, the condition is known as tenosynovitis.

De Quervain's tenosynovitis:

• De Quervain's tenosynovitis is not strictly a type of tenosynovitis, as it is not associated with inflammation. It is thickening of the sheath surrounding the thumb tendons, which run between the wrist and the thumb. There is obvious swelling and moving your thumb will be very painful.

For more information visit www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Tendonitis/Pages/Symptoms.aspx

For 12 months prior to the operation, the fit 42-year-old increasingly struggled when doing simple every day tasks such as cooking or showering because of debilitating pain in her arms.

She was unable to work out at the gym and her life was becoming increasingly hampered.

But after a visit to her GP she was referred to specialist hand surgeon Piers Moreau at the Nuffield Health Shrewsbury Hospital.

She was diagnosed with de Quervains disease, a painful inflammation of the tendons in the thumb that extends to the wrist – and was told the condition had been brought on by chemical changes in her body during pregnancy.

In August, she underwent surgery on her hands at the same time to speed up the time required for her recovery, so she could get back on the road with her musician husband, who spends much of his time working all over the world with artists such as James Blunt, Robbie Williams and Bryan Ferry.

Mrs Beard said: "Mr Moreau told me exactly what was wrong and what he needed to do surgically to fix it.

"He didn't fob me off with any other form of treatment.

"When he operated, he saw that the sheath on the tendons was not doing what it should and the repetitive nature of tasks, such as nappy changing, had been inflaming my hands, causing the chilling and excruciating pain I had experienced.

"After a couple of weeks, my stitches dissolved and I could return to caring for my one-year-old son. A month later, I went back to pilates and gentle gym weights work. My hands are now better than they have ever been – my wrists are magic."

Mr Moreau said: "Mrs Beard came to see me with florid symptoms of bilateral de Quervain's disease. Her symptoms had been brought on as a result of the hormonal surges seen during pregnancy.

"De Quervain's tenosynovitis is a painful condition affecting the tendons on the thumb side of your wrist. Any activity that relies on repetitive hand or wrist movement, such as working in the garden, cooking or lifting your baby, is very painful and can make it worse.

"Treatment can be with splintage, activity modification and consideration of steroid injection or for more extreme cases surgical release.

"The surgery involves opening up the compartment through which the tendons are running and creating space for them to move freely."

In Mrs Beard's case, surgery was necessary, and the results were immediate, with a rapid reduction in pain.

Mr Moreau said: "I am delighted by Mrs Beard's response to surgery and by her rapid return to normal activities especially as these involved the care of a young infant."