TargetTalk

Here is an interesting, but hard to discribe, medical question.

I teach a group of new shooters the kneeling shooting position. One of them was experiencing a heartbeat in his left wrist (righthanded shooter). At first we were convinced that it was caused by the sling pressing against veines or a nerve in the upperarm (what is the case most of the time) but that was not the problem. Putting our vinger between the rifle and his wrist we could feel a pulse in the transition between the inside of his handpalm and his wrist. After comparing both his hands, we discovered a lump of about 0.5 centimeter (1/4") on the inside of his handpalm just below the base of the thumb where the wrist begins. It looks like 2 or 3 small arteries are crossing eachother at that point - we could see the lump pulsating with his heartbeat. When he bends his hand out and to the right the lump is flattened, but then he can not hold the rifle.
Can anyone advice on this subject?

Thanks,
Albert B
(The Netherlands)

There are two common causes I can think of.
The first is an AV malformation. This is a sort of blood vessel tumor where arteries and veins make up the tumor. The second is a ganglion or synovial cyst. They are common at the wrist and often wrap around the radial artery. Both of these could cause a significant pulse. The primary treatment is surgery.

JCummings wrote:There are two common causes I can think of.
The first is an AV malformation. This is a sort of blood vessel tumor where arteries and veins make up the tumor. The second is a ganglion or synovial cyst. They are common at the wrist and often wrap around the radial artery. Both of these could cause a significant pulse. The primary treatment is surgery.

So Albert, your reply to me elsewhere might not have been as far fetched as you thought. If it looks unusual then you might want to suggest the guy visits a specialist to investigate. It could on the other hand be just be an annatomical quirk as we're all different.

Rob.

Thanks guys,
after a search on the internet I found only the same answers you gave me. Seems i will have to use a scalpel or chainsaw after all to get rid of the anomaly :-)

Thanks for the advice.
Albert B
(The Netherlands)