|
|
Joined:
April 2006
Posts: 1017
Location: Budd Lake, NJ | Well, there's no fun owning a posse's worth of guitars when your elbow and wrist are so inflamed it hurts to just pick one up. (Left elbow, left wrist. For once, the shoulder is behaving itself....)
Sat through two-and-a-half hours of bluegrass last night and just sang. It was weird to see everyone else having fun and not be playing.
Is anyone else here similarly afflicted? If so, any suggestions (medically sound and morally responsible, that is ;) :D ) that may help? I've had it before, but never this long, or this bad--it's been over a month, and I'm starting to get a little discouraged. :( (Already doing the ibuprophen, ice, and rest thing....)
--Karen |
|
| |
|
Joined:
October 2006
Posts: 5575
Location: big island | karen,
there is a massage technique that works wonders. i explained it previously in a thread about carpal tunnel.
use your right knuckles to press firmly and massage your entire left forearm, upper and lower sides and between your elbow and armpit. use a circular motion in both directions. you will feel nerve stimulus. do this for 15-20 minutes once or twice a day. many folks get great relief after the first session.
if you happen to have a thermophore (moist heat pad) it works well in conjunction with the massage by first warming up the area before massaging. it is not absolutely necessary, but can speed the process. then perform the massage from time to time as a tonic. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Go see your doctor. That said, most common and constant problems associated with playing musical instruments are down to poor posture and/or bad technique, but if you've been playing the same way for years and it's just started happening, then go see your quack. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
November 2004
Posts: 1330
Location: ms | Been dealing with it for years. Good thread a while back about it over at the UMGF. I do all the things you do and also lost of physical therapy. I`ve had injections but would advise you to keep that as a last resort. Trigger point therapy works wanders if you can learn to do it. A cream called BIO FREEZE with ice on top helps me also. I`ve tried it all but years of over use have left me with a chronic problem (hands also) I have to deal with every day. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Acupuncture.
Look up Dr. Wu (can't remember his first name).
He used to be the Head of Anesthesiology at DoverGeneral and had a private practice in an office of Route 10 in Randolph.
It's been a while, and I don't know if he's still there . . . |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | learn more about it, then decide. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
July 2007
Posts: 325
Location: Texas | reflexology does wonders - but use advil also - it helps withinflamation. I have it in my elbow right now - it is not fun. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 627
Location: Cherry Hill, NJ | Karen, the good thing is that it exentually goes away. I found wearing the "arm strap device" above my elbow worked well. Dr Wu?.... Katy Lied |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 1071
Location: Carle Place, NY | Here's my advice as a pharmacist. The strongest over-the-counter pain reliver is naproxen sodium a/k/a Aleve. Buy the generic brand. Two tablets every 8 hours around the clock. Take it for a full two weeks or less if the pain goes away completely.
Heat and massage can help also. Apply heating pad or Thormophore for 15 minutes then 20 minutes of massage. Get someone to help with the massage. Some therapists advise applying ice/coldpak after the massage to prevent further inflammation.
I'm completely sceptical about physicians helping this kind of pain. Unless you think that something is ruptured or torn, which usually only happens in an acute trauma situation, all that an MD can do is confirm that you you have tendonitis and then prescribe expensive, prescription anti-inflamatory drugs which don't really work any better than the naproxen but have more side effects (remember Vioxx?).
Alternative treatments like acupuncture and trigger point therapy might work, but I don't know much about them.
Anti-inflmatory meds, heat and massage do work but take some time and require resting the afflicted areas. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 1132
Location: Parrish, FL | I've got it too Karen and what Mitch says is right path. Your Doc will just tell you the same thing, so avoid the cost of the office visit. Generic 'Aleve' from Walmart is the key for 10-14 days and you'll be good as new. Limit the activity that is causing the aggrevation.
Blues |
|
| |
|
Joined:
November 2004
Posts: 1330
Location: ms | Trigger point therapy is just a form of massage geared toward the tendon or muscle thats inflamed. You need a good PT to learn this but I agree with Mitchrx if you are going to take meds, take them daily for a couple of weeks. |
|
| |
OT Tendinitis, anyone?
