muscle/joint pain

[barend]

Alright, I'll throw this out here and see what peculates up.

 

For the past couple of months my left elbow area has been acting up. Not sure if it is the joint or muscle. Clutching sucks and is painful. Picking a cup/sugarbowl of the cabinet shelf is uncomfortable at best and flexing my arm after having it in a steady position (like riding) for a while definitely gets my attention.

 

I can't quit work (duh!), I can't switch hands, I've tried a tennis brace, auto clutch might be nice but won't make the problem go away , advil doesn't do anything and chiropractic adjustments don't help either. Anyone had this and what did you do to make it go away?

 

Thanks!

[Cruser]

Sounds like the pain I had once, it was not in the elbow but originated in my neck, its called nerve pain , specific adjustments of my neck helped but nothing but time made it better.

 

here is how to test and see if its the same, have your wife or someone lift your head straight up a little ,stretch the neck out a bit and see if the pain in your elbow goes away.

 

if it does then its the same.

[Hummingbird]

perhaps you uncle Arther (ritis) has come to visit. If so he may not want to leave -

[CrazyHorse]

Sounds like tendonitus

[Yammer Dan]

Time. And then when you notice its gone it comes back for a visit. Ain't getting old fun!!!

[T.J.]

It sounds like tennis elbow. I had to go to Physical Therapy for six weeks. I could not lift a hammer at work. Now it is ok.

 

I never played tennis. It is just what they call it.

[brewser23]

I know exactly what you are talking about because I have the same thing going on . Major PITA, Dr says it's tennis elbow and has prescribed therapy, only problem is I am unemployed, therapy is $65 bucks a pop and right now that is just out of the question. I have been taking a couple of Tylenol#1(they have codine in them) when it gets real sore and these seem to help with the pain.

[T.J.]

I know exactly what you are talking about because I have the same thing going on . Major PITA, Dr says it's tennis elbow and has prescribed therapy, only problem is I am unemployed, therapy is $65 bucks a pop and right now that is just out of the question. I have been taking a couple of Tylenol#1(they have codine in them) when it gets real sore and these seem to help with the pain.

 

I can give you some therapy that helped mine out. You can do this at home. Take magazine paper and wad it up with the bad arm in a tight ball and throw it in a basket. Do this twenty times. Do not use the good arm to help. Take your thumb on your good arm and find the sore spot in your forearm on bad arm. Make it hurt by pushing down in the sore area. When your done with those two things.

 

Take a Dixie cup and put it in the freezer. Do this ahead of time so it will be froze when you need it:whistling: Take the cup that is now froze and rub it in a circle around your elbow. You can peel back the cup when the ice melts so you keep the ice on your arm. You must keep it moving. You will go through stages with the ice. First just cold feeling, then burning, then numbness. It will go numb and that is what you want. The burning is the worst part but it will help.

 

Good luck and hope you try it cause it will help.

[GeorgeS]

I have been takeing Congroitine/Glucosamine for several years. Seems to help keep Artheritis at bay. But it takes several months to help.

 

Also, a Calcium supplement, such as a product called " Tri salts " avialable at health food stores helps support Bone Structure, and bone growth.

 

If you have a damaged ligement in that joint, its going to take time to heal.

 

Chiropractic takes time, don't expect results in just a few weeks. Sometimes the root cause is somplace in the Spine, which can cause pain in other area's of the body.

Give the chiropractic treatments several months to show results.

 

About 12 years ago, I " crawled into the bone crushers Office," it took about 6 months to get me back to about 85 percent. I'm about 95 percent now, and I figure thats about as good as it will get. !!

 

Maby you can convince the wife to massage the elbow several times a day !!, well it might help, -- certainly can't hurt anything, worth a try.

[CrazyHorse]

It sounds like tennis elbow. I had to go to Physical Therapy for six weeks. I could not lift a hammer at work. Now it is ok.

 

I never played tennis. It is just what they call it.

 

I know exactly what you are talking about because I have the same thing going on . Major PITA, Dr says it's tennis elbow and has prescribed therapy, only problem is I am unemployed, therapy is $65 bucks a pop and right now that is just out of the question. I have been taking a couple of Tylenol#1(they have codine in them) when it gets real sore and these seem to help with the pain.

 

 

Basically tendonitus

[DragonRider]

My similar pain was caused by 2 ruptured disc in my neck, had them removed and fused and been good ever since, still have some aches now and then but nothing like what I had before the surgery......it got so bad, I had to sleep in a recliner with both arms elevated, couldnt grip a glass of water without extreme pain, in fact any movement of arm or hand was bad..............:eek:

[Drreb]

Dang you people are sure getting old. Spray a little WD 40 on it...

[midnightventure]

Several years ago I was starting to have pain like you describe and pain in my shoulder. I joined a gym and started doing the basic stuff. Pains went away in about 3 weeks( unless the guy that owns the gym talks me into trying to lift to much). It's been about 6 years now and I feel much better and my weight is much easier to control.

[barend]

I'll try the icepack for a while, see what happens. I get weekly adjustments so it's not likely pinched nerves and I don't do well with some drugs. Uncle Arthir?? yeah, thought crossed my mind, just no stiffness just annoying pain.

 

And I'm not getting older; getting wiser ....:doh:

[Yammer Dan]

Sea-Foam it!!!

[Marcarl]

I've tried the chiropractor for such aches, but since have gone to a massage therapist. Now I live mostly pain free, but this past week it was my right shoulder, it got worse at MD but riding was fine. Now I do stretches as well as massage and that sure helps as well. The stretches are suggestions from my long distance personal trainer,,, my very own flesh and blood daughter in Ottawa.

[autopilot]

Oddly, I've known a couple of guys that swear by the occasional use of WD-40 that way. Does sound like classic tendonitis, though!

 

I had some of what you describe pain-wise and mine is more nerve related (neck & shoulder are more the culprits in causing my arm pain. However (and this floored me when the doctor said it), my doctor said that many pain dr.s mis-diagnose arm & elbow pain. He said that many times it is actually pain that originates from carpal tunnel nerve impingement at the wrist.

 

This guy is really good and when I got the carpal tunnel surgery, some of the forearm pain did actually reduce (understanding of course that the surgery is primarily for hand pain & numbness). PT on my neck & shoulder helped some more. Now, 30 minutes wirh a TENS unit on my shoulder a couple of times a week and a simple exercise (standing in a doorway or a corner, with feet away from the doorway or the corner...put hands on the doorframe or the two cornering walls and lean in to force the shoulders back. Hold for 30 sec. & repeat 3 times; do the routine 2 or 3 times per week) pretty much takes care of it. Rotator cuff is still going to need some work later but for now, it's ok.

 

Something else he had me to do (albeit, primarily for carpal tunnel) that has helped is to where the wrist/forearm braces at night when sleeping. Most people evidently roll their hand over (like you're trying to touch the inside of the wrist) which aggravates the carpal tunnel issue and by extension, the forearm/elbow pain problem (at least in my case). I still wear them at night for that reason. I figure if it works, what the hey!

 

And finally, in the for what it's worth department, the young lady who did my Physical therapy told me to quit wearing suspenders. They cause the shoulders to pull forward slightly as in a slouch and complicate any nerve impingement through the shoulder area. Now I just hurt my shoulder every time I hike up my pants.

 

Likely, much more than you wanted to know, Barend, but if any piece of it can be used to your benefit....then it was worth boring everyone else to tears!

[Jrichard]

I suggest to my clients to consider buying either of the following. Biofreeze (your chiropractor might sell it) this will make it cold and you can use it with ice for a faster response, or go to a health food store and look for Arnicacream. The arnica cream is a natural antiinflammatory. I usually will look for the spots that are tender and find that there is restriction in the soft tissue and work out the restriction then instruct the client to ice it, 15 min on 30 off 15 on again. and keep it moving,but, for the meantime light duty.

[szach]

Top of the elbow.. tennis elbow.. bottom of the elbow.. Golfers elbow...

Both are a type of tendonitis..

I have a therapist i use quite a bit, she told me do have your primary give you a cortizone shot first. Then if it is still giving you problems, then do the therapy.

She states the therapy is tough for anything elbow related..

 

I have had cortizone shots in both elbows and both shoulders.. within a couple of days, relief.

[barend]

golfers elbow:confused07::confused07::think: I played golf one time (in '75) and this is what I get ...:bang head: Good thing i never like that game!!

 

I like that notion of light duty too!! Hey Boomer! Sent me some of them pygmies...

 

Thanks for the info guys, I'll medicate up, stretch, rub, ice, take a vacation (well, maybe not:depressed:) and as a last resort look into a cortizone shot.