Tendinitis advice?

[clarityat3am]

I've developed a case of tendinitis in my right arm thanks to work. Anyone else have this sort of issue? What kind of treatments have worked for you?

 

[Thora]

I have it in my ankle/leg, so I don't know if what I can tell you about my experiences would be helpful. It hurts like hell, doesn't it?

When it was at its worst, I went to a physiotherapist 3x a week. I'm a runner, so it's very important for me to get it taken care of properly. The guy I saw also gave me a bunch of stretches to do on a regular basis to help loosen up the muscles, and I also iced it from time to time. I'm not sure what the best thing would be for your arm, but I'm sure icing it might help a bit.

I hope you're able to get it taken care of and are better soon!

 

[clarityat3am]

It hurts in ways I didn't imagine connective tissues could hurt! Today it was a lot of burning pain. Right now the doctor prescribed some anti-inflammatory patches that I'm supposed to have on for 12 hours a day, so I use them in the evening and sleep with them on. I hope they have some effect. I don't really want to do therapy!

 

[dsmith2904]

I have wrist and elbow guards that I wear for work, and they help. I've also done acupuncture to help with the pain, and that has helped as well.

 

[bono_212]

I developed tendinitis in my wrist from working at an Ice Cream parlor in college. My doctor said she'd never seen it in the tendon I got it in. It hurt pretty bad all the time, and she wanted me to take a week off work and not use the wrist, but for one thing, I'm left handed, and for another, it was a part time job I couldn't just take a week off of. So we made a deal that I'd wear a wrist guard and if it got worse, I'd have to take a week off. I tried to learn how to scoop the ice cream with my right arm, but I just couldn't. I think my wrist hurt for about two months because of all of that until the semester ended and I quit the job and went back to Quiznos because I couldn't stand the pain.

Main thing i learned is that I would've saved myself a lot of trouble if I'd just found a way to take that week off. Doing the repetitive motion that caused the injury isn't going to heal it any faster.

EDIT: Just remembered, I took a photo when I got the wrist guard. Look how proud I am.

 

[kafrun]

Heat + stretch before activity, heat + stretch followed by ice after activity, and massage or some similar type of soft tissue therapy.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

i had tendonitis in my right foot, it hurt like hell. the weird thing is i didn't even have a job that required me to stand at the time, i got it from driving for a few freaking hours in flip flops, that's it. i tried getting steroids injected in my foot but i had a bad reaction and they didn't help. i also had several other issues with the foot so i got surgery to fix it. it's a rather extreme case yeah, but it did help and the tendonitis is totally gone.

 

[clarityat3am]

They've changed my job duties at work so that I'm on the keyboard less, but I still have pain in an array of places in my hand, wrist, arm, and elbow. I'm left handed but keying mostly numeric data is all done with my right hand. Can't really change that, unfortunately. I'm mostly pissed that my employer didn't bother to do anything the entire time I tried to tell them it was unreasonable to have me key so much. They change my duties only after I filed a worker's comp claim.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

oh wow, that's lame. i know the numeric keypad can be brought separately, it's not like they couldn't have bought one and chucked it over on the left of the keyboard. i had a tough enough time occasionally using a calculator with my left hand (due to my desk set-up it was the best place for it, sadly).

 

[trojanchick99]

They've changed my job duties at work so that I'm on the keyboard less, but I still have pain in an array of places in my hand, wrist, arm, and elbow. I'm left handed but keying mostly numeric data is all done with my right hand. Can't really change that, unfortunately. I'm mostly pissed that my employer didn't bother to do anything the entire time I tried to tell them it was unreasonable to have me key so much. They change my duties only after I filed a worker's comp claim.

My job also entails a lot of numeric entry and my right wrist has paid the price. I have a stupid wrist brace that has really helped a ton.

I second kaf's recommendation of massage. It too has done wonders for my wrist and my shoulder where I also have tendinitis from swimming. If all else fails they might use injectable steroids.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

Having the most miserable right shoulder an 18 year old can ask for, I highly suggest cortisone shots.

I injured my shoulder, probably from an over-extension playing hockey, and it's painful every morning/every trip to the gym. Over winter I had 5 cortisone shots on my shoulder and it, for about 4 months, was great.

Still better than it used to be, although it makes problems every now and then.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

yeah, my dad has to get cortisone shots in his knee. that's what i got in my foot and didn't help, but of course everyone's different.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

Well cortisone shots will kill the inflamation (tendinitis). Everyone's different, but if you got it in your foot the only way for it to be effective is probably to not walk on your foot at all. Otherwise you'd be counteracting the cortisone, I'd figure.

 

[clarityat3am]

I go back to the doctor tomorrow (early), because my wrist and hand are now destroying my will to live every day. Nobody at work really seems to care though. It'll be a great day when I don't have to go there anymore.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

Funny that I say it's for the most part gone and now just recently it's flared up again on my shoulder.

 

[kafrun]

I wrote a long, detailed post on tendonitis treatment and self-care the other day, and then Interference decided to start acting up. GRR.

Two main points, though: Going to the doctor and getting meds/injections will only mask the dysfunction and give you temporary relief. By all means, do what you need to do, but invest in some actual therapy for long-term results. Tendonitis is highly treatable, you just need to find a skilled practitioner who will do soft tissue work on you and give you a treatment and self-care plan based on your needs. And once you do, you have to stick with it!

And above all, avoid surgery! AVOID AVOID AVOID! lol, that's just my unbiased opinion. I've worked on people pre and post-surgery, and you don't want to go the surgical route. It creates MORE scar tissue and therefore, more dysfunction, and you can achieve the same results with an appropriate therapy(ART, massage, myofascial).

I'll try and write more later. Good luck.

 

[clarityat3am]

Kaf, I agree with what you're saying completely. The thought of surgery makes me cringe and I've thought a lot about how anti-inflammatory meds are helpful but not solving the real problem, which is the work I'm doing. Hopefully I'll find a new job soon where they won't work me to death with this sort of thing.

 

[kafrun]

Keep me posted. In the meantime, I think you'll really find that heat and stretch before starting your work day, and stretch, followed by ice after will give you some relief.