Bad news, tore a tendon in my left elbow

shasha

shasha

Fractal Fanatic
Yeah, my arms been jacked up for a few months now, went to the doctor, got a little aircast thinking that it was just tendonitis or something. Went in for an MRI on wed, got a call from the doctor thursday telling me I need to see an orthopedist ASAP. Only specifics that I got was that its only a partial tear, but I'm kind of pissed. Playing has been kind of painful lately so I obviously don't do it much, but the worst part is that I have no idea how I did it to begin with. I know that it was aggravated and then like an idiot I moved into a new classroom so I was hauling some heavy stuff and when I was setting up the computers I went to get up from under the table and it kind of gave out on me. That was when I knew that it was a little more serious.

But the part that really pisses me off is that it wasn't like I did something heroic and was injured; I woke up one day and had trouble picking stuff up and it hurt. Like the worst thing is that I can't grab a bowl out of the cupboard with my left arm, I just don't have enough strength to hold onto it without dropping it.

So anyone else ever go through this stuff? What should I expect in terms of rehab? (which I hate more than anything else on this earth). Time frame?
 
Sorry to hear it. Tendons take long time and require respect: i.e. don't start doing a lot more the minute you feel better. Expect a non-linear, 2 steps forward, 1 step back recovery curve. Good news: if you give it time and respect, you will make 100% recovery.

Also: look into non-trad treatments like Acupuncture, and especially Ortho-Bionomy (I am an Ortho-Bionomy Associate-level body worker).
 
Toasted a tendon in my shoulder (my own damn fault...did about 400 pushups a day for a couple of years...)

Shots, rehab, nothing seemed to help but time. It was 3 + years before it stopped bothering me. Take your time, and find out from the rehab person what NOT to do, and work around that. It will take some effort as far as reworking muscle memory, but it doesn't have to STOP you completely.

Good luck!

Ron
 
I'm a hard head. The wife knew it was hurt and kept getting on me, but of course I'm hauling in the groceries and crap...and of course I'm doing it the macho, 20 frickin bags in one trip way.

I can play a bit and it's not like there's a lot of pain, but the thing is that I'm pretty sure that it isn't helping one bit. The worst part is that I'm right handed, but my right shoulder is a mess from a ski accident years and years ago so I've become very left hand dominant. That may have led to the injury.

Maybe Cliff can write me a new firmware for my body. :)

The release notes would be great reading:

*Fixed problem where sand would lodge into various folds of feminine areas
*Decreased whining sound caused by any physical exertion
*Repaired alignment issue caused by stupidity in right rotator cuff
*Improved nose picking ability with left hand
 
Sorry to hear, as well. I have a similar issue in my right elbow. Funny_polymath is correct... tendons take a long time but can recover completely. Make sure your diet is up to snuff while healing (LOTS of dark leafy greens is always good)... the body can and will fix itself IF it has the right tools for the job.

Many people don't understand just how important diet is in maintaining health (not that I'm suggesting you don't... I'm just rambling).

You may have heard recently about a woman from New Zealand who's diet consisted of cigarettes (30 or so) and 8-10 liters of Coke a day! BOOM... dead at 30. Thirty years old!
 
Get well soon. I've had a lot of elbow trouble and thought I wouldn't play again (not tendons, tho), but after a while it healed enough that I could. Of course it was about 16 years, but I'm lucky to be able to move my left arm at all.

BTW, I thought the guy in your avatar was peeling an orange?
 
Shasha: check your avatar. You've got the bandage in the wrong spot.

Seriously, brother, rest and heal.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jon
Phostenix said:
2 words: Lap Steel. :)

Praying for your healing.
Click to expand...
or he can be the next Jeff Healey and play guitar on his lap except well.. he's not blind.

And as for the unknown reason as to why The pain happened, maybe you were playing nightcrawlers too much :razz

But in all seriousness, pummel the doctor with all your questions regarding recovery and the process. Especially the dos and don'ts.
 
Sorry to hear about your injury-- sounds awful!

It's a real eye opener when something like this happens. It's like, you feel fine one minute and then out of nowhere a major injury comes along to slow us down.

A couple years ago I had bursitis in my left shoulder. I was fine with my arm at my side, but when I raised my elbow above shoulder level the pain was horrible. Recovery was gradual over about 8 months. At this point it's like I never had a problem. Everything went back to normal.... and then >boom<!!! something ELSE happened! I tore a calf muscle in Dec '11. I couldn't walk for a couple months. I'm still recovering from that... It may be a while before I'm back to normal. The important thing is-- it never stopped me. It slowed me down a bit, but I just had to modify how I do some things and know my limitations.

Take your Dr.'s advice, but be informed. Discuss options/excercises for physical therapy. It's going to take a while... but be patient. You'll get there. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom