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No options left - It's surgery for my tendinitis

#61
Commreman said:
I just checked out your photo. The angle of your wrist on your right hand will lead to trouble!

In terms of good technique, google any photo of Steve Harris. He plays with the bass at the right height, with straight wrists.

When I played ball, my nickname was "Buzzsaw". You can figure out what happened if anyone got between me and the ball!
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Well, and not only that, the limited exposure I've had to the floating approach made me realize how SLOW my current approach is. I was much faster and had to play with a lighter, more controlled touch. All good things with less extreme angles. Plus, it was an easier transition to slap.

I had friends like you. I was glad they were on my team. Haha. Most guys who tried to take me out couldn't catch me....
 
#62
DanAleks said:
It's a gyroscopic wrist exerciser. I guess now it's called DynaFlex, but it's the same thing.

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Since my original Dynabee was stolen (years ago) I just bought one on Ebay.
There's somebody selling a bunch of them at a really good price.
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I picked one of these up after work today at the Vitamin Shoppe. Under twenty bucks!

What a great little device. It definitely hits all of the key areas from the elbows down to the fingertips. Thanks again for the tip!
 
#65
Joeybyron - Ill effects are always a possibility. You need to stack the deck in your favor by following the regimen for healing set out by your orthapeadic specialist to the letter - rest, rehab, continuing exercises, change in technique, whatever it takes. I had my surgery for my elbow at the end of January. I am still not 100%, but I am gigging pain free and very happy to be doing so!

In your other thread you described a very common sheath injury that surgery can deal with quickly and effectively. Emblymouse here had it done. I am good friends with a classical pianist that had that surgery done as well. Both of these musicians were up and running pain free in a week to 10 days.

The bottom line is this - quit screwing around and go to a specialist before your condition gets worse, and let us know how you make out!
 
#69
damon106 said:
LOL ! My wife works for Union county so I will make that event
I was following this thread for awhile and finally put 2 and 2 together ! It will be nice to finally see someone from the TB family !:D
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Please come and introduce yourself! I've met a bunch of TB'ers, and it would be my pleasure to meet you too!

Back on the topic of this thread. In addition to all of the stretching and strengthening exercises that I'm doing, I've also done research on supplements that are helping as well. The supplements that I'm taking are:

1. Arnica - I take this in a pellet form internally, and as a cream externally. This is a homeopathic remedy for swelling, bruising, and trauma.

2. Super Cissus RX - This was recommended in bodybuilding forums that I found while googling tendon health. This is a homeopathic formula that aids in pain relief and tendon strengthening and building. It works!

3. Glucosamine/Chondroitin/MSM - This aids in rebuilding and rehydrating cartilage and muscle tissue.

This combination, as well as the exercise and stretching regimen, has taken care of a lot of the little aches and pains that a lifetime of running, soccer, and bass playing will bring. I am not yet 100%, but I honestly feel improvement every day. I can't say that this will work for everyone, but it is working for me. I will probably pick up a portable ultrasound unit sometime this summer as well. Ultrasound helps flush out toxins and waste products, and provides micromassage at those tender points.

I also picked up Dr. Kertz's excellent book "The Bassist's Guide to Injury Management, Prevention, and Better Health." This book is an outstanding primer on what we should and shouldn't be doing, and, as far as I'm concerned, should be required reading for everyone here.

I'm off to work, and then gigs in Atlantic City this weekend!
 
#70
Glad to read that your surgery and recovery went so well. I'm an x-ray tech, and work in a hospital. A while back, I had a bout with tendonitis in my left elbow. I'm about 99% certain it was work-related (driving the portable machine with one hand, pulling cassettes out from behind patients, etc). For a few months, I tried the support band, taking anti-inflammatories, using ice every night and even during the day between patients. It didn't help, and it made playing bass or guitar for more than 10 minutes or so rather painful.

Finally, I asked one of the pain management doctors who I work with what I should do. He squeezed and poked my elbow for a minute, and told me to come by the outpatient procedures area the next day (he's an anesthesiologist). I figured he was just going to give me a more thorough exam and set up a time for me to see him at his office--nope, he shot me up with a local anesthetic and then 4 shots of a steroid (not cortisone, but similar). The rest of the day my left arm was just about useless--numb, no grip strength at all. The next day it was a little sore, but after that it's been fine, like nothing ever happened. The only thing I regret was going through months of pain that ranged from mildly uncomfortable to excrutiating before talking to him about it. Anyone out there going through something like this, go see a freakin' doctor!
 
#71
Mofo-Kang said:
Glad to read that your surgery and recovery went so well. I'm an x-ray tech, and work in a hospital. A while back, I had a bout with tendonitis in my left elbow. I'm about 99% certain it was work-related (driving the portable machine with one hand, pulling cassettes out from behind patients, etc). For a few months, I tried the support band, taking anti-inflammatories, using ice every night and even during the day between patients. It didn't help, and it made playing bass or guitar for more than 10 minutes or so rather painful.

Finally, I asked one of the pain management doctors who I work with what I should do. He squeezed and poked my elbow for a minute, and told me to come by the outpatient procedures area the next day (he's an anesthesiologist). I figured he was just going to give me a more thorough exam and set up a time for me to see him at his office--nope, he shot me up with a local anesthetic and then 4 shots of a steroid (not cortisone, but similar). The rest of the day my left arm was just about useless--numb, no grip strength at all. The next day it was a little sore, but after that it's been fine, like nothing ever happened. The only thing I regret was going through months of pain that ranged from mildly uncomfortable to excrutiating before talking to him about it. Anyone out there going through something like this, go see a freakin' doctor!
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That's great! If you could tell me, I would love to know what your doc injected you with. I was unaware that there was anything other than cortisone available for this.
 
#72
Mofo-Kang said:
he shot me up with a local anesthetic and then 4 shots of a steroid (not cortisone, but similar). The rest of the day my left arm was just about useless--numb, no grip strength at all. The next day it was a little sore, but after that it's been fine, like nothing ever happened.
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I stumbled upon this during an attempt to gather info. Is your elbow still OK, 5 months later?

I'm having similar issues with my right (picking-hand) elbow, but I've stopped playing reasonably soon after feeling the first pains (pushed on for about 4 weeks in order to finish a long-planned show and then stopped dead, believing the elbow just needed rest). It's 'OK' if I keep it still, but I'm reminded that it's not getting any better every time I start using it (it definitely dislikes it when the arm is hanging down for long spells during our regular hikes).

The problem I have with pain stillers (like the steroid shot above) is that one might do things you're not supposed to because the pain is suppressed. The problem is that one needs pain to avoid pushing the body too far. Phillip Yancey wrote an excellent book 'The gift of pain', covering exactly that.

I'm still thinking about my options & next step to be taken when the world gets going again in the new year.
 
#73
tobie said:
I stumbled upon this during an attempt to gather info. Is your elbow still OK, 5 months later?

I'm having similar issues with my right (picking-hand) elbow, but I've stopped playing reasonably soon after feeling the first pains (pushed on for about 4 weeks in order to finish a long-planned show and then stopped dead, believing the elbow just needed rest). It's 'OK' if I keep it still, but I'm reminded that it's not getting any better every time I start using it (it definitely dislikes it when the arm is hanging down for long spells during our regular hikes).

The problem I have with pain stillers (like the steroid shot above) is that one might do things you're not supposed to because the pain is suppressed. The problem is that one needs pain to avoid pushing the body too far. Phillip Yancey wrote an excellent book 'The gift of pain', covering exactly that.

I'm still thinking about my options & next step to be taken when the world gets going again in the new year.
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Tobie - I can't speak for MofoKang, but I can tell you from my experience that steroids, cortisone, etc. only last for months; if you are lucky, you can get a year at best, but it doesn't provide any sort of cure.

My issue in this thread was with my plucking arm. It is nearly a year since the surgery, and while for the most part, I'm pain free, I am still not 100%. I waited too long to do the right thing, and had to go to very extreme measures to fix the problem. Don't let this be you.

Go to a specialist. Get the MRI's done. Understand what is going on, and then stick religiously to the healing regimen they give you. Like learning to play, anyone can tell you what to do, but if you don't practice and take the advice, you don't improve. Same thing with a healing regimen and physical therapy.

I hope this helps!
 
#75
tobie said:
I'll be starting the necessary process next week when life is back to normal...
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Good for you. It is the right thing to do.

Please keep us posted as to what the problem is diagnosed to be, and what you will be doing about it. The reason that I started this thread is that I wanted the community to have the benefit of my experience. It would be great if you could do that as well.

I wish you nothing but good luck and good mojo here. You will get through this!
 
#76
I had terrible tendonitis for years, and it got worse and worse. My wife's uncle found out about it and said he could cure it. I was pessimistic, but since my career was basicly over anyway, due to the fact that the pain made playing impossible, I decided to let him fix the problem.
My wife is Chinese, as is her uncle, and he knew of this Chinese medicinal treatment that was created by the kung-fu guys to treat their pains.
He brought out this medicine - I don't know what it is called - I'm going to try to attach a picture so you can buy it from Chinatown if you need it. Anyway, he rubbed the medicine on the three places where I was experiencing the pain, and rubbed VERY HARD for about 10 minutes. It was VERY painful - which is necessary for the treament to work. It felt as if he was breaking all the blood vessels, but I had nothing to fear - I figured that my career was basicly over anyway, so go ahead and do it.
I didn't play the bass the next day, but when I started playing the day after, I found that I was 85% better, and in a short time it was cured completely! He said that it is rare that it only needs one treatment, usually 3 or 4, but in my case it was only one treatment.

Anway, if you're experiencing tendonitis, I STRONGLY suggest you try this - and be sure to apply it WITH FORCE to the problem area.

Oh yeah - I almost forgot: My wife's uncle mentioned that when you go to buy the stuff, they will always try to sell you a different medicine that is supposedly better, but be sure to get the one pictured here - it is actually the best one. It has a picture of an old man on top.

(I hope that I've been able to attach the picture correctly - I'm still quite computer-challenged!)

All the best!

Dave
 

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#78
bassaroo said:
<clip> he rubbed the medicine on the three places where I was experiencing the pain, and rubbed VERY HARD for about 10 minutes. It was VERY painful - which is necessary for the treament to work. It felt as if he was breaking all the blood vessels
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This kind of agrees with the advice a friend gave me (it worked for her tennis elbow). Her PT told her that one needs to 'injure' the problem-spot so the body sends out the necessary anti-inflamatory cells to fight the injury right from the start. He did this by applying heavy thumb-pressure on the affected area. It was extremely sore, but a couple of weeks later she was OK.

Her treatment in particular might work for joints (on the condition that the PT knows what he/she is doing), but I doubt whether it's going to work in the case of Radial Tunnel Syndrome where the infection had moved into the muscles surrounding the area. That's perhaps where the help of Dave's wonder medicine is needed...
 
#79
hey- since the chinese medicine thing was mentioned, i thought id put up this link (not trying to promote the business... popped up when i googled "jing tong pian"):

http://www.activeherb.com/zuogu/

i dont have tendon problems, but i do have a back injury (ruptured disc), and its also a connective tissue and inflammation thing. i was taking a lot of ibuprofin (800mg thrice daily), but stomach bleeding flared up, so ive been looking for an alternative.

my parents live in china, and have been told by a bunch of people that jing tong pian is the way to go. if you can take 2400mg of ibuprofin daily, id suggest going with that as well, because i found that to be very effective (minus the whole stomach thing...), but if youre not a fan of that idea, maybe this jing tong pian stuff would be an alternative.

today is day one of trying the jing tong pian, and since my back has been just thrashed the last couple of months, i will probably be able to tell you if its doing anything in a few days or a week or however long its supposed to take. i can tell you that they taste awful; weird flavor.

anyway, thats another thing to think about. im going to try some of the supplement suggestions mentioned, so thanks for that. hope youre continuing to heal. good luck.
 
#80
I agree with the deep tissue massage.

My drummer's wife is a massage therapist, and has worked on me a couple of times. It is painful! I had no idea that this woman was this strong!

I have also added something called the Flex Bar to my exercise regimen. The link is here:

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This link has a video on how to properly use this, as well as links that take you to all of the research and clinical studies that were done. Initially, it hurt to use this product, but I will attest that if you stick with it, it makes a huge difference. I had the surgery on my right arm; I have been using this to calm my left arm down so I can avoid getting that one cut. You may want to try this as well.
 

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