# Severe Tendonitis. Help!



## Esprit (Dec 17, 2011)

I have a sever case of Tendonitis on the inside of my left elbow. I had some soreness last Sunday night and woke up morning in extreme pain. It hasn't subsided at all. If I try to straighten out my arm the pain makes me sick to my stomach. It's constantly throbbing. I went to a walk in clinic yesterday and got the diagnosis. The doctor prescribed Naproxin which really isn't doing much for the pain. Has anyone on here had success in treating tendonitis with natural remedies? From what I've read some cases can go on for weeks or months. I have 8.25 acres of land that need tending to and can't so much as lift a shovel without being in extreme pain! I was hoping this would be something that would heal in a few days! I appreciate any suggestions! 

Thanks
Todd


----------



## doingitmyself (Jul 30, 2013)

Ice it, immobilize it, massage the tendon heads and don't use it for a few days. Seriously, you can't be a tough guy with this thing it will eat you alive. It doesn't care about your yard/land it needs attention and its got yours now. If its not better after that you will need professional muscle therapy. This can be serious but nearly everyone can get relief with the above self administrations. Hope things work out for you.

I'm a Massage Therapist for 18 years and see this kind of stuff nearly everyday, usually from over use to start with.


----------



## Pony (Jan 6, 2003)

Follow doingitmyself's advice, AND get yourself to a GOOD clinical massage therapist. You have to take care of it NOW or it will slow you down more.


----------



## Esprit (Dec 17, 2011)

Thanks guys. I will seek out a message therapist Monday.


----------



## doingitmyself (Jul 30, 2013)

Pay attention to what the Therapist does, you should be able to do your own therapy once you know what to do. To be honest they should make it a point to give you proper instruction. It'sunethical to keep a client with that type of injury coming in for treatment, because you can do the same thing after taught.


----------



## Esprit (Dec 17, 2011)

I agree. I will pay attention to what she/he does. I found a clinic that specializes in soft tissue injuries located not far from work. I'll call on Monday. I started icing the area and my wife suggested applying magnesium oil which I did. I have to admit that as long as I didn't fully extend my arm, the pain wasn't too bad today. Putting on a pair of socks/shoes was not fun though! :yuck:


----------



## danarutan (Mar 13, 2011)

I used to get tendinitis of my wrist all the time from an old MVA, but I have it beat now!
I use both heat and cold therapy --- use cold 1st 48-72 hrs after an injury then use heat for 20 min at a time 3-4 times a day ( you can still use cold in between if it helps the pain). I did this for about 2-3 weeks and pain was gone. Now if I know I'm going to be doing work that will put a lot of stress on my wrist I'll put heat on it for 20 minutes before I start to warm everything up. They cost a lot of money, but I like the King Brand (available online) heat and cold therapy packs/brace they fit nice, provide support (there web site also gives a lot of good info on tendonitis.


----------



## Esprit (Dec 17, 2011)

It's great that it's a long weekend here and I'm off however it's going to hard to follow a regiment of applying heat or ice on Monday when I'm back to work. I suppose I can ice in the morning and again after work.. Perhaps the heat and cold therapy brace might be a solution for work. Thanks!


----------



## TraderBob (Oct 21, 2010)

Yep, don't ignore and think you can continue to do what needs to be done and it will get better on it's own. It won't. I had rotator cuff tendonitis, and tried to just bulldoze my way way through it, things need to get done, right, whether it hurts or not.

Whoo boy...that ended up with tendonitis in my bicep as well, and finally put me out of commission for awhile, longer than if I had just taken some time for it to heal. 

Take care care of it now, it will be better in the long run.


----------



## Esprit (Dec 17, 2011)

So I visited a clinic today. They recommend laser treatments. I had one done. Clinic says I will need "at least 10 sessions". At $45/visit it's going to be expensive. Does laser therapy work or is it a scam?


----------



## doingitmyself (Jul 30, 2013)

Go to another clinic my friend.... I honestly do this for a living.


----------



## Darren (May 10, 2002)

Tendons don't have a good blood supply so any inflammation slows or prevents healing. That was the key information I took away from an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon. That tip was worth the price of the visit. That understanding and reading about an iron man contest enabled me to heal the tendons at my elbw.

Stop the inflammation, help the body heal. Find the largest GDU sized bromelain supplement available. Do not take it with a meal. Otherwise the pineapple enzyme will help digest your food instead.

Take it four to six times a day. It's quite possibly the most effective, non-prescription anti-inflammatory available. No side effects either.

I had an elbow problem that lasted for over a year before I read about iron man contestants using bromelain. This is the brand I use.


----------



## willow_girl (Dec 7, 2002)

Do you have carpal tunnel? I had chronic elbow pain for a couple of years, sometimes so severe that it was hard to lift a coffee cup. I attributed it to the strenuous work I do every day. 

When I started wearing carpal tunnel wrist braces at night, the pain in my elbows subsided by about 75%. Now I think that it was my hands curling up into "carpal claws" while I slept that was putting the strain on the tendons. My shoulders feel better, too. 

I started noticing a difference almost immediately.

Even if you don't think you have carpal tunnel, you might want to try this. The wrist braces are cheap and can be picked up at any drugstore.


----------



## Esprit (Dec 17, 2011)

I don't have carpal tunnel. The pain is much like "golfers elbow". What really triggered it was when my son and I were skipping stones at the beach. Picture the muscles/tendons that get used when you throw "sidearm". That's what I damaged..
I have had some improvement. I am pain free unless I stress the injured area (eg: closing my car door, reaching to pick something up off the floor)


----------



## Darren (May 10, 2002)

I had the same problem with my elbow. It got to the point I could not pick up anything with my arm extended. I finally went to the doctor when it hadn't healed after a year.


----------



## Esprit (Dec 17, 2011)

Darren, what did the doc do to treat it?


----------



## Darren (May 10, 2002)

The doctor told me that even if he operated, there was no chance the damage was visible. In other words there was nothing an orthopedic surgeon could do to fix my problem. I had the same pain on the same side of the elbow you did.

I had hoped there was some sort of physical therapy I could do. As I mentioned in my earlier post, when he told me that inflammation hindered healing that was the key to my recovery.

I had an epiphany when I read about the iron man contestants. Taking bromelain as I mentioned before stopped the inflammation and allowed my elbow to heal. 

The last thing the doctor told me was I would have the problem the rest of my life. That was over ten years ago. Needless to say I stay away from doctors and try to use natural methods. 

Taking bromelain allowed my body to heal itself. I've never had a problem with the elbow since then.


----------



## Esprit (Dec 17, 2011)

I tried finding Bromelain today without any success. I'll likely have to buy it online. Thanks for the info.


----------



## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I had recurring tendonitis on the outside of my forearm for more than a year.

A masseuse showed me a simple stretch that healed it and works great for preventing a recurrance.

In my case it was because I didn't stay stretched out as I aged. I'm dealing with a similar problem with my feet right now and a combination of stretching and muscle toning is work great after about 10 yrs of having foot trouble.


----------



## Darren (May 10, 2002)

Bromelain is sold some places like GNC as a digestive aid. I know Walmart doesn't have it or the local vitamin place.


----------



## mzgarden (Mar 16, 2012)

Looks like some drugstores carry it - Walgreens in our area show as having it in stock. I'm going there tonight to get some (I hope).


----------



## Esprit (Dec 17, 2011)

I bought the last 2 bottles of Bromelain at the local heath food store today. Darren, how soon after starting the Bromelain did you start to feel relief?


----------



## Darren (May 10, 2002)

It took close to two months for the pain to completely disappear. That was after I had put up with the pain for over a year and it had gotten worse.

I have no idea how long it will take in your case. Remember to take it only on an empty stomach and take it as many times a day as you can. I've never read of any side effects. It's just pure pineapple enzyme.


----------



## mzgarden (Mar 16, 2012)

mzgarden said:


> Looks like some drugstores carry it - Walgreens in our area show as having it in stock. I'm going there tonight to get some (I hope).


Nope, website says yes, but nope. Only place I found it was in a health foods store-- way more expensive there than I could order on the internet. Bought some to get started but will order from now on.

Hope it works.


----------



## dhodge (Jul 20, 2013)

Get some flannel you will need about 1 yrd. fold it into several layers approximately the size of the offending area, place it on some tin foil , saturate it with castor oil. Heat in up in the oven for about 20 min or put it in saran wrap in the microwave for about 3 min. Becareful that it isn't too hot for your skin, place a towel between your skin and the hot pack, wrap it all up and let it stay until it has cooled. Rest the tendon, sleep with it on a pillow if need be. Repeat daily until pain has subsided.
I tore up my knee years ago and was a single mother, could not afford time off of work and the thought of having surgery was not pleasing, one of my coworkers told me about this. My poor knee was so swollen I could not bend it and the surgeon would not drain it , he was concerned about infection. So skeptically I tried it. After one night the swelling was gone. I have never had surgery on the knee, it does pain me with arthritis from time to time, but I just take out the flannel and castor oil and make me a hot pack. It's been almost 30 years, I have been pleased with the results.


----------



## Esprit (Dec 17, 2011)

Good advice. Well, I am starting to see some improvement. There are still some movements I can't do- fully extending my arm, reaching down to pick up something etc. If I don't do those movements I am pain free. Hopefully I'll heal enough to get full movement back. It's funny (not) how you forget about the injury and then do something stupid to flair it up. Today someone opened a door and due to the gust of wind paper started flying off my desk. I instinctively reached to grab the paper with my bad arm and it felt like someone stuck a knife into the inside of my elbow! It throbbed for about 15 minutes. I'm still treating with ice and heat and have been taking 6 Bromelain per day.


----------

