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Old 01-19-16, 11:46 PM  
jerebo
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Injury--need an ear (and maybe advice)

Hi all, it's been a long time since I've posted. Especially because it's been a long time since I've worked out.

Last year I finally got an MRI on my achey, perenially injured left shoulder. Sure enough I have a full thickness tear of the tendon in my supraspinatus (rotator cuff), with a potential tear of the labrum. Plus tendinosis all through the area. I've been through a round of PT and the shoulder itself seems better--I can reach overhead and across my body without a lot of pain. But the rest...my triceps and biceps and elbow are inflamed. The trapezius muscle and the teres major and minor are inflamed. Carrying MY PURSE (not that heavy) in the crook of my elbow--a bad habit of mine) causes pain. Holding the phone to my ear for too long hurts. I haven't tried kickboxing in a long time, but the last time I did, I found the punching to cause a lot of pain.

Will I ever be able to work out? Can tendinosis be reversed?
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Old 01-20-16, 03:28 AM  
LynnO
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jerebo View Post
Hi all, it's been a long time since I've posted. Especially because it's been a long time since I've worked out.

Last year I finally got an MRI on my achey, perenially injured left shoulder. Sure enough I have a full thickness tear of the tendon in my supraspinatus (rotator cuff), with a potential tear of the labrum. Plus tendinosis all through the area. I've been through a round of PT and the shoulder itself seems better--I can reach overhead and across my body without a lot of pain. But the rest...my triceps and biceps and elbow are inflamed. The trapezius muscle and the teres major and minor are inflamed. Carrying MY PURSE (not that heavy) in the crook of my elbow--a bad habit of mine) causes pain. Holding the phone to my ear for too long hurts. I haven't tried kickboxing in a long time, but the last time I did, I found the punching to cause a lot of pain.

Will I ever be able to work out? Can tendinosis be reversed?
No answers from me, but many hugs. I'm having a list of problems, all related, but I am doctor phobic. Hopefully, you'll get some good responses from people with similar problems.
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Old 01-20-16, 07:28 AM  
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Hugs to you!
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Old 01-20-16, 08:56 AM  
PrairieGem
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
I have a cranky left shoulder with tendonitis (says my doctor; I've never had any sort of imaging done on it), and last spring/summer I had SEVERE tendonitis in both elbows, so painful and debilitating that two doctors recommended experimental laser surgery.

The specialist told me that in most cases, the body just heals tendonitis on its own--even if you can't rest the injury properly (I'm an author, so I can't stop typing!). This healing process typically takes around 6 weeks. When I was at four months, I started considering other options, because everything was painful--even (especially?) trying to figure out where to put my arms when I slept.

Well. I elected not to go ahead with the procedure but to try physical therapy instead. A funny thing happened. Before I could find a recommended PT anywhere close to me, I got better. It was almost like my elbows needed to hear a doctor say, "You're supposed to be healing."

It took me about six months total for the daily debilitating pain in my elbows/forearms to go away completely (seriously, this was in April-July, and they don't bother me *at all* anymore, and I've changed nothing about my lifestyle). By fall, I was back to sewing hats by hand (this may not be a thing you do...? ) The pain in my shoulder is still there, but that's manageable. I'm used to it, and it rarely flares enough to really be problematic; and when it does I know how to treat it.

About a month ago, I started lifting weights again, since I finally feel strong enough. (That injury really scared me.) I was very concerned that just holding the heavier weights would be hard on my elbows, and while I *feel* it, so far it has not caused a recurrence of the tendonitis. I am about to hunt down my elbow braces, though, just in case.

Obviously everyone is different and YMMV, but I wanted to share my story, because I thought it might be helpful to hear that 1.) A doctor said tendonitis usually heals on its own, and 2.) That did happen for me!!, but 3.) It took a lot longer than they said, but it *did* happen.

GOOD LUCK!!
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Old 01-20-16, 08:59 AM  
jerebo
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LynnO View Post
No answers from me, but many hugs. I'm having a list of problems, all related, but I am doctor phobic. Hopefully, you'll get some good responses from people with similar problems.
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Originally Posted by Gibbee View Post
Hugs to you!
Thanks for the hugs, LynnO and Gibbee!

Quote:
Originally Posted by PrairieGem View Post
Obviously everyone is different and YMMV, but I wanted to share my story, because I thought it might be helpful to hear that 1.) A doctor said tendonitis usually heals on its own, and 2.) That did happen for me!!, but 3.) It took a lot longer than they said, but it *did* happen.

GOOD LUCK!!
Thanks, PrairieGem. It's good to hear your experience. Mine has been going on since September, but I'll give it some more time.
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Old 01-20-16, 09:20 AM  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jerebo View Post
Hi all, it's been a long time since I've posted. Especially because it's been a long time since I've worked out.

Last year I finally got an MRI on my achey, perenially injured left shoulder. Sure enough I have a full thickness tear of the tendon in my supraspinatus (rotator cuff), with a potential tear of the labrum. Plus tendinosis all through the area. I've been through a round of PT and the shoulder itself seems better--I can reach overhead and across my body without a lot of pain. But the rest...my triceps and biceps and elbow are inflamed. The trapezius muscle and the teres major and minor are inflamed. Carrying MY PURSE (not that heavy) in the crook of my elbow--a bad habit of mine) causes pain. Holding the phone to my ear for too long hurts. I haven't tried kickboxing in a long time, but the last time I did, I found the punching to cause a lot of pain.

Will I ever be able to work out? Can tendinosis be reversed?
I had elbow tendinitis. It didn't heal on its own after months of rest. I went to PT and had assorted treatments. It took a LONG time. If you are careful and take things slowly and gently the chances are good that you will get back to *mostly* normal. I see folks on VF trying to rush injuries into healing. That is a recipe for disaster!

Physical therapy can help, but you need to really be mindful and careful about anything that might aggravate the condition at home.

In the meantime, wear your purse cross-body. Use the speakerphone on your phone or the headset. Skip the kickboxing for now.

Using ice on the area for 10 minutes several times a day really helps with inflammation.

Take care of yourself! HUGS!
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Old 01-20-16, 09:35 AM  
cfwb
 
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In the meantime, wear your purse cross-body. Use the speakerphone on your phone or the headset. Skip the kickboxing for now.
I wanted to second this. An occupational therapist might be able to give you some other ideas on how you can modify what you do to rest your shoulder, because everything I've ever heard about tendinitis is that the key ingredient to healing is rest. Take care of yourself!
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Old 01-20-16, 10:34 AM  
Aunt Famous
 
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I had a shoulder injury from a car accident; my hand was on the steering wheel, and when the other driver ran a light and T-boned me, the impact resulted in a labrum tear caused by a punch injury. A piece of tissue floated in the socket for months, and thanks to a misdiagnosis, PT left me in incredible pain. Surgery helped immensely.

In other words: I feel your pain. It is awful.

My surgery was in May 2009. It is now January 2016, and while I remember ever day that I had an injury, it does not limit me -- sort of. I say "sort of" because I switched into super-cautious mode and made a number of workout and mechanical changes.

Once the shoulder no longer hurt -- and I'll say this louder, ONCE THE SHOULDER NO LONGER HURT -- I found that Ellen Barrett and similar-type workouts functioned a bit like PT, so I started doing them. I worked dramatically on my posture (thanks, Pilates!) to help with alignment. I started getting a massage every 3 to 4 weeks to keep everything supple. Since sitting seemed to exacerbate everything, I switched to a standing desk. I quit carrying heavy purses. I started wearing flats. I even -- and this was a BIG deal for me -- let young men on airplanes who volunteered to hoist my suitcase up and down from the overhead bins help me out.

It has taken a bit of time, but yes, everything works now. I hate medication, but I took the anti-inflammatories as prescribed to get the inflammation down. I iced -- oh, how I LOVED ice. I quit doing things the moment that they hurt.

Good luck. I'm more than willing to answer more questions if you have them.

AF

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Old 01-20-16, 01:05 PM  
Vintage VFer
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Also, without getting into specifics, there are nutritional options to help reduce inflammation. Just Google "inflammation and food" to get an idea.

Sometimes chronic inflammation in one or more joints can cause systemic inflammation.
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Old 01-20-16, 04:05 PM  
macska
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I also had a full tear of supra and partial of the infra that needed surgery. I feel bad for you. Before the surgery I was very limited with upper body. When I was going thru the recovery I could only do elliptical, stairmaster and practically no upper body. Modified Tonique maybe. I really don't think -- as others had suggested as well -- that you should do kickboxing. Kicking yes, but not boxing. Crossbody purse is a must. Shoulder injuries are not fun. You can pm me if you want to know more about shoulder stuff.
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