NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #31/NN_1992_31.iso/spool/sci/med/23313

Text File | 1993-01-01 | 3.0 KB | 54 lines

Newsgroups: sci.med
Path: sparky!uunet!think.com!enterpoop.mit.edu!bloom-picayune.mit.edu!nerus.pfc.mit.edu!mrl
From: [e-mail]
Subject: RE: tendonitis or what?
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Sender: [e-mail] (News system)
Nntp-Posting-Host: alcvax.pfc.mit.edu
Organization: MIT PLASMA FUSION CENTER
References: <[e-mail]>
Date: Fri, 1 Jan 1993 14:58:28 GMT
Lines: 41

In a previous article, [e-mail]" wrote:
>Does anyone know if excercise is good or bad for tendonitis?  I'm a
>musician and have had pain and cramps in my hands for several years now,
>but especially in the last few months.  I've had a doctor give me braces
>and put me on anti-inflammatory drugs, but nothing seems to help.  He
>says he *thinks* this is chronic tendonitis; it's definitely not carpal
>tunnel syndrome.  He also suggested I lift weights to strengthen my
>wrists and arms.  Someone else promptly told me not to do that, as it put
>to much strain on already sore areas . . .
>So what I would really like to know is:  1)is there something similar to
>tendonitis that would cause pain but no numbness?  (The pain is mostly
>when I play and always when I write; I also wake up with it sometimes)
>2)Should I lift weights or do something else in the way of exercise?  I
>would be willing to put in a lot of work if it would help!

There are a lot of problems with hands due to RIS (Repetitive Injury Symptoms)
which doctors unfortunately don't know how to treat.  Your problem sounds very
much like mine.  I was told if it realy was tendonitis, there should be swelling
or redness.  Did the doctor consider a coritsone shot?  I tried that as a last
resort, but no difference in my case.  But before that, you could try what a
hand therapist tried, which was coritsone patches that one wears while sleeping
for about a week, less invasive than a shot.  Also, again if it's tendonitis,
physical therapy with ultrasound treatments might help.  BTW, I hope that you
are seeing a hand specialist rather than a simple orthopedic doctor.  Such a
doctor would KNOW what to do or what not to do.  Until the pain subsides (if it
does), I would strongly suggest rest, possibly for a long time, and hope that
it helps, unless you can find a specialist that says it's ok to exercise.  If
nothing helps, and the pain is bad enough even with rest, you might consider
a pain clinic.  If the pain subsides and only occurs when you play music, I
would stop the music and find something else to do and be thankful that you have
not pushed them past the point that they are painful all the time like some
people have done.

In my case, the pain is made worse by my having fibromyalgia.  This is a
condition which causes muscle pain.  Wrist problems are common in fibromyalgia.
If you have unexplained pains in other areas, or have sleep problems, you might
have this condition, and there are other things you can do (i.e. low doses of
anti-depressents seems to help the pain.)  Good luck.

Mark London
[e-mail]