Monday, January 15, 2007

Damn Tennis Elbow!

Today I saw a sports doctor about my tennis elbow pain. He says I have tendonitis (not a tumor, arthritis, etc.) but it's so bad I am a candidate for surgery, which is rare. I don't have to decide right now and am going to try to tough it out for another six months.

He gave me a shot with cortisone and some other anti-inflammatory medicine. I see him again in 6 weeks. In the meantime I am supposed to wear my brace all the time and use the sling if that makes me more comfortable. I can't do any of the PT exercises until it improves 50%; if I do it when it's really bad (as it is right now) it just does more damage. Figures.

I hope the shot helps. Right now my arm hurts even more and I can hardly move it. They have to get the shot in the right spot, right where it hurts, and he did. He also said he could hear my dry, brittle tendon crackle when he inserted the needle. It's clearly no longer soft and supple like it's supposed to be. Oh -- AND it's age related; the little capillaries are not working as well as they used to, which is apparently what caused the damage (not a catastrophic injury).

This must be one of those "middle age sucks" things that no one warns you about. (Is 43 middle age?!)

Between this and the news about Saffron's abnormal liver enzymes (refer to the "update" section of the previous post), I've had a really crappy day.

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