vlcgirl Registered User Posts: 48 (6/18/01 9:21:33 pm) Reply Oh, the pain! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After spending a week hiking in gorgeous Yellowstone National Park (about 8 days without touching cello), 2 days ago I was thrust back into my typical (rather rigorous) schedule of rehearsals etc....I think I might have tendonitis or something, because my left forearm (the "underside") feels swollen, hurts A LOT, when I play, drive, type...I know about ibuprophen. Should I ice it or heat it? Is practicing totally out of the question? I don't have insurance so I can't go to a doctor. Thanks for any help. Steve Drake Registered User Posts: 362 (6/18/01 9:54:17 pm) Reply Community Supporter Re: Oh, the pain! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sounds like you might have overexerted yourself. I find that I need to really do lots of stretching and slow warming up after not playing for a while, or I get symptoms like yours. And get some kind of health insurance - it doesn't take much of an accident to put you in a ton of debt. Do it tomorrow - don't put it off. It's important. My MP3's My Cello Homepage Lucy Clifford Registered User Posts: 167 (6/19/01 12:33:09 am) Reply Re: Oh, the pain! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ah, agony Although your problem may be more serious, have you tried one of those creams with linimint (sp?) that 'heat' the muscles? When I get any discomfort I apply it every night before going to sleep, and before practicing. The 'warmth' relaxes the muscles, and means that you're not tense, which, combined with tiredness or unaccustomed activity causes the problems. cello41 Registered User Posts: 4 (6/19/01 2:04:48 am) Reply VICTOR SAZER: wherefore art thou? (nt) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (This message was left blank) Toscha Registered User Posts: 34 (6/19/01 3:49:44 am) Reply Re: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I sometimes have muscle problems like that when I have 2 or 3 rehearsals in a row. I have used ointments called Arniflora (for swelling, pain and stiffness) and Triflora (arthritis, tendinitis, aches) and they seem to work well. Both of them are natural homeopathic creams that will not likely to have strange side effects (cannot promise, but they are pretty safe to use). You can get them at place like the Whole Foods. If they don't work, then time to go seek for medical help! As for insurance, are you with the music union? If you are, I think you can get a discount price trhough them. It is still not cheap, but it is probably better than paying some ridiculous amount to doctors without insurance. Hope your arm will feel better soon! Toscha rocel Registered User Posts: 10 (6/19/01 3:57:53 am) Reply Re: Re:Beware creams! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Those creams which heat the muscles do ease the pain, but as with taking ibuprofen before you play, you can also do long term damage because by masking the pain, you are hiding your bodies warning signal that it needs to rest. Playing on a damaged muscle can do much longer term harm. If it hurts, be extremely careful. There are many horror stories, and they are totally avoidable if you look after yourself. It's better to rest for a while now then do long term damage. drcello Registered User Posts: 442 (6/19/01 6:38:51 am) Reply | Edit Tendonitis website for string players -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I came across this website today, by cellist George Neikrug... www.neikrug.org/ Marshall C. St. John drcello@vei.net Wayside Presbyterian Church Daniel Ortbals Registered User Posts: 195 (6/19/01 7:53:31 am) Reply Community Supporter Don't you mean "Where?" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Wherefore' means "why." Dan O Paul Tseng ICS Staff Administrator Posts: 1388 (6/19/01 4:04:35 pm) Reply also beware -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Also beware any medical advice you get from the internet. I'm not discrediting anyone here as I'm not familiar with their medical background. I just know that you should always consult with a helath care professional before trying anything 'advised' by well meaning people on the internet. That said, I suppose we are all just sharing from our own experiences. Here's my most recent one. I recently began getting tendontis-like symptoms. ONly once in my life had this happened before and that was a teenager in a music camp where I was playing the cello for over 12 hours a day. I didn't quite get the swelling, but I think it would have been the next step. You have to remember that I had teachers all around me all the time and at the first complaint of pain, they all sat up and took heed. I was advised to stop playing for a while and not to depend on analgesics to simply mask the pain while I played. I would use them for pain reduction but not as a cure and a green light to continue playing. I managed to stop practicing for a few days and eased my way back into it. Recently, this happened again as a result of carrying my son who is now about 4.5 months old and is 20+ lbs!!!! You can imagine how heavy a little boy like that would be and since he's still too young to know how to hold on to me, I have to do all the work of holding him. So I stopped playing the cello for a week or so...darn! Spent more time playing with my son....yay! But was careful not to hold him in a arm stessing way. I eased my way back into practicing by doing less than an hour each time every other day. Now I'm back at it and believe it or not, the time away did my playing a lot of good! Be careful. I don't know what to tell you about insurance, but there must be some health care center you can call to speak with a doctor or nurse? Maybe your school's health center? Paul Tseng My Website Alexander's Photo Albums Free Cello Music! lblake Registered User Posts: 384 (6/19/01 10:15:41 pm) Reply Re: Don't you mean "Where?" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- hmmm... that's not what I understood Juliet to mean by it... hmmm.... time to go back and re-think Shakespeare? Daniel Ortbals Registered User Posts: 197 (6/20/01 12:06:55 am) Reply Community Supporter Re: Don't you mean "Where?" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- She's asking WHY he has to be HIM (a Montegue), but then she reasons "A rose by any other name..." Anyway, this is completely off subject. I apologize. As far as pain is concerned, I agree with all the posts telling you to take it easy, don't try playing through the pain. Something is obviously wrong, and you need to see someone and find out what it is. Of course, you may get news telling you that you can't play cello for four months until it heals, but that's FAR better than doing permanent damage that makes it impossible to play cello ever again. Dan O Edited by: Daniel Ortbals at: 6/20/01 11:35:53 am Jackiedupre2B Registered User Posts: 7 (6/20/01 10:23:50 am) Reply Some advice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi, I had problems with tendonitis for 4 years. I went to too many doctors that could never help ease any of the pain and went as far to suggest "injection therapy". I was not turning to steroids to avoid this pain. Instead I went to a neuromuscular massage therapist and received therapy twice a week for about six months. I also attended the Alexander Technique which helps focus on awareness during practice. Always put ice on the area because if you use heat it is only inflaming the area more, which in the long run will be more pain. I hope some of this helps. lblake Registered User Posts: 387 (6/20/01 9:57:36 pm) Reply ahhhhhh -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ahhhh - there's my problem. I AM remembering the speech wrong. It IS time to review Shakespeare! I remembered that part, and wondered, but for some reason, thought that was an entirely separate part of the speech. Duh... I don't even know how I thought it went anymore. Uh oh... the days when I had time to read are becoming far too distant in the past!