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If you have questions concerning a musculoskeletal injury please feel free to post or message me.

Jon, Physical Therapist

My question is not concerning a musculoskeletal injury, but I hope you can help.
I'm kinda sick, with a sore throat and with fever, should i go to the gym tomorrow or should a skip a few days. I'm afraid I'll lose some of the progress I've made with the muscle.building program for RJ.

metropolitan saidMy question is not concerning a musculoskeletal injury, but I hope you can help.
I'm kinda sick, with a sore throat and with fever, should i go to the gym tomorrow or should a skip a few days. I'm afraid I'll lose some of the progress I've made with the muscle.building program for RJ.

One of the most important things to remember when you are sick, is to allow your body time to rest. I would take time off until the fever has passed. Also you don't want to spread it to others.

I have had a sore right knee from running for about a month now. Strange thing is the soreness comes and goes. I find that sitting for an extended period of time causes it to stiffen up and get sore. I am now wondering if I should see a massage or physiotherapist.

Without truly examining your knee and asking specific directed questions it's hard to say what is going on with your knee. However, if I was you I would go and see my local physical therapist, as they know more about the Musculoskeletal sytem than any other professional. Good luck, hope all is well.

I have been battling plantar faciates for a couple months now. I started seeing a physical therapis last week and have been doing my stretches like crazy.

He has taped my foot up twice now which has helped and did a mold for my inserts which havent come in yet. Once they do he will tell me what shoes to get.

In the mean time, my job keeps me on my feet 8-12 hours a day and I am in excruciating pain. I try to still work out by doing the eliptical and bike but sometimes find it difficult to even walk.

How much longer am I going to have to deal with this pain? I am so tired of hurting all the time. The stretches help some but this has been going on for a while now, dont know how much more I can take.

god do i have injuries, WHERE DO I START?LOL. well now i'm dealing with rotator cuff impingement. i've been doing phys therapy for almost 2 months, and it doesnt seem to be working:-(. so i'm thinking of going for the arthroscopy to fix it, because knowing me i will end up tearing it.

My other injury i been dealin with is my hip n back. i had back surgery in 2000, laminecomy on my l4-l5, which made pain worse. the pain went into my groin, n the docs told me i had hip labrum tear. so i had two hip labrum surgeries which the 2nd made pain worse.
i had an mri on my hip, doc said hip looks fine, so now what? that was 3 yrs ago, i been on pain meds since. No doctor can figure out whats causing the pain.

sastud05 saidWithout truly examining your knee and asking specific directed questions it's hard to say what is going on with your knee. However, if I was you I would go and see my local physical therapist, as they know more about the Musculoskeletal sytem than any other professional. Good luck, hope all is well.

Thanks, it comes and goes, I don't dare run until I know it is better, justing brisk walking. I think I will see a physical therapist because it does not want to heal 100% and softball season is less than 2 months away.

redbull saidI have been battling plantar faciates for a couple months now. I started seeing a physical therapis last week and have been doing my stretches like crazy.

He has taped my foot up twice now which has helped and did a mold for my inserts which havent come in yet. Once they do he will tell me what shoes to get.

In the mean time, my job keeps me on my feet 8-12 hours a day and I am in excruciating pain. I try to still work out by doing the eliptical and bike but sometimes find it difficult to even walk.

How much longer am I going to have to deal with this pain? I am so tired of hurting all the time. The stretches help some but this has been going on for a while now, dont know how much more I can take.

Plantar Fascitis (subcalcaneal pain syndrome) doesn't heal overnight. Since you have only been under the direct care of a medical professional for a little over a week. Give it time and listen to your PT's precautions etc. Most people get better utilizing conservative treatments for plantar fascitis, and rarely is surgery indicated. Make sure that you are giving your feet rest and allowing them time to heal, or you will continue to reinjure yourself, making for a very prolonged recovery. I would recommend maybe even taking some vacation days, since your job requires you to be on your feet for so many hours. The vacation days used now may save you from having to miss work later due to the pain. Regarding your question on how long you will have this problem would be hard to answer since I haven't examined you personally, and have not ruled out/in other underlying issues, and determined the reason for you developing this condition (typically excessive pronating of the foot) those with this type of issue usually get better with an in shoe orthotic. Hope I was able to help. . .

Jon

italianguy63 saidgod do i have injuries, WHERE DO I START?LOL. well now i'm dealing with rotator cuff impingement. i've been doing phys therapy for almost 2 months, and it doesnt seem to be working:-(. so i'm thinking of going for the arthroscopy to fix it, because knowing me i will end up tearing it.

My other injury i been dealin with is my hip n back. i had back surgery in 2000, laminecomy on my l4-l5, which made pain worse. the pain went into my groin, n the docs told me i had hip labrum tear. so i had two hip labrum surgeries which the 2nd made pain worse.
i had an mri on my hip, doc said hip looks fine, so now what? that was 3 yrs ago, i been on pain meds since. No doctor can figure out whats causing the pain.

Your story unfortunatly, is a story I hear all to often from patients of mine. Back pain is a science and an art, It amazes me how many people will have a surgery prior to making simple changes in their lives along with exercise that will make them better, that is proven over and over in countless research articles. Before having another surgery done, I would get several opinions and try a round of PT along with injection therapy, have them done together though, as patients tend to get better that route. Hope that helps. . .

Jon

jon,

Have you heard of this new therapy that pain management specialist are using called radio frequency therapy. I'm not really sure how it works but a co-worker had it done to her. She had a spinal fusion which didnt work which left her in more pain . I saw her a few weeks ago, and she looked awesome lost weight, and walked with spring in her step. I never would have recognized her. she told me about it, i'm thinking of trying it, and if that doesnt work, maybe acupuncture.

thanks for your advise jon.

italianguy63 saidjon,

Have you heard of this new therapy that pain management specialist are using called radio frequency therapy. I'm not really sure how it works but a co-worker had it done to her. She had a spinal fusion which didnt work which left her in more pain . I saw her a few weeks ago, and she looked awesome lost weight, and walked with spring in her step. I never would have recognized her. she told me about it, i'm thinking of trying it, and if that doesnt work, maybe acupuncture.

thanks for your advise jon.

Radiofrequency therapy has actually been around for quite some time nearly 30 years. However, just recently has it re-emerged with a new twist and name. Radiofrequency therapy today is actually called Pulsed Radio Frequency Neurotomy, the difference between the old therapy and the new therapy is that the old therapy used an electrical field to decrease the pain transmission signal to the brain at a constant field with a high temp. The new techniques utilizes the same concept just at a lower temperature and is performed in pulses. Thus making the technique safer (less chance of inuring the targeted nerve). This stunning of the nerve can provide great relief for some patients, however like everything else, what works for one patient does not work for the other. In the latest reviews that I've read concerning this technique is basically the bottom line being their is still not enough sufficient research in this area to truly confirm it's worthiness as a good treatment.

I completely ruptured the patellar tendons in both my legs two years ago. I underwent emergency surgery and went to rehab, which seemed totally useless, for three months. I was in braces for six weeks.

As it turns out, both my patellas elevated several inches north after the surgery and now I cannot walk downstairs comfortably. My surgeon has no explanation for it, says there is no effective physical therapy for it and says I will likely have to have an even more complicated surgery eventually. He also says that surgery is not very reliable.

Please give me different advice. Thank you.

I've had shin splints since Dec '06. At first it was just on my left leg and I wasn't really too sure what it was. Then I got it on the second leg and someone said something about shin splints. I looked into it and sure enough, it describes everything I have.

I know there isn't much you can do to heal them but since I am a competitive dancer, I am using my legs constantly. What can I do? Any tips to help to pain (other than tons of Ibuprofen which I find does the trick) would help.

usedtobelieve saidI've had shin splints since Dec '06. At first it was just on my left leg and I wasn't really too sure what it was. Then I got it on the second leg and someone said something about shin splints. I looked into it and sure enough, it describes everything I have.

I know there isn't much you can do to heal them but since I am a competitive dancer, I am using my legs constantly. What can I do? Any tips to help to pain (other than tons of Ibuprofen which I find does the trick) would help.

Actually you can heal them, but with every injury it's going to involve REST! Shin splints or Idiopathic compartment syndrome is basically exercise induced pain: inflammation caused by repetitive stress of the muscles originiating from the lower part of the leg or tibia during weight bearing. Depending on the muscles affected you will report the pain on the front part of the lower leg or back part of the lower leg. The muscles that are affected are usually weak and require strengthening. In Physical therapy I have patients utilize active-rest during the healing phase meaning performing cardio that does not stress the affected muscles (i.e. recumbant bike). An orthotic may or may not be recommended depending upon what structures are causing the problem. Most patients get better with conservative measures (REST, and Physical therapy) I would recommend an evaluation by a Physical Therapist so you can get this problem under control, and determine what is actually casuing your problems. Until you can get into seeing a PT, I would recommend icing the painful areas 3x/day for 15 minutes, and most importantly Active Rest! Hope that helps.

Jon

obscenewish saidI completely ruptured the patellar tendons in both my legs two years ago. I underwent emergency surgery and went to rehab, which seemed totally useless, for three months. I was in braces for six weeks.

As it turns out, both my patellas elevated several inches north after the surgery and now I cannot walk downstairs comfortably. My surgeon has no explanation for it, says there is no effective physical therapy for it and says I will likely have to have an even more complicated surgery eventually. He also says that surgery is not very reliable.

Please give me different advice. Thank you.

Without truly evaluating you it would be hard for me to recommend a treatment. However, what comes to mind is stretching the muscles that are causing patella alta (elevation of the patella), and mobilization/strengthening of the patella to move it into a more stable position, along with modalities for pain relief. Do yourself a favor and get an evaluation by a Physical Therapist to see if other options exist.

Sastud05, Thank you for having this thread!

I would like to ask your opinion regarding joint pain and injury IE; tendonitis and similar from playing Tennis and Volleyball.

Many of us take Glucosimine and Chrindrotin which does seem to help.

What do you think?

Thanks,


Ron

haha i'm with italianguy with where do i start. i guess my first and most important one is my shoulder. A few weeks ago i noticed a constant, localized pain in my right shoulder, starting just left of the AC joint and moving posterior and laterally to the bottom of my deltoid and the top of my scapula. As of yesterday (a week and half after initial pain) the pain has moved to include my tricep. I have full ROM, pain at a 2 in normal daily functions but elevates to about a 5 with sports (most commonly hitting and serving in volleyball), as far as i can tell no apparent strength loss. Most pain occurs with weight free circumduction and resistive abduction. It only takes one swing for the pain to elevate. As far as i can remember there was no impact accident; falling or bracing / catching my self with my arms. Also hurts to sleep on (I HAVE to sleep with my arms wrapped around my pillow and most of my head rests on that shoulder) I have no previous history with shoulder injuries. I have not brought my self to see a trainer or doc just yet, but before i use it, i ice massage the area and then ice it after games. Starting today (March 21) i have a week and a half break which i'm going to try and rest it. If after that week if still in pain any suggestions?

I'm afraid what my left knee will be like in a few years. I rammed it into the back of a car when I got hit on my bike a few years back. I also seem to land on it when I hit icy patches when I am biking in the winter.

Every once in a blue moon, it aches, but it's not like what it use to be four years ago.

sastud05 said
Actually you can heal them, but with every injury it's going to involve REST! Shin splints or Idiopathic compartment syndrome is basically exercise induced pain: inflammation caused by repetitive stress of the muscles originiating from the lower part of the leg or tibia during weight bearing. Depending on the muscles affected you will report the pain on the front part of the lower leg or back part of the lower leg. The muscles that are affected are usually weak and require strengthening. In Physical therapy I have patients utilize active-rest during the healing phase meaning performing cardio that does not stress the affected muscles (i.e. recumbant bike). An orthotic may or may not be recommended depending upon what structures are causing the problem. Most patients get better with conservative measures (REST, and Physical therapy) I would recommend an evaluation by a Physical Therapist so you can get this problem under control, and determine what is actually casuing your problems. Until you can get into seeing a PT, I would recommend icing the painful areas 3x/day for 15 minutes, and most importantly Active Rest! Hope that helps.

Jon

Thanks for the tips. I will try and rest but the type of dance I do doesn't allow for much rest. If I sit out, I get written out - that's how it works.

Great Forum!
I sprained my ankle about a year ago. I took a long time to heal. I feel that my ankles feel a bit weak still. How can i strengthen them?

I have a problem with my right shoulder. I believe it started within the last year, probably from work yanking on a POS door lever.

I can't do the french press(I think that's what it's called..the one where you sit and take dumbbells straight up over your shoulder) without a lot of pain, so I don't do them.

I also get pain if I move my arm quickly, like in a throwing motion that includes the shoulder; I can use forceful movements as long as a exclude my shoulder. I get a very sharp pain and it lasts for several moments before dissipating. When I forget about it and flail my arm about the pain is severe and always has my bent over clutching my shoulder.
Any idea of what might be pooched in my shoulder?

Thanks

Maybe you can advise me on how to work through the pain:

I have to work related injuries that prevent me from working out regularly.

1. In 2006, I tore the MENISCUS quad tendon in the right leg. The Dt. re-attached it to the patella.

2. In 2007, I injured my back, the major injury is at the T-12 vertebrae, which in turn throws a few other of the vertebrea out of place.
I'm trying to avoid the micro fusion surgery for this injury.

I do the stretches and exercises the therapist instructed me to do, but it still swells up and painful to ride a bike or atempt Tea Kwon Do.
And I do miss those activities.

Is there anything you can advise me in, that help me get back to those activities?

Buckwheet saidI have a problem with my right shoulder. I believe it started within the last year, probably from work yanking on a POS door lever.

I can't do the french press(I think that's what it's called..the one where you sit and take dumbbells straight up over your shoulder) without a lot of pain, so I don't do them.

I also get pain if I move my arm quickly, like in a throwing motion that includes the shoulder; I can use forceful movements as long as a exclude my shoulder. I get a very sharp pain and it lasts for several moments before dissipating. When I forget about it and flail my arm about the pain is severe and always has my bent over clutching my shoulder.
Any idea of what might be pooched in my shoulder?

Thanks

I would recommend an evaluation by a physical therapist and imaging of the shoulder (MRI), to differential diagnose appropriately. So many things it could be would be hard to say without actually examining you.

I used to have a shoulder injury which caused inflammation and prevented me from putting any weight or pressure on my shoulder. After months of rest, a couple of NSAID bottles, and some strengthening exercises for a while, it got back to normal. I can now put all sots of pressure and weight on it without any inflammation or pain. However, once in a while, when I'm not using my shoulder and am in rest mode, regardless if I've worked out recenlty or not, I'll get a "pulse" of pain. I intend to get it checked out when I get the chance, but what do you think it could be? I hope it's not some sort of permanent nerve damage

While I'm pretty lucky to have avoided most injuries in the gym, I did have a recent issue with regard to my left arm.

Doing bicep curls on a machine and was at a different YMCA in Wichita than my usual location. The CYBEX machines were a little different and I ended up jerking once and causing discomfort in my left arm.
Its been very slow to go away as I continue to exercise with that arm, albeit carefully.

So very important to do exercises with heavy weight very carefully.

Working through full-thickness tear in my rotator-cuff ... the top one, can't recall the name ... tear is with the grain; along the muscle, not across it ... I've taken 6 weeks off all activities (except running) to give it the best chance to heal. Some people have said that as it's full-thickness I will need surgery, but I'm responding well to the strengthening exercises my Physiotherapist is prescribing, plus the rest is helping. I won't avoid surgery if it is needed, but obviously it would be better not to have it due to the longterm weakness it will likely cause, but I'm interested to hear if anyone else has come back strong from such a surgery, or from those who didn't go under the knife how long it took to get back to full strength (if that's possible). Kim.

I have the same question as Kim. I have a micro-tear in my rotator cuff also. Is it possible to recover from this fully without surgery, or will I eventually have to have surgery to fix it?

I have Plantar Fasciitis (torn ligament) in my right foot, and have no idea how it happened.

*shrugs*

I am recovering from back surgery (spinal fusion L5 to S1 with 4 screws, 2 rods & a cage). My surgery was in February and my surgeoun just gave me the green light two weeks ago to go back to the gym. I'v only been using machines from fear of re-injuring my back... any advice on how to work out around a back injury? The Dr. only gave me core exercises to do.

follow up on rotator-cuff tear: although almost all the literature I've found online points to full-thickness tears needing surgery, my physio (and Dr) are reluctant to let me go under the knife as the damage done to the shoulder during surgery would be worse (in the long run) than the injury itself. Nice to know they have my interests at heart, not the extra $ they'd be getting for pushing me towards surgery.

So instead of a knife, I've been working away with resistance bands to strengthen the shoulder. It's now 3 months since I injured it and I'm at about 75% strength, so hopefully by end of year I'll be back to full confidence with it.

Anyone else with rotator-cuff recovery stories?

I broke my heart what can I do?

ActiveAndFit saidI broke my heart what can I do?

Come to Australia for a hug, Or start with a dose of Louis XIII, followed by even more doses of Louis XIII.

About two weeks ago I was at work. I was moving boxes around and, not paying attention, tripped over one which sent me hurtling over causing me to slam my kneecap into the ground. Feel free to call me an idiot cause I didn't fill out an accident report (yeah, I know. GENIUS!) I must have sat there for five minutes rubbing the hell out of it cause throbbed so bad. I have been keeping an eye on it since and have noticed a few things.

1. No bruising what-so-ever.

2. After walking for a bit, the kneecap area begins to ache.

3. Wearing a knee brace helps but there is still some pain (not as much as not wearing it).

ActiveAndFit saidI broke my heart what can I do?

Send me a plane ticket and me fix it with traditional mystical asian medicine!

*me brandishes stapler and masking tape*

Hi Jon,

Thanks for having a look at the following questions.


I set up series of hurdles to warm up with single step training exercise.
I came down with the right amount of force on my right heel that it hurt like a son of a gun. The injury became apparent after my workout. I guarded myself while walking. I saw the doc. The injury was specifically the bone at the back of my heel.
so iced and heated.

Is there any way to better prepare the foot?
ie stretching that area some how. I am not a competitive hurdler. Its about exercise variety.

Can I call this training exercise applied plyometrics?

Any thoughts on body mechanics and kettle bell training?

ty warren

i ran a couple of months ago for 5 miles. i think i was wearing bad shoes, by the time i stopped and stretched, my right knee felt like someone was pinching it so hard and deep.

after this incident, every time i run, my knee swells up, and just starts to hurt.

i got an MRI scan but the doctors saw nothing yet, everytime i run, turns red, swells and hurts.

i havent ran for 2 months. and i am just starting again, it was good for about 3 days, but now it is starting to ache just aaaaa little bit...

HELP!! PLEASE ... all i know how to do is run and i gotta do something! right?

thanks

Elias

nevermind13 saidi ran a couple of months ago for 5 miles. i think i was wearing bad shoes, by the time i stopped and stretched, my right knee felt like someone was pinching it so hard and deep.

after this incident, every time i run, my knee swells up, and just starts to hurt.

i got an MRI scan but the doctors saw nothing yet, everytime i run, turns red, swells and hurts.

i havent ran for 2 months. and i am just starting again, it was good for about 3 days, but now it is starting to ache just aaaaa little bit...

HELP!! PLEASE ... all i know how to do is run and i gotta do something! right?

thanks

Elias

Start slow and build your mileage gradually.

But I can relate I'm injured and can't run...or do much of anything else for that matter until it heals. Oh yea ice too...I don't think I'll ever ignore another pain again, bearable or not.