Official Luthiers Forum!

So, as many of you know I built a nice 12x20 barn in my yard this summer.
In the process I seem to have messed up my right arm pretty good. It has a lot of pain at the side of the elbow. It will go away but as soon as I start to do anything it heats right back up. Sanding with a block sander is now all but impossible. I suspect I damaged some cartilage swinging the hammer this summer.
Do I need to rest my arm for several months? By that I mean do nothing? Its frustrating to say the least. I have never had a physical limitation other than a sore back or something that fixes it self in a day or two. This has been going on for over a month.

Any ideas?

Thanks

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

I have had tennis elbow, I have found that rest and a prescription strength dose of ibuprofen or naproxen for a couple of weeks ends the cycle. When the joint is inflamed movement tends to make it more inflamed so the injury is self supporting, the inflammation is causing more inflammation. The NSAID is reducing the inflammation helping break the cycle. On my wrest a doc once gave me a steroid shot to reduce the inflammation but he also told me that he really thought that rest and the ibuprofen would do the trick. I think the shot was to make me feel better about coming in.

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

If you're lucky it might just be tendonitis. Rest is good. Try an anti inflammatory. I use ibuprofen. Next time you have to build something buy a nail gun. Hammers are are for youngsters. Haha

Heal well.

I have been hitting the ibuprofen pretty heavy, 800 mg twice a day. I guess I really need to rest the arm along with the ibuprofen.
Thanks John, I sorta felt I knew the answer, just a little reinforcement that I was headed in the right direction. ..

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Danny, Everything I have ever built I have used a screw gun and the right screws. This kit came with 20 boxes of nails so I went with it. After building JUST THE ROOF TRUSSES I counted up 998 nails hammered. That was the start of the project and the beginning of the pain. I should have stopped right there.
I am happy how it turned out tho.

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

The recommended dosage for Ibuprofen has been cut way back because of liver damage.


Oral: Mild to moderate pain:
200 to 400 mg orally every 4 to 6 hours as needed. Doses greater than 400 mg have not been proven to provide greater efficacy.

http://www.drugs.com/dosage/ibuprofen.html

Sorry for your pain, Lance. I have the same one. Learn to sand with your left hand.

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Ken Franklin
clumsy yet persistent
https://www.kenfranklinukulele.com

Yeah but then it will be like someone else is sanding.

Did I just say that !

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

I have a great idea, Lance! GO TO THE DOCTOR! Huh? Maybe that's a good idea?

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

As said NSAIDs and rest to keep inflammation down. Ice is probably a good idea too. I would try to avoid taking a lot of ibuprofen for extended periods of time. I have chronic back pain and sometimes have to take NSAIDs daily for days at a time. I'm not quite 4o (a few more weeks ) and I am already noticing stomach trouble from taking so much of this the last 20 plus years. I take Naproxen now because I can take it every 12 hours or twice a day. That is a lot fewer pills burning up my stomach. You've gotten some good advice here already but I will add one thing no one has mentioned:

Go to a doctor and get it checked out. Likely rest will be the answer but there may be something else going. Better to get it checked out now than two years from now when you can't work in the shop at all.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

I have my annual physical in two weeks.

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Ha, you posted as I was typing. I was going to add that he should ask how to fix a strange buzz on an e string. Then when the Dr. looked at him funny, he should say "Well I asked all my guitar friends what was wrong with my elbow. . ."

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Why would you wait 2 weeks? Go now. Your GP will send you to a specialist and they will be able to determine what is wrong. The GP won't be able to fix this likely.

1. Amputate the offender
2. Go see a sports medicine doc.


Wait.... I got those out of order.
Tom

You're better than I am. I talk a good game but in reality I get my annual check up every 5 years or so. Last time I went, they had moved to a different building.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Lame-sauce. Have you ever seen a sports medicine doctor? Mine can usually figure out what's going on just by squeezing certain points in my joints and tapping into his 20-30 years of experience. He prescribes MRI's, but he usually nails it with the initial examination. My guess is some form of tendinitis, which usually goes away with a few weeks or months of rest, or with a nice cortisone injection (which usually doesn't hurt a bit when laced with lidocaine).

I'm sorry it's flaring up on you though, Lance. Hope it gets well soon. It sounds like classic tendinitis though. I had some in my wrist after getting too aggressive with handstand practice about a year ago.

Edit: I got the MRI for some bursitis in my shoulder three summers ago, but not for my wrist.

If it truly is tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) you could wear an elbow brace, one that is about one inch wide. I usually have patients wear them not at the joint, but 2-3 inches down the forearm away from the elbow. And minimize repetitive motions for weeks/months.

Having had chronic tendonitis in my elbow for 30+ years, my advice is to use ice packs as often as possible. Use the soft gel packs - they conform to your arm better, and go see your doctor asap! The one time I was diligent in taking my Dr.'s advice, it took me 10 months to be symptom free. But who listens to Dr."s anyways! Good luck, Lance!

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

+1 on getting a correct diagnosis, as soon as possible. One needs to know what the problem is in order to fix it, and to prevent re-injury. An orthopaedic or sport-medicine doc is best, but many GPs are very good at joint diagnoses, too.

I've had good success with ice for many soft-tissue injuries, but the scientific evidence is mixed and controversial. Ice certainly helps with pain relief -- everyone agrees with that. In the first 48 hours after an injury (or substantial reinjury), ice helps decrease swelling (which can be more than the healing process needs and is thus counterproductive). After the initial swelling is down (~3 days), the role of ice is more controversial. Ice also decreases blood flow to the tissue--and that blood carries the healing cells that the tissue needs to repair itself. I.e., at this stage, the inflammation response is not only helpful, but required to heal.

That said, years ago, the main things that helped my rotator cuff tendonitis were ice plus physical therapy, lots of both, over many months. The only way I can make sense of the evidence and experience is this: Ice can help, hurt, or do nothing, depending on the injury and stage of injury.
- If the injury is related to impingement or "lack of space", where the inflammation itself is the main problem or makes the problem worse (bursitis, some tendonitis, acute injuries), ice will likely help.
- If not, ice will help with immediate pain relief, but may slow long-term healing.
- Although biased, each person's personal experience may be the best measure, since the science is unclear and it's our body we need to heal.

Links:
A skeptic (who was the originator of "RICE"): http://drmirkin.com/fitness/why-ice-del ... overy.html
A balanced view: http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/ ... tion/3474/
A scientific review, inconclusive: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15496998

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David Malicky

Go see an Orthopedist. Get a referral from your GP if you don't know a good one. Sounds like tennis elbow. If I was still in practice you could fly to MN and see me and talk guitars too. Be prepared for it to take three months to settle down.

Good luck!

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

You just need a good blood-letting.

Seriously, ask a doc in person. You probably don't buy pants or fresh fruit on the Internet; why would you trust it for medical advice?

Lance I had the same thing happen to me years ago. Basically I had overdone it. A little rest will do wonders. If it hurts when you do something don't do that till it stops.


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I'd go with a bolt on elbow... welcome to this side of 50. (+ or -)

That's what I always say as well

In the meantime, work on your left hand dexterity.

I can't believe no one has yet suggested you see a physiotherapist. You can probably get in tomorrow. They'll make a diagnosis, probably hit you with some ultrasound, some heat or cold as appropriate, and give you a series of stretches.

Way simpler than a doctor, and if they can't fix it, the doc is always there for a fallback. But honestly? A sports doc will probably just give you the same treatment as a physiotherapist.