Experience with tendonitis of the arm. Help!!!

J

jillianav

New member
Hello everyone.

I have a persistent problem with tendonitis in my right arm that I would do anything to fix and I'm seeking advice on what to do.

I did a job as a waiter for approximately one full year in 2006, and it really screwed up my arm (carrying heavy tray with one arm constantly). Since then, my arm has been continually driving me crazy for two and a half full years.

Basically if I twist my arm (for example, as if I'm using a screwdriver) when the arm is fully extended, the tendon in my bicept "snaps". It also "snaps" when I extend my arm. Repetitive use of the arm is not only painfully at the time of the snap, but eventually a dull pain will happen that stays usually until I fall asleep at night at least. It also randomly hurts at times even when I'm not using it.

It's very life-affecting; i rarely reach for things with the arm, I can do sports or any physical activity or job that requires extending my right arm, and I'm always conscious of it 24 hours a day. (well, when I'm awake I mean)

My doctor recommended physiotherapy. I will be trying it soon, but I had tried it before and due to various circumstances at the time, I ended up terminating the physio before the tendon completely healed.

My questions:

1. Does this sound like a common type of tendonitis / tendon injury? Has anyone else experienced anything like this?


2. The symptoms have been ongoing for over two years. Will I really be able to heal my arm with physiotherapy? Is there anyway it can become permanently ruined since I didn't fix it soon enough? The doctor says it's an "inflamation", but can an inflamation really continuously exist for years?

3. The doctor said there was no surgery option available and I was surprised. I want to avoid surgery and will take every other option possible, but is it really true that there are no surgery options?


Anyone with any expertise / experience, please help!

--MDL
 
Have you tried cortisone injections? They will buy you some time. I've had surgery on both my elbows for tendonitis...worst surgery you can imagine! TRY to avoid it if possible!
 
telling you there IS NO surgical option for something he does not actually even know you have is quite out there really(right now he is merely 'guessing"?). has he ever thought to simply send you for a very informative and telling rotator cuff/shoulder MRI??? since this has been a very long term type of issue and given what you simply have been doing during the course of your job, among other things, it would simply take a revealing MRI done on that particular shoulder to really be able to truely tell what are the main pain generators there and any possible true damage that can just 'be' within that rotator cuff area from even wear and tear over the years.

i had no real clue just how badly my rotator on the right really was til my very top tendon there actually snapped on me one day and i immediately lost ROM and the pain went thru the roof. after doing a simple eval on that shoulder and checking all ROMS, my primary simply sent me for that shoulder MRI. i had a ton of wear and tear types of damage along with one fully torn tendon(this had been partial til the day it snapped in half and also retracted) and a partial tear inthe tendon directly under it along with tendonitis bursitus and problems with bone spurring with that actual shoulder joint too.

there just really is not any other real way to know what can be going on within your shoulder area without,by this time,just getting that very telling MRI done right now. it would just really shpow for certain what is and is not going on in there. my ortho told me that one of the most common surgeires thay do IS the rotator cuff repair. alot of people simply have real wear and tear damage from the way and how much we actually use our arms and the shoulder areas. if you also played alot of different sports that really involved the shoulder area like baseball, espescially if you used to pitch? it does add up over time and just starts damage that continues to become worse as we get older. just seeing your primary again and asking to get that MRI right now would not be at all out of line considering how long you have been dealing with this.

if for some stupid reason your current primary who has known for this long just how bad this area is, does not want to send you for that badly needed MRI, i would actually start seeing a new one since this one would NOT be placing the best needs of his patients at the forefront. this has simply become a chronic issue that NEEDS some deeper testing at this point, ya know? i do wish you luck with this. please let me know just what you find out. FB
 
Hmmm, thank you for this advice. I will be looking into seeing a different doctor when I finally get out of here (O'm staying with my parents in the middle of nowhere while transitioning, there are no options here...)

I was just wondering meems, why do you describe your elbow surgery as being the worst thing ever? Did it not fix the problem?
 
Hi Matt....looks like you've got a good case of bicep's tendinitis. You might have an underlying rotator cuff tendinitis or tear as Feelbad thinks but they don't snap like that. But boy the bicep tendon sure does. I've had that more times than I care to remember. I can feel the pain as I type "snap".

I have chronic tendintis for unknown reasons and have battled bicep tendinitis for 30 years...both shoulders, along with the deltoid and the rotator cuff tendons as well. Rarely all at once, thank goodness. I've had so many cortisone shots in my shoulder tendons I can't even count...must be in the hundreds by now. So I do have a couple of suggestions.

Look into getting a cortisone injection. Even your primary can do that. Then follow that with a week to 10 days of pure shoulder rest...sling and all. You have to give it time to work. Then try the PT to slowly stretch it and get it functioning well again.

Once you are through with that, here is the daily routine I use. Use ice after a bad snap followed by heat after a day to get the blood flowing again in the area. Ice reduces swelling but the problem with tendons is that they have a really poor blood supply so they heal very slowly. Treat any pain as rapidly as you can to limit the amount of inflammation. You can take an anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen but why treat the whole body for 1 tendon. The trick to treating tendinitis that has lasted for a couple of years is to treat any reccurence of pain immediately with ice, then heat and especially rest. Stop using the arm immediately. That helps to stop the inflammation from developing. Put your hand in a pocket and leave it there or be like Napoleon and stick your hand in your shirt. The idea is to do something to remind you NOT to move the arm. Keep it that way for as long as you can until you can get home and ice it.

This is one time where pushing through the pain doesn't work..only makes it worse. You stop as soon as you feel pain, rest it, then ice it, then go to heat then slowly stretch it(PT will teach you how). Repeat as often as necessary but sooner or later, it should heal on it's own.

Tendons, like muscles, take months to heal once injured. Muscles can take up to 8 months to regrow a single long muscle cell, and tendons, with their bad blood supply can take as long if not longer(I was told 12 months). Inflammation leads to small tears in the tendon so it takes as long as it takes.

So I'd start with a cortisone shot to get the inflammation down promptly, do PT tp learn how to stretch it and use it properly, then use the stop when in pain, rest it, ice it then heat then stretch. It's works for me for years. Mine will never go away but I've found that if I do this, I can really limit the shots. Considering I was getting them about every 3 months in the bicep alone and now I haven't had one in years, I think my method works...at least for me and several others I've shared my ideas with. Can't hurt.

Good luck and if you have any questions, I'm around.

Jenny
 
Hi Matt! I'm so sorry you're having tendonitis and I know how badly it can hurt. However, I'm here to tell you any sort of inflamation of a tendon, bursitis, ligaments, etc. can last for a VERY long time. I would not jump to get a cortisone injection as they can cause other problems and can weaken joints and bones. Going for PT is a very good option for starters. Follow through until you are released if you want the best results. If, at the end of your PT you are dissatisfied, get a second opinion. This is just my opinion from the personal experience I've had. I do know for a fact that PT can be a lifesaver and sometimes the inflamation will leave as quickly as it came. My daughter worked in a restaurant all though high school and had trouble in her arm, elbow, wrist from the heavy trays. It took rest, anti-inflamatories, and PT, but she's all better now. Good luck!!
Soibhan
 
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