COMP063 update & enforced layoff

[dedee]

Nowhere near as dramatic as Tony's altercation with a router but the outcome is the same, ie no woodwork for a while.

It seems that I have tendonitis, or woodworkers elbow :lol:

Ever since I chopped out the DTs on my comp project my right forearm has been sore. At first I put this down to using muscles that I had not used for a while. Extensive sessions with a plane, smoothing the door panels, only made it worse. And every time that I have picked up a tool since leaves the arm feeling sore. It has now got to the stage where any
activity that requires a right handed grip (even taking the lid of a jam jar) causes discomfort. If I grip and flex the elbow simultaneously the pain increases.

Ibuprofen should sort it out with rest - I hope.

The comp project is nearly completed. The doors are made and the chisel holder fits the cabinet. Even using a screwdriver pulls the affected tendon so I will restrict my activities this week to finishing and I'll sort out the curve next week. I've cut some walnut strips to make some laminated handles and learnt how to draw a Bezier curve on the Mac - not CAD I know but a neat trick.

Andy

 

[Newbie_Neil]

Hi Andy

You have my sympathy.

I hope you recover enough to complete the project.

Cheers
Neil

 

[stewart]

Hi Andy
It's looking good so far. Hope you recover in time to finish it. I too have been inactive with something very like proper flu that has had me in bed for the best part 2 and a half weeks!

best wishes for a speedy recovery
Stewart

 

[Paul Chapman]

Sorry to hear about the elbow. The cabinet is looking really nice.

Paul

 

[Chris Knight]

Andy,
That is rotten luck, especially as the cabinet is looking so nice. Ibuprofen should help, being anti-inflammatory. If not, ask the doc about Naproxen (another stronger anti-inflammatory that I swear by).

 

[dedee]

Chris, thanks, it was the doc who suggested the Ibuprofen "for a couple of weeks". If it does not get any better then its prescription anti-inflammatories or steroid injections! At the moment everything I do seems to pull on the tendon and even after a few minutes of holding the arm still results in the first movement being quite painful.

Andy

 

[Corset]

Don't go down the steroid route. I do a bit a fair bit of rock climbing and i have seen far to many horror stories wth steroid injections messing the arm up even worse. I am quite heavy and my tendons are always being tweaked and i had a very bad case of tendonitis in my left elbow and shoulder from over training.
The only real cure is rest, the tip is to wait till it stops hurting and then add 2/3 weeks more rest. This is due to the pain and main inflammation subsiding but the damage still being present. It took me a couple of major lay offs to learn the discipline to do this.
Furthermore tendonitis can be managed and prevented but working on the balancing muscles ie opposite movement range. This is best done with the elastic theraband. You do look very silly but by building up my opposing muscles i have had no futher problem. Pain killers are only masking a serious injury!

 

[Waka]

Andy

Sorry to hear about your discomfort, hope it gets better soon.

You'll have to rope SWMBO into the WS to ensure that the comp piece is finished in time.

 

[dedee]

Corset - rocking climbing eh? that takes me back. I spent many a weekend at Stanage Edge quite some years ago. And closer to home on the horrid sandstone of Harrisons rocks in kent.

Thanks for the physio tip. I've spent most of the morning reading about tendonitis and physiotherapy is recommended a lot to prevent reoccurrence. I'll discuss this with the doc on my next visit - if one is needed.

Andy

 

[wizer]

Project looks good Andy, you have my sympathies also. Go easy on the ibruprofen, I speak from experience when I say that it can really screw up your insides if taken too much.

 

[Gill]

Rotten luck, Andy. Mind the cabinet does look nice.

A very good (and natural) alternative to Ibuprofen is the herb Devil's Claw, which is available in health shops. My other half suffers from arthritis and he finds Devil's Claw much more effective than Ibuprofen.

Gill

 

[Neomorph]

Don't go down the steroid route. I do a bit a fair bit of rock climbing and i have seen far to many horror stories wth steroid injections messing the arm up even worse. I am quite heavy and my tendons are always being tweaked and i had a very bad case of tendonitis in my left elbow and shoulder from over training.
The only real cure is rest, the tip is to wait till it stops hurting and then add 2/3 weeks more rest. This is due to the pain and main inflammation subsiding but the damage still being present. It took me a couple of major lay offs to learn the discipline to do this.
Furthermore tendonitis can be managed and prevented but working on the balancing muscles ie opposite movement range. This is best done with the elastic theraband. You do look very silly but by building up my opposing muscles i have had no futher problem. Pain killers are only masking a serious injury!

Ouch Andy... I can thoroughly sympathise.

I have an opposite story to Corset's nightmare... I had severe tennis elbow in my left arm and rest did nothing for it. As I'm on strong painkillers 24/7 it must have been bad for the pain to sneak through that barrier. In the end the doc suggested steroid injection. She did it and the day after it was agony... and then after that... POW!.. Pain went completely.

About nine months later though it came back and I figured out why I was getting it. The mattress on my adjustable bed slides across the beech slats and I would sit on the left side of the bed, turn left and grab the mattress with my left hand and drag it back while standing up. I had a steroid injection that time as well and haven't had a recurrence since. Mind you I did fix the mattress sliding properly by adding strips either side of the slats to stop it sliding so haven't had the need to yank it back in a while.

In conclusion I can recommend the steroid approach but from what I have learned since it's down to the doctors skill in injecting it right at the correct point to do the most good.

 

[Neomorph]

Rotten luck, Andy. Mind the cabinet does look nice.

A very good (and natural) alternative to Ibuprofen is the herb Devil's Claw, which is available in health shops. My other half suffers from arthritis and he finds Devil's Claw much more effective than Ibuprofen.

Gill

Hmmm... I'll have to try that myself. As someone who is on long term pain relief I'll try anything that might help me reduce my morphine habit.

 

[Jorden]

Sorry to hear about the elbow Andy, been there, done that, took ages to get it right again, mostly because i kept trying to use it before it was ready. Take it easy and get well soon

Dennis

 

[Alf]

My sympathies, Andy; painful and frustrating all in one undesirable package.

Devil's Claw? Doesn't sound particularly alluring but I might be looking into that myself.

Cheers, Alf

 

[devonwoody]

I gave up the mouse.

I use a stylus and have not had any right arm or hand pains since.

Cost to convert aound £30 upwards.

 

[AndyG]

Andy,
Ouch... Really sorry to hear that. Hope you manage to grit your teeth and get your project finished though, it's looking great.
Good luck
Andy

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry to hear that Andy, espwecailly as the cabinet is coming along so nicely.
Ibruprofen are good (I've taken a few latley :wink: ) and hopefully those with a rest will get you back in there soon