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I've been carrying around a prescription for physical therapy for my left elbow for a while. I had my first appointment today. One of the smaller things that delayed this was wrestling with health insurance company web stuff, since the PT I used years ago for my shoulder isn't in my network. (Annoying, since I liked them and they're four blocks from my house, rather than 2 or 3 subway stops plus the longer walk to the subway.) But I found a few possibles, and made an appointment last week.
This time was evaluation/consultation, a combination of getting me to describe the history and effects, and some more hands-on evaluation. My tennis elbow is apparently atypical, and when I mentioned the also-atypical "maybe it is/was carpal tunnel" thing from last fall, the therapist said she'd been going to ask if I was having such symptoms. In any case, the therapist (who is named Melanie) she thinks she can do useful things with massage, heat, and teaching me some exercises. Unfortunately, her only available appointment this week was 9 a.m. Friday. I took it, but asked the receptionist to call me later in the day either Wednesday or Friday (the therapist works three days/week).
In the meantime, the elbow is bothering me some. I suspect this is connected to some of the diagnostic stuff Melanie did, which included asking me to push as hard as possible in certain directions, and resist her pushing on my arms, and rotating the elbow to see whether/where it hurt. I think NSAIDs may be in order here (this entry is revised/expanded from email I wrote a couple of hours ago, which means the pain isn't going away on its own.)
The therapist hasn't given me any limitations on activity, except the fairly straightforward one that, if I exercise before PT, I not do arm/upper body exercises, because the therapist doesn't want that part of my body to already be tired. But on other days, or after PT if I have the energy, fine. (And cardio, lower body, and core stuff is fine before PT.)
This time was evaluation/consultation, a combination of getting me to describe the history and effects, and some more hands-on evaluation. My tennis elbow is apparently atypical, and when I mentioned the also-atypical "maybe it is/was carpal tunnel" thing from last fall, the therapist said she'd been going to ask if I was having such symptoms. In any case, the therapist (who is named Melanie) she thinks she can do useful things with massage, heat, and teaching me some exercises. Unfortunately, her only available appointment this week was 9 a.m. Friday. I took it, but asked the receptionist to call me later in the day either Wednesday or Friday (the therapist works three days/week).
In the meantime, the elbow is bothering me some. I suspect this is connected to some of the diagnostic stuff Melanie did, which included asking me to push as hard as possible in certain directions, and resist her pushing on my arms, and rotating the elbow to see whether/where it hurt. I think NSAIDs may be in order here (this entry is revised/expanded from email I wrote a couple of hours ago, which means the pain isn't going away on its own.)
The therapist hasn't given me any limitations on activity, except the fairly straightforward one that, if I exercise before PT, I not do arm/upper body exercises, because the therapist doesn't want that part of my body to already be tired. But on other days, or after PT if I have the energy, fine. (And cardio, lower body, and core stuff is fine before PT.)
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