For what it’s worth, hand
therapists do the same thing,
and for the same good reason.
A problem experienced in the
hand or wrist may well be caused
by a problem elsewhere.
So ‘hand’ therapist is
a bit misleading–these
folks specialize in problems in
the hands, wrists, elbows
and shoulders, and are well
aware that pain in one place
may be caused by a problem
in another. The approach is
holistic, as it should be.
I’ve run into lots of bonehead
physicians and it seems that
problems like these, which
profit most from a very practical
approach–adjust how
you live and do these exercises,
etc–are what they do least well.
Of course it’s just my experience,
but I’ve had a lot of it. If
I may switch limbs, about 12 years
ago I started having very bad
pain in my knees. I went to
an orthopaedist who counselled
surgery. It didn’t add up and
so I went to another who also
counseled surgery. I went to
a third who counseled surgery: he said
‘We can’t give you a new knee,
but we can give you a better knee.’
I went to a fourth orthopaedist who
said: ‘Take off your shoes and walk
around the office.’ He said ‘Your
flat feet are catching up with you.
You’re pronating and your quads
aren’t strong enough to control
the knee. Why don’t you get on
an exercise bike for a few
weeks and see how you feel.’
So I did and the pain went
away. There was nothing to do
surgery on.
A few years ago I pulled a left shoulder
muscle swimming, so I stopped
working out. Also I started
playing a jumbo acoustic guitar.
Several weeks later I was in
frightful pain in my right
shoulder, could hardly dress
myself. Went on for months.
I went to a doctor who declared
himself baffled: ‘The mystery
ailment!’ Finally I realized,
I was muscle bound–the muscle
in the right arm had grown
stronger from playing the big
guitar, but it had shortened from
lack of other exercise. The
remedy was to stretch the
muscle–so I began to
do stretching exercises and
in a few weeks the problem
was gone.
I will leave out analogous stories
concerning more serious ailments.
Generally I have to figure
things out for myself.
I started suffering from
cubital tunnel syndrome,
in the elbow, about a year
ago. I went to a physician,
who told me how to
live with it and sent me
to a physical therapist who
told me to do exactly the
opposite of what the
physician said. This in
the same world renowned
hospital. Then I went to
another hospital where a
physician applied a painful
therapy that made things
worse. She sent me to a
physical therapist who made
me an arm brace that was
unwearable and exacerbated
the problem.
Finally I decided that I had
to solve the problem myself,
so I started doing research,
much of it on the internet,
also Jim Wasson, who then
was active on this board,
was quite helpful–a very
sensible physical therapist
suffering from similar
problems.
I shepherded a severely disabled
woman through decades of medical
treatment, and in my opinion
there is a lot of unecessary
surgery, there are many mistakes,
there are plenty of incompetent
people practicing, and there
are a fair number of dishonest
and/or mentally ill physicians.
At the same time I think
we have the best medical
establishment on earth.
So I figure that if ever it pays
to be a smart consumer it’s
when it comes to medical
services. It’s useful, when
you have a malady, to learn
about it; often you will soon
know more than the physicians
and therapists. When the
malady involves limbs, etc.
the most practical, least
theoretical and most
down to earth practitioners,
are often the most
helpful.
For what that’s worth. If
anybody’s experiences have been
more positive than mine,
I’m glad of it. Best
Oh, and I did use a wrist splint for awhile when playing, and it does feel better that way. FWIW
