So I got a call from my doc today and he says I have tendonitis and we can do nothing or we can refer me to an orthopedist who will most likely give my shoulder a steroid injection. Anybody else ever have one of these injections? Will the euphoria of the large needle be so great that I become addicted? j/k Anyhow, the ortho he is reffering me to did a fellowship specializing in joints and my doctor has a significant amount of faith in him. I am allowed to get back in the water when I feel the time is right but he warned me to take it easy so as not to aggravate it before it completely heals. At least I don't have to worry about surgery and can concentrate on my recovery. Thanks again to all of you who responded to my posts with words of encouragement.
Former Member
I have tendinitis in my wrist. When I was first diagnose with it I was told it was from overuse and there really isn't anything I could do about it but rest. I could take pain medicine but that was about it. It will come back if I overuse my wrist. It is something that I will have to deal with all my life and not something that will heal and go away permittly. At least this is what I was told.
I am a firm believer in physical therapy. You have to look for the underlying cause of the tendinitis and try to correct it. It seems to me that rest alone is too simplistic an approach, particularly if the individual is very active physically and participating in sports.
I was diagnosed with tendonitis (after an MRI) in October after several months of increasing shoulder pain. (Probably swimming with pain and old age.) My doctor never mentioned shots, but referred me to a physical therapist.
I first had an evaluation (tests to determine range of motion, type of motion that brought on the pain.) I had 3 weeks of physical therapy with exercises designed for me, twice a week at the PT gym, and exercises at home. The main goals were to reduce the inflamation and irrataiton, improve range of motion, strengthen everything that holds the joint together, and "stretch those things out in there" to prevent the tendons from rubbing against whatever they were hitting. (I do not have a medical vocabulary.)
At first it didn't seem to work at all. But, after 3 weeks back in the pool, the shoulder is much much better, (although my "tired" butterfly and backstroke at the end of a workout can bring on the fireworks.) Popping and clicking?...My shoulders both sound like an old vinyl record.
The therapist mentioned surgery if the PT did not work and I could not live with the results, but no shots. I too am surprised that shots were the first recommendation, but I do not know the severity of your problem. Sounds pretty bad.
Originally posted by Rnovitske
I was diagnosed with tendonitis (after an MRI) in October after several months of increasing shoulder pain. (Probably swimming with pain and old age.) My doctor never mentioned shots, but referred me to a physical therapist.
I first had an evaluation (tests to determine range of motion, type of motion that brought on the pain.) I had 3 weeks of physical therapy with exercises designed for me, twice a week at the PT gym, and exercises at home. The main goals were to reduce the inflamation and irrataiton, improve range of motion, strengthen everything that holds the joint together, and "stretch those things out in there" to prevent the tendons from rubbing against whatever they were hitting. (I do not have a medical vocabulary.)
At first it didn't seem to work at all. But, after 3 weeks back in the pool, the shoulder is much much better, (although my "tired" butterfly and backstroke at the end of a workout can bring on the fireworks.) Popping and clicking?...My shoulders both sound like an old vinyl record.
The therapist mentioned surgery if the PT did not work and I could not live with the results, but no shots. I too am surprised that shots were the first recommendation, but I do not know the severity of your problem. Sounds pretty bad.
I think that I have updated my condition on another thread but I'll recap it anyhow since this thread is up top. My condition was tendinopathy of the supraspinatus tendon/low grade chronic. My ortho suggested that I continue doing what I was already doing which was slowly getting back in the pool after two weeks of rest. After 2 trips back to the pool my shoulder felt pretty good but then I caught a cold so I am sidelined again!! I plan on heading back again tomorrow and with an ounce of luck I will be on my way to breaking the 30 minute mile mark once again. After nearly three weeks out of the water I am scared to find out just how much stamina and strength I have lost. In any case, one of the things I like most about swimming is the ability to push myself to improve and to actually see results. I've got plenty of improvement to make/regain now.
