# I'm back from vacation...



## Lauralee (Jan 4, 2002)

...and I have good news and bad news. The good news is that we spent 8 hours at Six Flags Over Texas in the heat and the sun and had a great time! The bad news is that this morning, I reached my left arm over my head to stretch and when I did, I felt and heard a pop. I have been in excruciating pain since then. I can't turn my head to the right and I can't look up to the ceiling either. I have a doc appointment at 4:30 and I hope she can tell me what on earth I did to myself! It is just unbelievable how much this hurts!!!


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

Lauralee, glad you had a good time on the vacation.







Hope you get the arm probem sorted out with the doctor, sometimes you can throw things out of whack and pinch a nerve or perhaps you popped it. I hope they can fix you soon.


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## carolauren (Mar 14, 2002)

Lauralee,I did the same thing once raising my arms to put shampoo on my hair in the shower. You might have injured a tendon or ligament in your neck or upper back (a strain or sprain) Try icing the affected area in the meantime before you see your doc. Let us know what s/he says. I know how much this hurts!!


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## Lauralee (Jan 4, 2002)

The doc said I either sprained the muscle or I tore it. She prescribed anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxants and pain killers. All things my stomach just LOVES!!







I go back in three weeks for a re-evaluation. Fun Fun Fun!gasgirl - how long did yours hurt?


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## carolauren (Mar 14, 2002)

Lauralee,You got the standard treatment doctors give for this sort of thing. The drugs can make you a little more comfortable while the thing heals, but they do bother some people's stomachs. The best thing you can do on your own for it is to put an ice pack on it, 20 min. at a time, as often as possible. The quickest way to heal that kind of injury is specific massage to the site, after the first 24-48 hours. If you can find someone trained to work on sprains, it will cut your healing time down tremendously, although the treatment hurts.My injury was completely healed in four days, because I knew how to treat it myself (I'm a massage therapist) and I could reach it. Where is yours located? Mine was at a tendon at the upper corner (superior angle) of the shoulder blade. I had a later injury in my upper back which I had to have someone else work on because I couldn't reach it. It was gone after two sessions.Depending on what is torn and how severe it is, it could take two weeks or more to heal on its own. Muscles heal much more quickly than tendons or ligaments; those can linger for months sometimes.


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## JeanG (Oct 20, 1999)

Ack!! LauraLee -- you poor baby. I agree with gasgirl. Use ice every 20 minutes or so. I've never pulled a shoulder muscle but have had muscle problems in my back in the past, and ice is what I've used.Make sure you eat if it calls for food while taking the meds. With some it doesn't matter one way or the other.If you are on a narcotic pain pill drink plenty of water. Also, it's a good idea to get a stool softener because stool tends to get hard with those types of pain killers. I don't remember exactly the name of what I take when I need pain killers. Talk to your pharmacist and see what they recommend.I hope you're feeling better soon!JeanG


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## Lauralee (Jan 4, 2002)

I hurt the muscle that runs from my neck to my shoulder on the top. I don't know what it is called, but I can actually move my head a little further today than I could yesterday, so I am hopeful it will heal fast. I hadn't heard that massaging it will help. I might have to look into that. I iced it all day yesterday and today I get to use heat. I would rather use the ice considering how hot it is outside!Jean - a little constipation would be a good thing!







I have Darvocet which is what I took when I had my last son. It seems to be ok if I only take one once or twice a day instead of the full dosage, which is like 8 a day.gasgirl - I am looking forward to the massage! When will you be over?


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

Lauralee, sorry to hear this, they may take a little time to heal.Good advise from everyone.







Hope you feel better soon. Sorry to hear this I have done it before at work and its extremely uncomfortable I know. Careful with it even after it heals for a bit, because it can be easier to do it again for a little while until it recovers fully.


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## kinetic (Oct 19, 2001)

hmmm have you ever seen a chiropractor? If you heard and felt a pop... I'm wondering if maybe one of your bones moved too.... some chiropractors use what's called the "activator method" in which they use a small tool-thingie to move the bones individually without having to twist you around like a pretzel







I know I had something similar to that happen to me in my left shoulder where the collar bone slid down slightly and whenever I raised my arm it would pinch the joint and hurt REALLY bad... the chiropractor was able to move it back, and after that the pain went away in a matter of days... and I could move my arm again... which was definitely a good thing







anyway... if you're interested in trying a chiropractor, you can find one who uses the activator method by looking at www.activator.com (there's also more info on it there too)also the chiropractor my family has gone to for the last 10-15 years or so told me that there's a place on your spine where if the bones aren't lined up properly, it can trigger stomach/digestive problems, and I usually did get some relief from bad IBS symptoms after having that adjusted... worth a try anyway


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## carolauren (Mar 14, 2002)

Lauralee,LOL, if we lived closer I would definitely give you a whirl on my massage table!BTW, if the heat doesn't work for you, just stick with the ice. The most current thinking about this is to use only ice anyway.kinetic, I get chiropractic care too, but I like the pretzel--crackin' kind.







I wish it helped my IBS, though.


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## Lauralee (Jan 4, 2002)

Actually, kinetic, I did use a chiropractor for several months a couple of years ago. All it did for me was make me poor! It really did nothing to help anything and I got very disillusioned when I got my bill and saw he was charging $35 for people to sit on a "tippy chair". He had about 20 of these in the waiting room. They were stools that the top moved so you could rotate your pelvis on them. He wanted everyone to sit on one for 5 minutes before their appointment. It was supposed to help the lower back. I for one had no problems at all with my lower back, I was there for my upper back and neck and still I had to do the chair. I couldn't believe he was charging $35 to sit for 5 minutes on a chair in the waiting room!!!!!







So, I stopped going. It cost me a lot of money, did nothing for me, and I felt he was totally ripping people off. That was MY experience with chiropractic. I certainly hope yours is better!!! Oh, BTW, the first thing the chiro said to me when he saw my X-Rays was that an orthopedist would say my spine looks perfect with no problems at all, but HE can see this problem and that problem. Why wouldn't an orthopedist see these same problems? Very fishy to me!!


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