Tendinitis

and just as an aside, i don't know where the idea that people from either end of the age spectrum are least likely to follow a doctor's advice, is coming from. i work with the elderly population and haven't noticed this in particular and i've never read any study concerning this idea. not saying it isn't true...just wondering about it.

It may well simply be a perception of physicians, and not based on any factual findings.

However, it was a pretty common attitude in the physicians I worked with (I'm a statistician who spent some time doing medical research number crunching at a research and teaching hospital).

In general (and all generalizations have exceptions of course) I've found that research physicians are pretty astute when it comes to population trends in their patients. So while I can't cite a study to back up the claim, and I'm prefectly willing to be shown to be wrong, until then, I'll go with the gut feelings of the doctors I know.

I can't tell you how many times they've come back with some study data and told me what I'd find before we crunched the numbers. You don't get tenure in a research hospital without having a pretty refined ability to identify trends.

However, it was a pretty common attitude in the physicians I worked with (I'm a statistician who spent some time doing medical research number crunching at a research and teaching hospital).
Oh dear, not another statistician. My wife's one as well, working for the state health department. :o :D

I have tendonitus in my right shoulder. Glucosamine was recommended to me and it has really helped not just my shoulder but also my knees..
I tried glucosamine, and it didn't do much for me when I took it, but when I stopped I was in pain everywhere. I think it started to replace something my body was making, and then my body stopped when taking the suppliment. That sucked.
Plus it's like 22 dollars for a 15 day supply. I ain't got that kinda money.

Glucosamine and chondroitin are not on my list because they are more suited for joint repair. With tendonitis, we want to focus on anti-inflammatory supplements. Some web sites mention MSM, which helps with soreness, but really isn't a strong anti-inflammatory. Both are pretty expensive, and not specific for tendinitis.

Dr. Ron

The most recent bout, ironically, developed when I was trying to get in shape and started swimming everyday.

Exercise does bring up a lot of free radicals, which goes along with detoxification. It takes a lot of fortitude to continue exercising regularly with soreness. Take it easy on yourself and continue your program.

I usually recommend antioxidants for people that are exercising to get back in shape and are feeling sore. The other main area is digestion, which includes improving the diet. Check out Dave Draper's web site, which is an awesome resource from a veteran. http://www.davedraper.com

Dr. Ron

It wasn't so much soreness as a sharp shooting pain.

The real question is if I can ever swim again, and how to approach it without hurting myself. It sucks, because swimming is supposed to be one of the safest exercises for this sort of thing.

i have a simular problem with my wrist. it's the worst when strumming fast.

what i ended up doing was changing the way i strum during the fast parts of songs. because it's the wrist movement that caused the pain, i'd lock my wrist. this takes the pressure of the wrist and puts in in the arm. this doesn't work for lead playing but after a while i found that i could pull it off for a while before the pain comes. the pain never really gos away but it can be controled.

that said. DON'T TAKE MY ADVICE. i'm not a doctor and our problems my be very different. i'm just saying what works for me. you'll have to find what works for you.

in general, with everything, the idea is to use larger muscle groups rather than smaller muscle groups and to keep your joints in alignment at all times to avoid injury.