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I've had a handful of physical ailments lately. I don't mean just the run-of-the-mill hay fever of spring or the occasional cold, but physical injuries.
For the past several months, I was aware that the muscles of the inside ofmy right shoulder blade, about midway down my back, was hurting rather severely. It wasn't incapacitating and it would be fine if I could stretch my right arm out to the side regularly. Being compressed in, say, an airline or car seat really brought home the agony.
I'm fairly sure it was triggered by overdoing dumbbell rows (50 lbs) at the gym back in January. And I thought it was healing overall, but perhaps that was just wishful thinking on my part. The flight to & from Florida in March however made it clear that I needed to seek some professional attention.
I've been visiting a chiropractor who is conveniently located around the corner from my gym: I can have my regular workout, then scoot next door for some physiotherapy.
From examination and x-rays, we've confirmed that whatever was going on inside my shoulder is soft tissue rather than skeletal damage. A routine of electro-stimulation, heat pads and massage has helped push along the healing process and I'm happy to report that my shoulder is largely better. There's still some distance to go as shoulders heal slowly; it will be another month or so before I'm brave enough to resume some back & shoulder workouts at the gym.
Some time in February, I became increasingly aware of pain in my left knee. It was most acute when I first stand or stretch, but would become less irritating after a few seconds of walking. Oddly, it wasn't inside the knee join or under the kneecap per se, but the inner side of the leg.
I've visited with an orthopedist in downtown DC who ran a set of x-rays in his office. He's noted that my bone density & health is excellent, indistinguishable from that of a 20 year old's knees. The downside is that whatever is causing me discomfort isn't obvious or visible in the x-rays so I needed to go for an MRI so we could determine what is happening.
And yesterday, I had my MRI:
I can't make heads nor tails out of my MRI sets, but the ortho's office called me this morning to schedule an appointment for next Monday so we can peruse the results and make recommendations. In general, my knee is feeling better than it has in a while but I still can't jog, run or do a decent leg day at the gym; square dancing is problematic. Ideally, I'd like to hear that I should just keep a reduced level of activity for a while and let the healing happen on its own rather than add any sort of medical intervention.
At least my teeth are good, my prior carpal tunnel issues aren't active, I haven't passed a kidney stone in nearly a year, and my eyes haven't gotten any worse since the trauma of getting progressive lenses about two years ago. Despite the minor aches & pains, life is still overwhelmingly good.
For the past several months, I was aware that the muscles of the inside ofmy right shoulder blade, about midway down my back, was hurting rather severely. It wasn't incapacitating and it would be fine if I could stretch my right arm out to the side regularly. Being compressed in, say, an airline or car seat really brought home the agony.
I'm fairly sure it was triggered by overdoing dumbbell rows (50 lbs) at the gym back in January. And I thought it was healing overall, but perhaps that was just wishful thinking on my part. The flight to & from Florida in March however made it clear that I needed to seek some professional attention.
I've been visiting a chiropractor who is conveniently located around the corner from my gym: I can have my regular workout, then scoot next door for some physiotherapy.
From examination and x-rays, we've confirmed that whatever was going on inside my shoulder is soft tissue rather than skeletal damage. A routine of electro-stimulation, heat pads and massage has helped push along the healing process and I'm happy to report that my shoulder is largely better. There's still some distance to go as shoulders heal slowly; it will be another month or so before I'm brave enough to resume some back & shoulder workouts at the gym.
Some time in February, I became increasingly aware of pain in my left knee. It was most acute when I first stand or stretch, but would become less irritating after a few seconds of walking. Oddly, it wasn't inside the knee join or under the kneecap per se, but the inner side of the leg.
I've visited with an orthopedist in downtown DC who ran a set of x-rays in his office. He's noted that my bone density & health is excellent, indistinguishable from that of a 20 year old's knees. The downside is that whatever is causing me discomfort isn't obvious or visible in the x-rays so I needed to go for an MRI so we could determine what is happening.
And yesterday, I had my MRI:
I can't make heads nor tails out of my MRI sets, but the ortho's office called me this morning to schedule an appointment for next Monday so we can peruse the results and make recommendations. In general, my knee is feeling better than it has in a while but I still can't jog, run or do a decent leg day at the gym; square dancing is problematic. Ideally, I'd like to hear that I should just keep a reduced level of activity for a while and let the healing happen on its own rather than add any sort of medical intervention.
At least my teeth are good, my prior carpal tunnel issues aren't active, I haven't passed a kidney stone in nearly a year, and my eyes haven't gotten any worse since the trauma of getting progressive lenses about two years ago. Despite the minor aches & pains, life is still overwhelmingly good.
