United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

I am being cut off from PT the end of this coming week.With her aggressive stretching, my arm/shoulder usually felt alittle less painful.Without the PT,how can I alone do this.I do the wall stretches and live alone.Has anyone gone though pain management? Would that help?Thanks! Sandi

PS: The pain also includes the rib area,scapula area and neck.

Sandi,
I have been having PT for 2.5 years now. Some times I go places and have to miss a week or so. After going to PT for that long I've learned to do most of it myself. You can do everything but the shoulder with relative ease if you give it a chance. For the shoulder I have to get down to the "resting child" pose (see yoga 101). You can do much of the shoulder yourself with some practice. One trick I've learned for all your joints is traction. Can't be done by yourself on your shoulder (sorry). Where do you live, maybe I can lend you a hand. The traction is very helpful with joint pain. That's one reason why it feels so good when get PT'd. Give it a go, just start out easy. You'll find the more you do, the better it feels. The more you touch and massage the arm, the harder it is for pain signals to reach the brain. That's why ballplayers rub their arms when they get hit with a pitch. That's why people use TENS units. I couldn't aford a TENS unit, so I started using the "MOLA" technique. Good luck...Karl...

ps. We all go through pain mngt in some fashion, eh?
One more trick for your scapula pain. Find the exact spot of pain, press on that very spot for seven seconds, then release. Repeat if necessary. If that works for ya, send me ten bucks. Just kidding guys,okay...five is plenty. Seriously though, the pressure on the release point is a techique used in Shiatsu message. Works for me. But you need somebody for this to work, eh?

Sandi,
I have gone through PT/OT on and off for almost 4 years. About 8 months ago, I just couldn't deal with the pain anymore, I was unable to function. I've been under the care of a pain management doctor since August. It took some time to find the right methods to deal with the pain, but I am now almost to the tolerable point. I highly reccommend seeing a pain doc as they manage the symptoms, not just treat the overall problem. No neurologist ever spent enough time with me to talk and find out what was unmanageable and all the symptoms. My pain doc treated EVERYTHING, from hypersensitivity to being unable to sleep.

I wish you the best of luck.
Gillian

What kinds of methods are used for pain management?
Sandi

There are methods from medication to TENS unit use to procedures. I use Neurontin, Tizanidine and Trileptal to reduce the pain and hypersensitivity. I also use a lidoderm patch over my surgical sites (i have two.)

I've had cortizone injections which provided some immediate relief. I almost had a radial frequency nerve block but my doc didn't think it would help me. There are tons of different methods of controlling pain. The doc just has to find the right method for your case. It took mine about 5 months of trial to find the right regimen for me.

If you have any questions, email me at ladydanzia@purplechristel.com