Not looking for a diagnosis, just pain relief!

jenniewb

OK so I've been to the GP, not been diagnosed with anything but have been sent off to the physio and am awaiting an appointment (and possibly an assessment?)


I fell on my arm about 2 months ago, it didn't swell, didn't look deformed and didn't even get a bruise and was fully moveable, still is. But every time I go to use it, although it works fine it really really hurts the next day.


It aches rather than feels like a sharp pain, travels from my elbow to my wrist and halfway up my upper arm. It helps to keep my elbow bent, arm upward but I look daft like this and get a numb hand after a short while. I've tried paracetamol and ibuprofen, did nothing. I can take codeine but it just makes me drowsy and I can't take it long term anyway.


Has anyone had anything similar? Does anyone have any tips or ideas? I had thought of a sports elbow support, which I will wear but is there anything else I could try? One GP said to use ibuprofen gel on it, another GP said the gel stuff doesn't work.


Not looking for a diagnosis, just help with the pain

robotrobo

jenniewb wrote: »

OK so I've been to the GP, not been diagnosed with anything but have been sent off to the physio and am awaiting an appointment (and possibly an assessment?)


I fell on my arm about 2 months ago, it didn't swell, didn't look deformed and didn't even get a bruise and was fully moveable, still is. But every time I go to use it, although it works fine it really really hurts the next day.


It aches rather than feels like a sharp pain, travels from my elbow to my wrist and halfway up my upper arm. It helps to keep my elbow bent, arm upward but I look daft like this and get a numb hand after a short while. I've tried paracetamol and ibuprofen, did nothing. I can take codeine but it just makes me drowsy and I can't take it long term anyway.


Has anyone had anything similar? Does anyone have any tips or ideas? I had thought of a sports elbow support, which I will wear but is there anything else I could try? One GP said to use ibuprofen gel on it, another GP said the gel stuff doesn't work.


Not looking for a diagnosis, just help with the pain

You do need a diagnosis!, so get back to the doctors & ask him if you can have a scan.

Yolina

I did something somewhat similar several years ago, I tripped going up some concrete steps and fell - my knee was bruised black for a couple of weeks but was fine after that. My left arm, however, which didn't really hurt afterwards and wasn't bruised ended up being troublesome for ages. The impact had travelled to my shoulder and that was really sore every time I'd do anything.

After several months with no improvement, I ended up having an x-ray, mri scan (both showed nothing wrong) and some physio which didn't help. In the end it all sorted itself out but took a couple of years. As an aside, MRI is evil - not the scan itself but that horrid liquid they inject first.

I was prescribed some industrial-strength painkillers for a few days, can't remember the name. Worked great but send you high so not ideal :rotfl: and then just took ibuprofen as and when needed after that. Elbow support will help. I used to keep my arm in a sling at home as much as possible, just to stop myself from using that arm.

Ames

Yolina wrote: »

I did something somewhat similar several years ago, I tripped going up some concrete steps and fell - my knee was bruised black for a couple of weeks but was fine after that. My left arm, however, which didn't really hurt afterwards and wasn't bruised ended up being troublesome for ages. The impact had travelled to my shoulder and that was really sore every time I'd do anything.

After several months with no improvement, I ended up having an x-ray, mri scan (both showed nothing wrong) and some physio which didn't help. In the end it all sorted itself out but took a couple of years. As an aside, MRI is evil - not the scan itself but that horrid liquid they inject first.

I was prescribed some industrial-strength painkillers for a few days, can't remember the name. Worked great but send you high so not ideal :rotfl: and then just took ibuprofen as and when needed after that. Elbow support will help. I used to keep my arm in a sling at home as much as possible, just to stop myself from using that arm.

Going off topic, they've changed the liquid. I had a scan about 9 years ago and had an allergic reaction to it, but when I had a scan last year they told me that they don't use that one now because so many people had a bad reaction. I had no problem with the new stuff.

OP I have arthritis, at the moment my wrist is playing up and I find a tubigrip bandage helps a lot, especially when I need to write. They can be used on elbows too (if only there was one for the hip!)

I tried aspirin for the first time yesterday and found it much more effective than Ibuprofen or Paracetamol, neither of which I'm supposed to use other than occaisonally.

Also things like mindfulness can help with coping with the pain.

Mojisola

Apart from going back to the GP and asking for a referral/xray/scan (whatever's appropriate), I'd also get a check-up with an osteopath.

Lorian

I am not a doctor. Hope this doesn't look like a diagnosis! I have had a similar issue after a fall on my arm and can only offer you anecdotes based on my experience. For me problem was caused by "golf elbow".

I won,t go on about golf elbow as I am not an expert and the term entered into google will describe the symptoms for you to see.


I could find relief by applying light pressure at one point on my arm, and was able to find long term relief by using one of these, worn as shown in the top photo.


http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bracoo-Medical-Grade-Tennis-quality/dp/B006LA6U3O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1436115194&sr=8-1&keywords=tennis+elbow


If you see where the pad is applying pressure, I could get relief from light pressure with my thumb in roughly the same spot. (it shows it in two locations, for gold elbow it applies pressure on the top of the arm, not the bottom).


After wearing it periodically for a few weeks the issue went away.

tomtontom

robotrobo wrote: »

You do need a diagnosis!, so get back to the doctors & ask him if you can have a scan.

Unless the OP has private cover, she's not going to get a scan for a short term minor injury, they are far too expensive. The physio will assess whether further diagnostics are needed, but diagnosis is usually by physical examination.

jenniewb

robotrobo wrote: »

You do need a diagnosis!, so get back to the doctors & ask him if you can have a scan.

Thanks but I don't think I'm going to get one.


I've got brittle bones (osteoporosis) so am liable to breakages and fractures. I've had a stress fracture before in another bone and this just feels so similar. For that fracture which hung around for a good 3 years, they ran two x-rays which showed nothing. It was only after I'd been referred for a different problem that they co-incidentally ran an MRI and because it was so cloudy (the inflammation was that great) they ran a nuclear bone scan which picked it up.
Nuclear bone scans come with some risk- to have one is not just a scan and go, it takes a long time and you have to watch who you come into contact with. It also isn't safe to have too many owing to the radio-active solution they inject you with!


If this is what I think (a stress fracture) nothing will show in an xray, they'll need to do the radio-active scan to show anything and even if they do, the treatment will be the same: wait and hold your breath.


I have been resting it and then gradually using it more but it just fails at the smallest hurdle! I can't really not use it so easily, I don't have someone to carry things for me and if even moving it around causes agro it would mean walking around with it in a fixed position meaning no or a reduced circulation and circulation is what is vital for any mending. (Moving it actually hurts more than lifting anything for some reason).


I'm just lost as to what to try to tied me over until the physio appointment comes up.

jenniewb

Yolina wrote: »

I did something somewhat similar several years ago, I tripped going up some concrete steps and fell - my knee was bruised black for a couple of weeks but was fine after that. My left arm, however, which didn't really hurt afterwards and wasn't bruised ended up being troublesome for ages. The impact had travelled to my shoulder and that was really sore every time I'd do anything.

After several months with no improvement, I ended up having an x-ray, mri scan (both showed nothing wrong) and some physio which didn't help. In the end it all sorted itself out but took a couple of years. As an aside, MRI is evil - not the scan itself but that horrid liquid they inject first.

I was prescribed some industrial-strength painkillers for a few days, can't remember the name. Worked great but send you high so not ideal :rotfl: and then just took ibuprofen as and when needed after that. Elbow support will help. I used to keep my arm in a sling at home as much as possible, just to stop myself from using that arm.

Haha- I think I may already have something similar in terms of pain relief- I've got many back pain issues and get prescribed a high dose of codeine and paracetamol to help with things (30mg/500mg and two per 8 hours when things get bad). I dislike taking pills because I worry about the damage I can't see as I need to take them so often. I just find they make me drowsy though- I'd been given stronger stuff in the past but the things just knocked me out- no pain as I was asleep but not really how I want to spend my days...


Just on another note; with an MRI they don't tend to inject you with anything. It sounds like you're talking about a nuclear bone scan where they inject you with radio-active fluid, you wait a few hours away from all small life (animals, children and so on) because you are a beam of radioactivity and could harm them. They then scan you and all the fluid will collect in the area which is damaged because this is where your body is newly laying down cells.


It's a nifty way of picking up a damaged area, it was a great relief when it picked up my stress fracture in the past because I'd spent years (2 of them) going back to my GP who I'm sure had me down as somewhere between pathetic and a hypochondriac- I was lucky I'd been referred because I had a separate issue which just so happened to be in a similar area. But just the risks....you do have to question what benefit it is to just show a pointing arrow to the damage if the treatment is just going to be "rest because we can't repair that".

jenniewb

Mojisola wrote: »

Apart from going back to the GP and asking for a referral/xray/scan (whatever's appropriate), I'd also get a check-up with an osteopath.

Thanks- can I just ask why an osteopath? I'm not sure my GP will refer me if they aren't sure why; the problem is in my elbow and I'm not sure how I'd convince them I'd need help from someone specialising in back related problems.

jenniewb

Thanks for the ideas- I'd not considered a support for golfers elbow before because I've never realised they had a support pad/s and just saw them as a tourniquet -I've got a few tubagrips from past issues (clumsy has nothing on me!) I may look at the golfers elbow straps- though having said that the idea of applying pressure to any part of where it hurts feels a bit too much right now. I'm probably going to have to wait for it to calm down again before I can try that.


I don't know when I'll get the physio appointment through- I was only referred last week and have no idea on any waiting list times but I'm hoping with it being the summer, staff wont have gone away and waiting lists will be lower (fingers crossed!). Am trying to put off taking too many pain killers at the moment though because I worry about my liver!