ligaments

[yorkyboy]

any hints on speeding up the healing of strained ligaments used in conjuction with the obvious resting of same,i want to go back to work while i still have a job

[Ice.Maiden]

Strained ones, I don't know, but I've torn some in my back a few times, and if you DON'T rest, it takes longer to heal and they're always weaker after that. It's difficult, but your health should come first.

[yorkyboy]

thanks ice maiden,its the doing nothing thats the hard part thanks anyway

[evedawn]

having torn knee ligaments too many times myself I know REST is imperitive!

However, healing, (and swelling and pain) can be improved by alternating hot and cold compresses (ie: hot water bottle followed by bag of peas) for ten minutes each before swapping. It get's the blood flowing in that area.

[yorkyboy]

thanks eve all good advice,am going to physio today see if they can help,many thanks

[Panic Button]

This is interesting, but may not be relevant to you

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7886619.stm

[yorkyboy]

interesting. my problem is in the arm probably caused by my driving job so maybe a more rigid dressing may be better,thanks for that panicbutton

[mandimoo]

its not a miracle cure that will get you back on your feet (so to speak) any quicker, but it may help your recoverery a little - arnica. you should be able to get some from a health food shop.
http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/arnica-0002 22.htm
or comfrey
http://www.goodnessdirect.co.uk/cgi-local/fram eset/detail/927601_Potter_s_Comfrey_Ointment__ 55g.html

[mallam]

What is imperative is that I tell you that if by any chance you're taking statins, whether it's a strain or a tear, or indeed any pervasive tendon or muscle pain, it's a warning to stop taking them before you get rhabdomyolysis, which can kill you.

I had the good fortune to be told of that by my physio. This was treated with great scepticism by GP, cardio, and the surgeon who wanted to operate on both my shoulders before the tendons tore right through and I lost the use of my arms, as he had determined by MRI that the tears were being caused by osteophytes, or spikes of bone due to advanced generalized arthritis, and that it would only get worse as the existing tears were 'fish-mouth' tears which pull the tendons further apart. "I can get you out of this," he said, "but it'll be SORE!" (6mths recovery or so for each shoulder in turn.) He said the tendons would have to be sewn up (with only a 60% success rate!) and the ends of the bones of the acromioclavicular joints cut clean out to stop it happening again.

This was pretty convincing and alarming stuff, and before I would go ahead with it I defied the lot of them and stopped the statins. The pain level started decreasing almost immediately, and I am sufficiently improved not to contemplate any open surgery until I am sure I merit it. Which will be never if my estimate of my life expectancy is anything to go by.

The surgeon now suggests that patients on statins try coming off them first (which is very big of him considering how gung-ho he was about operating on me!) and those that did come off them have uniformly improved.

The pharma monopolists are pushing this expensive drug like the bloody Opium Wars.