I had been having persistent pain in my left elbow for three months now, so I figured it was time to see An Expert. I trundled off to Expert #1 who prescribed anti-inflamatory drugs and alternating cold and heat. Merrily, I trundled back home and did as I was told.
The pain persisted.
A phone call to Expert #1 produced a referral to Expert #2. I quickly found myself back in my trusty trundle-mobile, headed off to see Expert #2. Once there, I spent longer filling out the paperwork than learning that a) Expert #2 has a very cool tablet PC on which we peered at x-rays of my elbow, and b) I have tennis elbow.
Tennis elbow? I have never played tennis in my life (for which several thousand real tennis players are eternally thankful).
This definitely sucks. Today I have pain. Tomorrow I get the joys of physical therapy (and the dread of a cortisone shot in the elbow if I don’t do the PT “right”). But I never got the joys of playing tennis across from someone worth looking at while I got tennis elbow.
Worse, in addition to the pain and the deprivation of beauty whilst acquiring the pain, I now have frustration and anger over the whole situation. (It’s good to be an awake man, fully aware of my feelings.) What I need to do now is release my anger by beating the crap out of a pillow with a tennis racket.
But I have tennis elbow so I can’t even do that.
I want to beat the pillow as well, though I would have to use my weak hand. I am pretty sure I have developed Tennis Elbow as well from repetitive motion of pulling up a press board floor to install a new one for hardwoods.
I am going on over a month now with the tenderness at times, where some moves are much worse than others. Perhaps I need to start some therapy as well!
Dave Gardner