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Soft tissue injuries and ME

PennyIA

Senior Member
Messages
728
Location
Iowa
I have a lot of history being prone to soft tissue injuries. Spraining my ankle almost every week growing up... chronic tendonitis in my wrists from the age of 27 on, etc.

But now it's gotten even worse. I do things like spraining toes and fingers. I've got a rotator cuff injury from carrying my laptop bag and lunch bag on my shoulder into work too many days in a row from Feb 2015 that still hasn't healed properly.

Add in the bonus that I also seem to be especially prone to dislocating bones in my feet or ribs in my back by doing pretty much nothing. I'm blaming those on issues with the connective tissue. I can't convince the doctors to screen me for connective tissue disorders (I really should try to find a new doctor to talk into that)... but don't know if without that being ruled out if it has any relation to ME/CFS.

I did end up on statins for a very short time after going through my second set of exhaustive testing to rule everything else out. They found high cholesterol. Funny enough the statins didn't work at all at lowering my cholesterol. BUT, going into remission dropped it like a stone. Cholesterol is climbing again - and I'm starting to struggle more with my symptoms again and trying as hard as I can to avoid a full flare-up.
 

AndyPandy

Making the most of it
Messages
1,928
Location
Australia
Since my first post I've been a bit more active and have been straining more muscles from seemingly benign activities. When I say active, I am able to walk more steps than before but still need the wheelchair for longer distances.

The latest strains have been a groin strain, a shoulder and neck strain and rsi in my right arm.

I've now been to an exercise physiologist and she has given me a list of very gentle strengthening exercises to do. I told her about ME before my appointment and she researched it, paid attention to what I told her and designed a program for me to do at my own pace.

It really is very basic. I'll let you know how I get on.
 

mirshine

Senior Member
Messages
469
Location
Dublin, Ireland
I go to a physical therapist when I pull or strain something. He actually helps ease out the muscle during the session and doesn't give me strengthening exercises. Some mild stretches if I'm able. He's a friend of my dad's and I feel so lucky to have someone like him to go to.
 

belize44

Senior Member
Messages
1,662
I go to a physical therapist when I pull or strain something. He actually helps ease out the muscle during the session and doesn't give me strengthening exercises. Some mild stretches if I'm able. He's a friend of my dad's and I feel so lucky to have someone like him to go to.
Since my first post I've been a bit more active and have been straining more muscles from seemingly benign activities. When I say active, I am able to walk more steps than before but still need the wheelchair for longer distances.

The latest strains have been a groin strain, a shoulder and neck strain and rsi in my right arm.

I've now been to an exercise physiologist and she has given me a list of very gentle strengthening exercises to do. I told her about ME before my appointment and she researched it, paid attention to what I told her and designed a program for me to do at my own pace.

It really is very basic. I'll let you know how I get on.
I would love to find a physiologist who would work with me that way. All of these type of healthcare professionals have been of the mindset that if I started out slow and built up gradually, I could regain my health. They don't seem to understand that the playing field has drastically changed and that merely jumping on a small trampoline can make me sleep for hours...:meh:
 

PennyIA

Senior Member
Messages
728
Location
Iowa
I did go see a PT when my shoulder was still bothering me a full year after injury. Thankfully he was really great and when I did his exercises and had a flare up, he immediately backed down and focused on massage therapy and a few other tactics with minimal exercises.

Unfortunately, neither the doctor nor the Insurance Company felt it was important to continue to see him after three months with only mild improvements. Funny enough though, his treatments did work while I was receiving them. My shoulder isn't dislocated by any means, but it's also not fully in the right place in the socket... and his therapy helped me reach a point where I could pop it back into place and have immediate improvement. But it keeps going back out and without his treatment I'm back in the situation where I can't get it to pop again.