[Jewelry making - Article 01235] - Re: [Orchid] Tennis elbow advice

[joanna gollberg]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========

hi,

    i am so sorry you are having this problem, as having had it myself,
    i know it is very painful and can be difficult to deal with while
    working. (and even doing simple things in everyday life, for that
    matter!) 

    i went to the acupuncturist for this. after about 8 sessions of
    needles poking almost all the way from one side of my elbow to the
    other, the tennis elbow has 98% subsided. i also learned different
    ways to deal with it by looking at my health holisticly, which was
    nice. this was back in the fall of last year, and i have not had any
    major problems since. i HIGHLY reccomend acupuncture for overuse
    injuries! 

    i have also had trigger finger from overuse. trigger finger is like
    carpal tunnel, but it is isolated in the finger joints where they
    meet the hand. i had this about 8 years ago and got several steroid
    injections in each joint. furthermore, i had this congenitally in my
    thumb when i was 12 and had surgery to fix it. i now have about 50%
    strength in my thumb; the surgery permanently takes away the
    strength. the injections reduce the swelling of the tendons and
    tissues around the joint. however,this is not a permanent solution,
    and i do not think it is the best one. 

    as i have been doing lots of small wire work and stone setting
    recently, i have been waking up with numb fingers and swollen hands
    again. my plan is to return to the acupuncture clinic to deal with
    this through chinese medicine, as it is kinder to your body in the
    long term. since i want to keep making jewelry for a long time, this
    is important to me. 

    my clinic has a school attached, where i can see the student
    practitioners for 1/4 of the price ($20 for 1.5 hours). the licensed
    acupuncture teachers come in and make sure the students are doing
    the job correctly. perhaps they offer this in your area as well. 

    the best thing to do is to change your working style as well, so you
    do not have a recurrence. perhaps change the height of your chair so
    you are not putting the same kind of pressure on that joint. or you
    do some things standing up. it is very important to stretch at
    regular intervals and massage the elbow extremely often, like for
    about 1-5 minutes after ANY stress on the elbow. this is easy to do
    and feels good. you can also get an elbow brace from the drugstore
    to support your elbow while working. 

    good luck, i hope you feel better soon. 

joanna
www.joannagollberg.com
____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________