Doing your own physical therapy/massage is sometimes the only answer.

Torn Mind

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
11,557
2,624
136
Lacerated my hand near the right pinky a couple years ago.

Muscles tensed up during recovery given that I had to keep still.

Been screwing with me for at least two years. I spent the last couple hours using "trigger point techniques", feeling up every attachment near the elbow and applying pressure.

Already regained some flexibility and feeling in the pinky finger, although it feels quite "tingly". It's still tight, but undoing 2 years of stiffness and then 30+ years of use is going to take a bit more time.

Moved from OT.
admin allisolm
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • Like
Reactions: legcramp

Sukhoi

Elite Member
Dec 5, 1999
15,298
84
91
Yeah I've had poor luck with prescribed PT. They seem focused on getting senior citizens out of bed and don't know how to deal with athletic people. A decade ago I had all sorts of knee pain when hiking, and PT had me doing electrical stimulation on my leg along with some other nonsense that didn't work. Once I did some research I figured out it was just a tight IT band and quickly fixed it with some targeted stretching and massage.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Muse

Captante

Lifer
Oct 20, 2003
30,239
10,745
136
About 15 years ago I had a mishap with an extremely sharp knife which resulted in the blade sticking right through the palm of my left hand.

Stupidly I never had it looked at by a doc because although it hurt everything appeared to still work properly.

These days however I've developed some chronic stiffness in the fingers of my left hand.... feels like it just doesn't want to work sometimes. Pretty sure I damaged nerves.
 
Last edited:

Hans Gruber

Platinum Member
Dec 23, 2006
2,083
1,059
136
The only thing in PT that works. Ice and stimulation (electrical pads) and ultra sound. Other than that they have absurd exercises to make you look and feel stupid.
 

snoopy7548

Diamond Member
Jan 1, 2005
8,042
5,035
146
I went through PT once when I severed a tendon in my ring finger, ended up going from something like 8% movement to 92% by the end.

But the best thing about it was the wax bath I dipped my hand in at the start of each session. Oh man, it was great...
 

Torn Mind

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
11,557
2,624
136
Might give Deshaun Watson a call. I've heard he knows a few good people.
The trigger point massage I'm doing is more like painful meat tenderizing rather than rub-and-tug. Females, I don't trust to have the strength.

No massage therapists wastes their times on arms. Triceps and the vast number of forearm muscles are left ignored for the most part.
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
52,817
5,703
126
When I broke my ankle like 17 years ago, PT helped my recovery a lot. I would go 3x a week for like 6-8 weeks or something. The therapist did some stretches that I couldn't do myself and then had equipment I would use that I don't have at home. It's the same stuff I could have done at the gym but it was much easier to do it in a PT office with no other people in there and having to navigate a gym on crutches.
 

balloonshark

Diamond Member
Jun 5, 2008
6,272
2,662
136
At the doctor's office last week I inquired about the tennis elbow I've had for the past 6 months. She mentioned therapy but I'm pretty sure my insurance would only pay until I started making progress and that's it. I asked if I could do therapy myself and she printed out something I could try at home. Here's the website she used. https://orthoinfo.org/

No idea if that's her go to site or if she googled tennis elbow therapy.
 
Last edited:

LikeLinus

Lifer
Jul 25, 2001
11,518
670
126
The trigger point massage I'm doing is more like painful meat tenderizing rather than rub-and-tug. Females, I don't trust to have the strength.

No massage therapists wastes their times on arms. Triceps and the vast number of forearm muscles are left ignored for the most part.
Jeeze. Bet you're a blast at parties.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: iRONic

snoopy7548

Diamond Member
Jan 1, 2005
8,042
5,035
146
This got me thinking... what would happen if you needed physical therapy for your penis? Would the physical therapist essentially become a prostitute/gigolo?
 

Torn Mind

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
11,557
2,624
136
This got me thinking... what would happen if you needed physical therapy for your penis? Would the physical therapist essentially become a prostitute/gigolo?
I believe eunuchs have only drugs containing testosterone as their recourse for the surgery inflicted upon them.
 

deadlyapp

Diamond Member
Apr 25, 2004
6,582
698
126
I've used PT a few times over the years, usually end up at Airrosti, which usually has doctors and therapists that actually work out and don't just tell you to not use something. They've always been great at doing some stretches and release for me but also giving me tools to prevent it from happening again. Definitely expensive even with insurance though. They've thankfully got a partnership with CrossFit coaches / affiliates so I can get a few sessions a year without charge.
 

ch33zw1z

Lifer
Nov 4, 2004
37,715
17,990
146
I've been in and out of PT for the last couple years for different issues. It's taught me a lot, and they definitely encourage home routines to keep you out of PT. Not all PT's are created equal. The first one I went to felt more like a PT factory, the second one is much closer to my home and much more like I first described.

Self massage and stretching is huge for recovery. Things that hurt get some extra TLC now. If joints hurt, look above or below for massage targets.

Like OP mentioned, hands and fingers can have problems that start at the elbow even. Elbows can have problems up the chain as well.

I've been working on elbow problems lately and it's seems that finger extensions, stretching, and massage helps quite a bit. Also started with club swing exercises that seem to help from the shoulder down
 

Torn Mind

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
11,557
2,624
136
Well, my left leg had some offending muscles too, but different ones. I landed on my ankle just a tad off in high school...and the injury aftereffects have stuck with me...until now.

 

Torn Mind

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
11,557
2,624
136
Left lower leg is a damn tight son of a...
First had to release the tibalis posterior, that the loosened up my quads area enough to loosen up a particularly tight muscle for years. Now, I'm addressing the flexor hallucis longus. Just falling on an ankle wrong in HS really did screw up everything else for 17. My thumbs are pressing into stiff bricks.
 

Torn Mind

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
11,557
2,624
136
Well, I finally got myself the QL Claw. https://backmusclesolutions.com/products/ql-claw

For 70 bucks, it's well worth it and does the work most massage therapists gloss over, which is loosening up the muscle from hell called the quadratus lumborum. Manual use of fists, fingers, thumbs is still need but this tool saves a lot of labor and pain in the hands.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Sukhoi
Jul 27, 2020
15,446
9,557
106
I had to walk up the stairs to get to my flat on the 17th floor (all elevators out of order due to some electrical maintenance). I was dreading the pain from sore leg muscles in the morning. I did feel pressure in my head for a while when I reached my room, like I had high blood pressure.

In the morning, I felt NOTHING!

Guess squats are beneficial.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Muse

Muse

Lifer
Jul 11, 2001
37,358
8,010
136
The only thing in PT that works. Ice and stimulation (electrical pads) and ultra sound. Other than that they have absurd exercises to make you look and feel stupid.
In dealing with the very bad sprain of my dominant hand pinky the last almost 7 months (all 3 hand surgeons and the senior O.T. at my HMO's facility), I recently discovered an online source of information that is very very excellent. It's done by one woman, who is obviously very passionate, knowledgeable, committed, thorough, and quite beautiful to boot: Michelle @

www.virtualhandcare.com

Searching on that now, I discovered that you can actually book an online appointment with her, obviously personal and there will be charges. That's something I will consider because I have been wondering if she's in my area and if I could see her in person. However, what I have seen are free Youtube videos (I subscribed), and she has apparently dozens of them and what I have seen is excellent. She doesn't just stick with the hand but that's all I've bothered with because of my finger sprain problem (it was very painful and I almost had surgery). I also have arthritis in both hands. She has exercises and stretches for that sort of thing too.

Here is a sample video, which I have only watched a few seconds of, but it's obviously a typical example of her great work:

Edit: Just watched the whole thing. Characteristically great.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: igor_kavinski