Did someone say "Amsterdam Cafe"? :D
Marco.
Printable View
:) had a mate years ago at school couldn't feel anything in his hands, no pain, could punch good:)
I've heard lots of people have experienced good pain relief with CBD oil which is legal. Can be bought from lots of health food shops sell. Even Amazon sells the stuff.
Sent via Tapatalk
I tend to use Voltarol gel as I did a lot of the development work on diclofenac when I worked for Novartis. There is however no way I would take the stuff internally but that is just my preference.
Nice one Shaun Yes the strong Voltarol creams are good as well. As for taking it orally. When the devil calls.
This is a particular area of interest to me as I am in a permanent crutch user, I am in a constant balancing act between being active and dealing with the ramifications of being active. Seventeen years of using crutches to get around takes it's toll on your joints and musculature and I've had to deal with a number of issues in that time, including developing arthritis in my wrists and severe muscular pains and spasms in my upper and middle back and shoulders.
*Apologies in advance if this is a bit of an essay but it's not something I've written down before so I'm bound to ramble. :-)
In that time, I've tried most of the over the counter and prescription medications and concur with most of what's already been said here so no real value to add from that point of view but there are some alternative approaches worthy of consideration.
I suppose the main point of this is 'consider the system'.
The back and shoulder issues I had were a rightly identified by the physios I went to see as due to an increasing lack of flexibility in my middle back due to constant use of crutches and the resultant overuse of certain muscles in one plane (as it were). It was however, the way this was subsequently treated that sorted the issue for me. My wife's Pilates instructor at the time advised me to go and see a lady she knew locally who was known for treating people with injuries and disabilities using a Pilates Reformer in her studio. I was sceptical at first but thought it was worth a shot so I went along one work lunchtime.
The initial session was free and we basically spent the better part of an hour discussing everything about my injuries and subsequent disability, at the end of that session, I felt she had a complete handle on the nature of my issues. Her approach was to identify the 'trigger points' for the pain and work on them in isolation but also to work on my body as a whole, to address 'errors in the system' as it were.
The reformer allowed specific muscle groups to be strengthened in isolation. It felt pretty easy at the time and I would finish the session feeling like I was walking on air, it was only 2 hours later that I felt like I had been 3 rounds with Mike Tyson :-)
She identified small issues such as the way I was walking using my crutches, the fact that my foot splayed outwards was causing muscular stress all the way up through my thighs, buttocks, lower and middle back. Constantly nagging me about this, I became aware of it and concentrated on walking with my toe pointed forward and rolling on the ball of my foot. Just this one change alone affected everything as far as I am concerned.
Swimming too, was identified as a great way to open up the middle back and this is something I have continued to great effect.
As far as the arthritic wrists are concerned, I had to help myself with that one as it required the use of better equipment than the NHS was able to provide. I found a company based in Canada who provide completely custom tailorable crutches. The founder/owner is an amputee who was a keen mountaineer and rambler. Together with her partner, she had developed crutches (Sidestix) that could adjusted in almost every way imaginable. A simple change in the angle of the handgrip sorted out the arthritic wrist problem before it developed further.
I'm pretty sure my challenges will continue as far as the 'wear and tear' is concerned but thought it was worth illustrating some of the things I've come across so far just in case it may be of value to someone.
To those of you who are dealing with chronic pain, I wish you relief and continued hope for new and better ways of dealing with it.
Thanks for everyone's input, just back from doctors, sending me for an xray:)
yes these gels can be effective . like movelat gel . drs did not like prescribing them but nice came along and said they worked . they are brilliant with cracked ribs .
you can actually take voltarol suppositories but not easy to persuade the gp to give !! that's a last resort . most people just take ibuprofen for bony pain . incidentally , I see you use cm8 , they are knocking them out at bargain prices at the moment due to the new 700 series . do you like the cm8 ?
thanks for sharing that , I helped a lady on crutch's for several months recently and had to show her how to buy special grip crutches but those you mention sound good . glad you can do swimming . lots of people sear by cod liver oil and glucosamine although the latter is defo not favoured by nice !!
Go and see your gp.