I have been having issues with multiple tendons becoming inflamed and painful. Most recently, I seem to have developed both tennis elbow and golfer's elbow in both arms. I looked up online if fibromyalgia could cause tennis elbow and golfer's elbow because I am not sure why else I would have it. (I suppose it could be excessive computer use as I have spent the last several months doing hours and hours of my own research to find out what is wrong with my sister and me because the NHS won't help. But, honestly, I am not sure about this either.)
Anyway, I read that fibromyalgia can cause tenderness and pain in tendons. But, can it cause inflammation in tendons as well? How do I know if I have tennis elbow or if I just have pain in that area from fibro? Do I need to do exercises for tennis elbow if it's just pain caused by fibro and not actual inflammation?
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Twin4Life
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Hi, I have tennis elbow and I would advise you to speak with a physiotherapist. We have one attached to our surgery so I was able to book an appointment through our receptionist.
I don't think it's a fibro related problem. It will improve and go away but it can also take weeks and exercises But a physio is the right person deal with this type of problem.
As with many posts here it's always good to get other opinions but remember that's just what they are. I certainly get significant elbow pain. Like a lot of fibro pain I wish I could see something like swelling or redness but there's rarely anything to see. I can never understand how a joint as small as your elbows can be so painful. Certainly get it checked. I use a deep freeze gel which helps somewhat. Take care.
I have had tendon issues in my elbows, achilles, calf and shoulder at different times over the last 5 years. Some seem to be just random - and I believe they are part of my Fibro symptoms. I have seen physios for each condition and eventually (usually after 6-12 months) they improve. I tend to apply the RICE approach in dealing with them. Rest, Ice etc as well as specific exercise as guided by the physio. Time is the best healer though.
I find this the worst part of my condition as it restricts what I can do in daily life depending on its severity.
I wish I could rest. But, I can't. My mom wants to move house into a house that needs work doing to it. So I will be having to sort through all our belongings and pack everything. I will have to help her work on the new house as well as thoroughly clean the old house we are renting right now. All of which I think will make my issues worse. Furthermore, we have no dishwasher in our current house so I have to wash most of the dishes, and I do most of the cleaning because my mom works and thinks that it is only fair that I do most of the household chores because I don't work.
In that case I would apply kinesio tape to the area to give it extra support. Full details are available online. I buy mine via Amazon and Google videos to show how to apply it. It’s helped me when I have to do activities which aggravate the tendon.
Maybe you need to be honest with your Mum. Tell her your having the tendon problems , your Fibro is playing up and the move stress is adding to how bad you are feeling.
Tell her you are really sorry but that you know you will get worse if you have to do lots of physical jobs to help move.
Tell her you still want to help but you can only manage as much as you can cope with , which might not seem like much.
Ask her if you and she can get more people to help out with the more physical stuff or if she wants stuff doing that she can't manage at your pace.
The only way we can stop flares and punishing ourselves is if we are honest with the people whom push us to do more than we can.
Obviously, what we can do might seem very small to them but it isn't to someone with fibromyalgia, sometimes we need to calmly repeat that to our loved ones and ask for their patience and support.
Yes your Mum works in ordinary circumstances if someone doesn't it would seem fair that the person at home does all the chores or did all the packing . But Fibromyalgia isn't ordinary circumstances so your Mum needs to learn to understand she can't make those usual physical demands on you. As much as you'd love to contribute more , your health condition means that you can't without getting more unwell.
You probably feel bad enough about that as it is , you need others to understand and tell you not to feel guilty about it.
Don't do what people think you should do , or have to do , do what you can do and be proud that you've done it , take care , Bee
I was also going to ask if you have hypermobility. If so, then most likely this will aggravate the tendons as they overstretch easily.
Things that have helped for me are steeping the area in cold water for as long as you can handle; anti-inflammatory pain killers (and rubs); and gentle targeted massage of the tendon.
Hi there, I currently have Tendonitis in my shoulder and the physio' I saw thought it was likely due to Fibromyalgia. He thought because I have a lot of muscle spasms in my neck and back it may have damaged/caused inflammation in my tendons.
To be honest, I'm always a bit sceptical because sometimes it feels I'm told everything is due to fibro' when I have other conditions too. Being told it was due to fibro' meant that I wasn't offered any treatment so it was another case of 'self management'. My physio' did say that he thought having fibro' would impact recovery time and pain levels.
I'm not saying this will be the same for you and I hope you get better treatment and pain support.
I’m sorry to hear of your pain, it’s so debilitating.
I know ‘correlation isn’t causation’, but since my fibro began, I’ve developed several tendon issues without any obvious cause.
I’m less mobile than I’ve even been, so bilateral Achilles tendonitis and tennis elbow seemed really unlikely, but hey ho, I have them. They’re incredibly difficult to treat, because so much rest in involved. I feel like it’s just a matter of giving it time and as always, knowing your limits.
Definitely mention it to your GP, hopefully they’ll refer you onto a physio.
In the meantime, my go to for any pain is ‘Bob & Brad’ - physical therapists on YouTube. Doing what they recommend has always got me out of pain quickly.
Hi, everyone. Thank you for your replies. I know everyone is telling me to go to the GP or physio, but honestly I don't think they will help. Last time I went in to see a GP about pain in my hip which I suspect is inflammation in my SI Joint. The GP just wanted to prescribe me painkillers and have me leave. I then had to explain that I didn't want painkillers. I wanted to know what was wrong with my hip so I could hopefully know what to do to help it get better.
So the GP said she could refer me for an x-ray and that was it. I didn't want an x-ray either because I don't think there is anything wrong with my bones. But, because I wasn't being offered anything else I said yes. However, three days later the referral for an x-ray was rejected by the x-ray department because they "don't do x-rays for that sort of thing". So now I feel like I can't go to the GP for help because I don't think they will do anything.
Hi. I am so sorry that you have additional pain. Having inflammation in my achilles tendon I found that it really helped me to have an mri scan and be able to actually see why I am feeling such terrible pain. I also understand that having fybro extends the amount of time it takes for my body to heal. This pain and disability is not all in my head, as some uninformed professionals would like me to believe. RICE, finding a good physio who offers shockwave therapy and doing my targetted exercise will help me but slowly. I am blessed to be able to work from home most of the week and I will feel better in time. Fybro is horrible but I just try to work with it instead of fighting against it. Perhaps you could go to the GP and see if you receive a more positive response? You don't mention fybro and see if you get a response that doesn't mention fybro. Take care.
I have always had problems like that with fibro, excessive computer work, cleaning windows and even the simplest of things. Difficult to rest if like me you have always been an active person. Immersing myself in hot bath used to help but now heading towards 80, it isn't an option anymore due to worsening mobilility.
I have had similar problems, and have used magnesium malate , to help relax the muscles, nattokinase to help with the extra fibrin in the blood that one of the theories states causes the pain where the tendons attach to the bone, stretching and physio to alleviate the symptoms, also I find that diet plays a large part in the process, sugar seems to make the pain worse.
I’m really sorry to hear the stress of moving house has potentially caused a flare for you! As another hypermobile with a whole host of tendinitis (one shoulder, both knees and both ankles) I definitely understand you here! I spoke to my physio when I thought the same and they agree that hypermobility can cause looser tendons and tendinopathy as well as the inevitable pain. From my experience acupuncture has worked a little to take the edge off (available on the NHS) and massage does help quiet the pain for a while. KT tape can stabilise the muscles and tendons and take some of the strain away too which is helpful. GPs do tend to hand out painkillers like it’s oxygen which is not the recommended treatment! I bugged my practice so much over the course of 6 months they caved and gave me an ultrasound which picked up tendinitis and then had an mri to double confirm.
Definitely advocate for what you think is right for you even if it means requesting a second opinion! If it helps to, maybe bring someone who understands with you to the appointment as doctors sometimes see a young person - especially females and dismiss us because we ‘don’t know true pain’. Live a day in the life of someone with fibro related pain and anyone will eat their words!
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