Can poor posture be the cause of my arm pain?

Question

I developed tendonitis in my arms and quit my job and went to physiotherapy for treatment. It has not fully resolved after 20 treatments but was getting better; however, I have been doing some spring cleaning around the house and yard and the tendonitis has returned in the old as well as new areas of my arms. Wow, is this just aging (I am only 43) or could my poor posture be causing my arms to be more prone to injury? I am going for a massage tomorrow and will ask my RMT; but I wanted some other opinions on this. (I am investigating breast reduction to help with posture issues).

Answer 1

Tendonitis is generally caused by over use and poor body mechanics - so yes, it can be caused by poor posture. Just reducing the size of your breasts are not going to correct the problem. You need to strengthen your muscles so that you will be able to support your posture correctly. You might to think about working with a Feldenkrais practitioner - he/she will help you out with your muscles imbalances so that you will become more aware of the movements you are doing that are causing muscles overuse issues. Ask your massage therapist about Feldendkrais - she may be able to give you some referrals. To find out more about the Feldendkrais Method: www.feldenkrais.com

Answer 2

First of all, this is not a question... more like a really long story about health "issues." Second, you are obviously obsessed with your health and because of this obsession you are making problems a lot worse than they actually are. You describe everything in detail which means that you are constantly paying attention to the way that you feel, even though judging from your post, it sounds like you feel fine most of the time. The only time you don't feel okay is when you're thinking about your health and assuming that there is something wrong with you. I don't see anything wrong with the things that you described other than anxiety. Your anxiety is obviously very severe. You go to the doctors excessively and have seemingly unnecessary blood and urine tests done just to make sure that there is nothing wrong with you. That all sounds obsessive to me. Yes, emotional/mental problems can cause a lot of physical symptoms. It sounds to me like you don't eat nearly enough. You say that you are 6'5" and 17 years old. I don't know whether or not you realize this but your body is STILL growing. You need to eat A LOT more. The fact that you survive all day on a bowl of cereal is strange. Why don't you eat regularly? It also sounds like you an insomnia which isn't uncommon but it can be treated easily if you just sleep regularly. If you can't than try taking over-the-counter sleeping pills for a few days and see if that works. I have sleep issues as well and when I can't sleep but really need to I take a Unisom pill. It works pretty well and since I only do this once in a great while it doesn't affect my regular sleep patters, it just brings be back on track. Your feelings that you desribe about feeling light headed and fatigued is all related to anxiety. I bet right before these feelings occur you are thinking about it and assuming that it is going to happen. Maybe you don't realize it, but it's most likely the cause of your issues that you believe you are experiencing. The ears popping thing is NORMAL. Everyone's ears would pop at a higher altitude. I don't see why you think that's a problem... but than again I do because you obviously obsess over certain things that are very normal. Maybe instead of constantly overanalyzing every tiny aspect of your body and health you should just be happy? Maybe try relaxing and living your life normally without assuming that you're going to have a heart attack, that you have diabetes, dehydration, and any other number of illnesses that you think that you have. You also need to start eating a lot more and that will solve some of your problems. I would strongly advise that you see a phsychologist instead of wasting money going to regular doctors and getting all kinds of tests done for no good reason whatsoever. You need to talk to a professional who knows a lot more about this than people on Yahoo and evaluate the real reasons behind your "problems." And I am willing to bet 100% that a professional would tell you the same thing as your doctor told you - you have anxiety/stress problems and not actually medical issues.

Answer 3

I had tendinitis and it took a lot more than 20 treatments to get rid of the pain. I still get pain now years after the original incident. If I do anything repetitive for a fair amount of time I get the pain.

You have to rest it as much as possible and take anti-inflammatories. I found heat packs and stretching helped a lot.

Once the pain is gone doing light weight training will help to strengthen the supporting muscles. I find if I continue to to weight training I don't have any pain. As soon as I stop it doesn't take much to come back.

Writing, ironing, driving or vacuuming all aggravate it, anything where your arm is in the same position for a while. Posture can also be a factor so you really need to watch how you handle tasks.

Answer 4

I know women with big breasts who experience pain in the arms, that went away after the breast reduction. They had arm pain, and after the reduction it was gone! (They are at the site in my sources)

Strange, but true.

Answer 5

I wrote this page similar to what you are asking. Perhaps it can help you understand the origin of your pain.

http://www.a-body-for-living.com/neuromuscular-therapy-melbourne.html

Also, I'm doubtful it has anything to do with your age. Actually 43 is rather young.

Good luck and don't give up.