Beth and Shirley

[Guest guest]

Beth - don't feel bad about complaining - we all need to do it from time to time

- No matter how mind of a case of RA we have (or even if we don't have RA). So

complain away! And I'd be happy to send you some body fat if you need it too -

I've got plenty to spair!

" shirley_t_67402 " shirley_t_67402@...

I'm glad that you DON'T have RA - but sorry to hear that you are in so much

pain. You actually have much less that a 50/50 chance of a successful surgery

if you are a smoker!!! Iknow MANY surgeons (spine surgeons especially) who will

NOT operate on a patient that they know that you are a smoker. And if you quit

before getting an operation, they want you to be smoke-free for at least 6 mo.

It has to do with the blood supply being dimineshed when you are a smoker.

Did you go to PT at a military facility? What types of things did they do for

you? What type of surgery did you have?

If you are not currently going to PT - I would recommend that you would try it

again and give it more than just a few visits (I have no idea how many visits

you went to - but give a PT more than just one or two visits so that they can

work with you to figure out what works for you and your problem). If at all

possible, try to find a PT that believes in, and practices the McKenzie method

for PT. The few PT's that i've met that are military-based have been very

aggressive because they are not used to working with people in such

chronic/severe pain - they're used to working with people that are young and

healthy that have a temporary-type injury. (Like I said, this is just in my

experience. I have NOT met that many PTs that have a military

PT-experience/training.) Anyway, I've babbled enough on the subject. If you

have any question, email me provately!

- Trigger finger is when your tendon in your finger has a portion that gets

larger (like a notule on a tendon) It can happen in any finger. That portion

does not allow the tendon to glide smoothly and often gets caught in either a

flexd or extended position. Ican't say for certain, but I don't think he's

trying to kill ya

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