About two months ago, I injured the tendon in my arm, below my elbow. I overused it (gardening of all things) and inflamed it to the point of great pain. Through the next few weeks I attempted to let it heal and it improved about 50%. Then, the healing process seemed to stall out.
That part of your arm is involved in almost everything you do! I would never have realized that before. I was doing everyday things, like brushing my hair, and it would cause great pain - quite unexpectedly.
After 7 weeks, I was still in the same place with the injury. It was about 50% healed, and not improving. I was frustrated. I can't do my complete workouts, I can't garden, and I can't do a lot of normal activities, like using scissors!
I suddenly realized that my arm needs complete rest in order to heal. Even simple motions (anything involving lifting) are causing it injury. So about 5 days ago, I started wearing both a 'tennis elbow' band and a tendonitis brace. The two things together impede my ability to go on autopilot and use my arm! I've been really successful at not using my arm during this time, and it is already tremendously better.
Complete rest is not easy! It is very inconvenient. It is extremely frustrating. It is also entirely necessary for this healing process to take hold and complete itself.
Sometimes we have to do what is inconvenient and frustrating for a time in order to restore ourselves to full functioning. I've certainly seen that up close and personal with this injury! Hopefully within the next couple weeks my tendon will agree that it is time to return to more normal activities. Until that time... it's on holiday!
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