Living with Pain

Having any kind of health problem or disability can greatly affect one’s life. I’ve been living with tendinitis in both wrists for five years now. It’s a pain that’s hard to describe. For me, it’s a sharp pain that goes from my wrists to my elbow and often feels like someone is stabbing or putting pins in me…Often being extreme aches and pains. It’s hard to deal with. It affects your daily activities and limits you on what you can do or get accomplished in a day. I’m a writer and artist, so it makes my jobs/hobbies a lot harder to complete. I’m also a college student and when my tendonitis acts up, I can’t hold a pen to take notes during a lecture… It takes me like ten times longer to get something done than it would a normal person. But it’s something I’ve dealt with and built my life around, because it’s something I will always live with. It’s sad that I’m only 22 years old, and my wrists are shot basically from doing repetitive work in a factory for a couple months a few years back.

If you are also dealing with tendonitis or other wrist problems, there are some things that you can do to help ease the pain. First, you want to keep the swelling down so take Ibuprofen, Aspirin, or Tylenol when needed especially if you are experiencing pains. Even though it’s hard to switch hands with the mouse on a computer, you’ll be glad you did. Every couple weeks switch back and forth between your wrists. It really prevents your wrists from becoming really irritated. Also a good idea is to take breaks every 45 minutes to stretch both your arms and back… you’ll feel more rested with your wrists and they will not hurt as much throughout the day. Also when your wrists are really irritating, it’s a good idea to ice and heat your wrists. I’ve gone to a chiropractor and my doctor there said it’s also a good idea to rub your wrists and arms, working the muscle. Your doctor might have you wear a wrist brace, but I’ve found that it does more damage than good because it cuts into the swollen tendons in the wrist near the thumb.   

I hope that you find this information to be helpful as you look for ideas to overcome any wrist pain that you may be experiencing. Remember to take breaks often so you don’t do any long lasting damage.