Ditto ditto ditto

I have had puffiness and swelling in several areas of my upper body, neck and arms.

When I drive too much, and even riding too, (several to about 8 hours with stops) swelling and tightness occurs pretty significantly in my chest, shoulders and neck (scalene area - both sides) muscle spasms flaring too... (taking half a Flexeril after a driving episode helps arms a lot) I call it "Flexible PRN"

Has anyone discovered you shouldn't eat a peanut butter sandwich after you've driven too much? chokecity

After botox injections for my scalenes X3, even several years later, when I drive too much, my neck will swell and feel really tight. Then a few days later I'll have like these little flap things happen. (flaps not painful-don't last long-usually noticeable when I get up about the 3rd morning through that afternoon) Like my scalenes relaxed quicker than the swelling stuff dissipated. So I do think a lot of the swelling we're experiencing is our own body fluids (any fluid) trying to heal, or splint, the sites. Just tight and painful to touch... makes me very irritable to do tasks, moving to do anything with my arms and hands for a few days - hypersensitive!!!!!!!

Also the Kinesio Tape I've used is designed to lift the skin enough to allow the lymphatic fluids to flow. (That's how my PT introduced the Kinesio Tape to me.) It helps me!!!! No medication. not a miracle, though. if you're taped too tight it will cause muscle spasms. you would need a little instruction directed to your needs and you and a buddy could do it.

Kinesio Tape was the black tape on the US Olympic Volleyball player's shoulder. I do recommend you seek that out. I'm amazed and thankful for this tidbit of relief.

And to compress and keep my arms warm, my therapist cuts what I've dubbed to be "arm socks" She said it's what they use to cover the skin on your arm before casting broken bones. I can find out more info if anyone wants to know an exact name for the material. Kind of like gauze material, for your arms.... tubular

....
Expanding on Broken's arm sock idea>>>
I know that arm warmers are semi "hip" right now. They are like leg warrmers but for your arms Stores like H&M, Forever 21, Claire's and Urban Outfitters carry them. This GOOGLE search shows lots of shopping results. Might try them myself :P

How do you use the Kenisio tape. Where do you wear it?

Thanks for asking.

It's no medicine, but I'm addicted to it. It's not hard to use, but you do need a little guidance and instruction of the taping technique... and also so it can be applied how it would most benefit your conditions. But if you can't get some instruction, you and a buddy can do it with some research and thought. We've put it on and it didn't feel right so we'd reapply if necessary. Not very often, though. You can't really mess up too bad on this one.

This is an interesting site about the US Olympic Volleyball Player. it has a lot of info.

http://kinesiotaping.com/olympic-watch.php

hope the URL works - or just Google "Kinesio Tape"

You can buy it online. I buy the commercial size box ($60 a couple of years ago) from my therapist. I don't use it like I did. Mine is skin tone/nude color.

I think... I know it definitely helped get me through the TOS, neck and back wrecked days and nights when nothing else -or what I'm willing to do -was helping. It will help you with your ADLs (activities of daily living).

(accident in 2000 - this is May 2003 - 2nd therapist)
For me, my therapist would have to order extra. it's recommended you wear it for 3 days... well, 3 weeks later she decided to take the old off - (it was ragged and worn and even dirty looking in some places - I had been trimming it with scissors) -- and put some new on. So she ripped it off (-my therapist laughing) or what was left, and "put some fresh on." (-she's still laughing... saying, "It sticks on you better than it does anybody."

...and she keeps wanting to order some "glow in the dark" tape especially for me. She's really funny.

I can do the tape myself for my scalenes (R&L side of my neck); front, starting midline where the clavicles meets sternum and going down sternum-at rare times at this point with the Kinesio Tape I'd split and cut divits in tape and tape even underneath my breats and up almost to my armpits-this takes a lot of time...and cutting of tape-I will always precut my tape-- would explain in detail if asked. I had two very tender and painful points-on the inside of my upper arm and straight across to a point where armpit and breast muscle meets -- Anyone else? I can tape my clavical acromoclavicular rounding my shoulder and some around on my back; top of breast over shoulder and down my shoulderblade (good to pull shoulders back - comfortable. By the end of the day, I would do better than if I wasn't taped); anywhere on my arms, hands, thumbs and wrists I wanted to. My therapist or husband puts tape on my scapulas (at bra line - about 7-8 inches of tape) - helps tremendously - if hubby helps with clavical-shoulder and around, then he brings it from shoulder to scapula - crisscrosses at and below scapulas and brings around to waistline/hip/side. It's in a pattern. I could draw and attach if I knew how. for lumbar and thoracic, they also - I call it a web pattern... 6 pieces of Kinesio Tape, about 10-12 inches long-on your thoracic/scapula area or low back. We have used it in the past for sciatica-top of hip and down leg, bottom of foot depending where you pain pattern is. This went on till middle of 2006 some in 2007. I've been asked, "Are you a burn victium or somethin?"

Helps me. worth trying. let me know if anyone tries it.

i just wanted to pop this up because it has so much good stuff in it. a lot of it rings bells with me. thanks everyone for contributing.

I have been warning TOSers about lymphodema (sp) for a long time.

It is imperative that we get someone to massage our feet to legs, hands to shoulder, and head and around ears down to chest. You don't have to have a specialist do this to you.

Just tell your friend who's doing it to think of pushing toothpaste out of it's holder, down towards our chest.

The reason it's so important for us is that we already have bad circulation of fluids.

When lymphodema gets started, the people get elephant feet or arms, and there is only ONE hospital in WA state to deal with this. They wrap the extremity tightly. Any attempt to cut away the bad stuff ends up with even more bad stuff...it is so scary to me.

So as someone to do this for you every day, we really need it! And don't do it hard, just fingers pressing and sliding down to the area of chest. Then you're supposed to drink a lot of good water, as you are flushing out the toxins that were in the skin lymph system.

God bless us.

my chiro says drink 8 oz pomegranate juice (100%) per day for lymphedema, this reams out the arteries.

he also says medicare does not pay for massage.

we joked that i would get a pigging string, tie dad, and carry him in. he thinks the lymphedema is no big deal.

more on the Kinesio Tape - images - looks like you can apply it almost anywhere you need to.

http://images.google.com/images?q=Ki...N&hl=en&tab=wi


the first image site has this info -
[Some features of Kinesio Tex Tape® are:

* 100% cotton and latex free
* Elasticity of up to 30-40% from resting length
* Tape is applied with 10% stretch
* Medical grade, heat sensitive acrylic adhesive
* Allows the skin to breathe
* Thickness and weight approximates that of skin
* Easily tolerated
* Allows range of motion and does not restrict like conventional athletic tape
* Elastic properties support and reduce muscle fatigue
* Facilitated myofascial release and improves lymphatic flow - in turn reducing pain and swelling
* Can be worn for several days (3-5) without re-application
* Cost effective patient management (6-10 applications per roll)
] http://www.physioneeds.ie/strapping.htm

Yeah, it's good stuff.

Good find Jo*mar.

bump


this is a HUGE problem for me. i bought some kinesiotape i need to try, doing yoga helps, any supplement recs? is that pomm. juice thing true? why pomm? thanks