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Old 11-23-2011, 05:42 PM   #1  
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Default Scoliosis, Tennis Elbow, Knee Pain, and a Stupid doctor

I've been in a lot of pain lately. I've mentioned on here before that I've been having knee pain for awhile now (lots of popping and just pain in general). Plus I've been having symptoms of carpel tunnel syndrome in that I've had pain in my hands that radiate up to my elbow. I also have upper back pain at time too.

Ok, so I went to a physical therapist today. The guy was an idiot and I'm not going to go back to him for a number of reasons that I just don't want to get into (if you're overwhelming curious you can see here). BUT he said the following:

1. I have scoliosis, which is causing problems because of lifting (specifically the dumbbell press is worsening things)
2. I have tennis elbow because of the movement from the dumbbell press and he gave me an exercise to do to help with that
3. I need to work on strengthening my hamstrings (so basically lay on my stomach and do leg lifts)
4. I can NEVER EVER do exercises again that involve lifting weight, bending my knee etc.
5. When I asked him what I could do to lose weight he told me to stop eating.

I've been looking up stuff about scoliosis and it seems that with proper physical therapy exercise IS possible but I just need to work on dealing with the pain first. So has anybody else dealt with that??? Thoughts, opinions?

Also, has anybody found that dealing with their hamstrings has helped them exercise again?

We're definitely going to a new doctor after this because it was such a horrible experience but I've love to hear any experiences from other lifter if they've dealt with something similar and also if you have any advice on finding a good physical therapist!

Last edited by runningfromfat; 11-23-2011 at 07:02 PM.
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Old 11-23-2011, 09:45 PM   #2  
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There are good and bad doctors and physical therapists out there, just like any other profession. And sometimes it's trial and error before you find a good one. I found mine from a recommendation from my brother. He has a doctorate in Physical Therapy (their credentials after their name will have DPT, instead of just PT).

From what my PT told me, we tend to work the front muscles of the body more than the back. As the front muscles get worked, they draw up tighter which tends to pull our posture forward. I wasn't told to specifically work my hamstrings, because my issues are in my neck, but I do work on my posture and I do glute/ham bridges to work my hamstrings. I also don't do any weights overhead anymore.

So, ask for recommendations from friends and family for a good PT. They are out there, it's just frustrating (and can be costly) finding the right one.

Good luck
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Old 11-24-2011, 06:25 AM   #3  
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Originally Posted by ddc View Post
There are good and bad doctors and physical therapists out there, just like any other profession. And sometimes it's trial and error before you find a good one. I found mine from a recommendation from my brother. He has a doctorate in Physical Therapy (their credentials after their name will have DPT, instead of just PT).

From what my PT told me, we tend to work the front muscles of the body more than the back. As the front muscles get worked, they draw up tighter which tends to pull our posture forward. I wasn't told to specifically work my hamstrings, because my issues are in my neck, but I do work on my posture and I do glute/ham bridges to work my hamstrings. I also don't do any weights overhead anymore.
Thanks a lot for that. Do you have scoliosis too then? What sort of exercises are you currently doing?

We're looking around for a new PT today. Unfortunately we recently moved here and don't know anybody who has seen a PT here either so it's going to be a tough search.
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Old 11-24-2011, 10:02 AM   #4  
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No, I don't have scoliosis. I have degenerative disc disease in my neck.

I was told to do no high impact exercises, so for cardio, I ride an exercise bike and do walking dvds at home (Leslie Sansone).
For strength, I use resistance bands and light dumbbells. I stick to the basics: rows, curls, tricep pushdowns and straight arm pulldowns. For the core, I do planks, supermans, and bird dogs and then the glute bridges for my hamstrings (but I have to be careful and not go up too high on my shoulders into the neck). Also, some yoga every once in a while.

Good luck with your search!
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Old 11-30-2011, 03:54 PM   #5  
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First- for the knees- Even though there are more male athletes than female athletes, did you know that there are more female athletes than male with knee injuries? It's because our legs and hips are angled differently, which puts more strain on our knees, AND because we have large muscle imbalances between the strength of our quads vs. the strength of our hamstrings. Strengthening the hammies should help relieve pain, and prevent further injury.

Second, I do have scoliosis. How severe is your curvature? (mine is 32 cervical, 45 thoracic and 38 lumbar, as a frame of reference) the degree of curvature will affect things. All of mine are considered in the severe ish range, and the thoracic is in range for surgery. With that said, lifting isn't bad for scoliosis. It's actually very, very good for you. I have the least amount of pain when I strength train regularly. The only thing to try and avoid are compression exercises- I don't squat with the bar across my shoulders, and I'm careful how much I lift with shoulder press, etc. (However, I also have disc problems so it's one of the reasons I'm cautious about compression)

Avoiding high impact cardio is also a good idea.

I'm not a scoliosis expert by any means, but, it has been part of my life for quite awhile so I'll help with any questions I can!
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