I wonder if anyone has had treatment for Calcific tendinitis of the shoulder. It’s a very painful condition especially at night. My OH is hoping to have shock wave treatment at a physio next week. It’s meant to break up calcium deposits on the tendons. The treatment is said to be painful as well so not something to look forward to.
Well, I’ve done my first 10-minute exercise session standing on the machine with my feet together on minimum program P1. I bent my knees slightly from time to time which put more oomph into the legs.
Feel fine. Nothing unusual except it’s a new feeling I’ve not experienced before – a gentle vibration from toe to head for 10 minutes.
Maintaining balance was an initial worry but had no problem there.
I will only do one 10-minute session a day, and gradually work up the programmes in line with developing confidence.
It has an amazingly quiet motor, and it will play music from your smartphone via its Bluetooth speakers, but that can wait!
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I have/have repeated had calcific tendonitis of shoulders, biceps, tendons in hands, and in forearm. I agree that they hurt! Sometimes they do get reabsorbed and the pain goes, but if that doesn’t happen after a few months then I get steroid injections. Except that I can’t any in delicate tendons, or have too many in the same one. I had one shoulder done in march/april and the other done in may - and that seems to have done the trick,
Never tried the ultrasound, but if it works for kidney stones I guess would work for this, And if your wife is anything like me then short pain is fine if it gets rid of these things. They are a nightmare, so sympathy.
And don’t forget simple things like hot water bottles and flextor gel.
I think that’s what my wife once had. Ultrasound got rid of it.
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That is my goto when I have nerve pain in my left leg. I did damage to L2/L3 over 30 years ago. It left me with no feeling in my outer two toes, the left side of my foot and bizarrely, a small spot on my left buttock 
. It has sent me to A&E 3 times because I couldn’t move. I found that doctors in the UK were very unsympathetic. I stopped talking to my doctor after she told me to only come back if I lost control of my bladder or bowels. For me, living with back pain means doing and not doing certain things. It’s probably different for you. For me, It’s regular exercise, starting as @JaneJones states before you get out of bed, weight control, being sensible about what I can do and not do, having a good back brace for when I have to bend and many other small things I’ve learned as I go along. Electro stimulation (TENS) for me is really good if the pain really starts to annoy me. The last resort is medication. Ive been prescribed opiate based medication in the past but weirdly it just doesn’t seem to work very well for me, which is probably a good thing ™.
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Thanks Anne that’s really useful information.
Her shoulder became very painful and stiff swollen and out if joint so we get to see her doctor and she had an X ray which picked up the calcification. Her doctor gave her a note for physio and some medication which we assumed was for pain relief. It turns out to be medication for gout? We had never come across this ailment calcification before before so we were totally in the dark as to what to expect so your comments are very helpful as the doctor did not give any explanation.It sounds like you’ve had a rough time. She’s had a painful shoulder all her life and just assumed it was arthritis. She did go to a private doctor once in the UK and had a cortisone injection which gave her 6 months free of pain. She did make a point to the doctor about how effective the cortisone injection was but that was ignored. The doctors in France do seem to be very averse to prescribing any kind of effective pain killers? So perhaps the best plan is to try this shock wave treatment for a few weeks and if that doesn’t help then go back to her doctor and as ask for a cortisone injection. Trouble is doctors don’t like to be told what to do as has been said previously in this thread Might have to go back to the UK to see a private doctor? By the way the shockwave treatment is not the same as ultrasound. The ultrasound apparently creates too much heat
Sorry thanks Jane!
No, but both use ultrasound - just different frequencies (I think that’s the word). Hope it works!
(Gout is crystallisation, so some feel the treatment will also help this).
If your wife is on other medication then the steroid injection might be contraindicated?
Thank you for the list of pain-describing terms, @vero - I’ve printed it out to save “for next time” 
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I don’t know anything about the NIH National Library of Medicine but this is what they say about whole body vibration therapy on knee replacement.
This morning I sat on a chair with my feet on the vibrating platform and felt gentle vibrations up as far as my hips. As my problems are from the waist down to my feet I think I will remain seated and just concentrate on my legs. I can do this while I sit at my computer! Long way to go but will keep a diary and post any improvements.
More vigorous standing-up exercises on the machine can come later.
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Oh, thank you @Bonzocat for finding and posting this study. Assuming the Taiwan study was not sponsored by the manufacturer of vibrating platforms, I think it says that we with metal knees can go ahead and enjoy.
Do you recommend the platform you bought? If so, I will go ahead and order one too.
I haven’t used the machine long enough to recommend it – but here’s what I ordered from Amazon. In the cheaper range – they can get very expensive.
https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B00GNEE3TQ/ref=pe_27091421_487030221_TE_SCE_dp_1
I’ve come across some YouTube websites belonging to physiotherapists. Seems vibrating platforms for exercise or therapy have been around for years! I only discovered them very recently.
Here’s one I found useful, although it should be pointed out that she’s promoting the machine she’s using.
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Thanks for the suggestion. My previous doctor allowed me to take diclofenac tablets morning and evening (twice a day) and I was pain-free and suffered no side effects for several years, but my new doctor won’t. He’s prescribed Antalnox and suggests I use it “when I feel the need”, before gardening activities etc! I don’t take it because two of the side effects could be a stroke or heart attack!
I’ll ask about gel alternatives next time I see him, thanks.
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Linked to insulin resistance, diabetes. To cure the problem change the diet, give your body a chance to re set insulin production.
Sorry but diet change certainly can work in the shorter term (2 to 3 years in the case of my partner) but after that it was just not enough. I should add perhaps that he is not diabetic and is nowhere near it either.
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Its always interesting, well to me at least to hear when something different occurs. There is from what I have been studying a usual measurement of fasting blood glucose to test for diabetes. Sadly this metric is completly the wrong target and they should be looking at insulin levels instead. Can I ask if they do that with your partner?
Sorry - no idea!
However, my point remains that, having been on a very rigorous appropriate diet for a few years, which initially worked, it eventually wasn’t an adequate approach in itself.
I certainly agree with you that diet changes are a very sensible way to start dealing with medical issues and in some cases they work an absolute dream. In others, they aren’t enough in themselves. They are not a cure-all for everything, unfortunately although they are a very important element.
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Yes agree, as we age problems arise, unforeseen prior, hence my interest really. The amazing things that have come to light like I mentioned, measuring fasting glucose levels, been done for a century or more but the wrong measure to see whats actually occurring. You can perfect glucose level and think things are great but poor insulin response that shows you are not. How long does it take the doctoring world to adapt to changes in what they were taught way back. The NHS still gives out its stupidily incorrect diet sheet written back in the 50’s.
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From what I can gather, in respect to knee replacement and vibration exercise/therapy machines, the advice for those with knee replacements is not to not use them – but - it refers to those who have had recent knee replacement surgery.
So, advice from a medic who’s had some experience of these machines, might be advisable.