up against the echthroi again
Dec. 2nd, 2009 01:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
adrian_turtleA few weeks ago, my doctor suggested trying a new kind of treatment for the chronic pain in my hand and shoulder. It's not the silliest thing I've ever heard of, but the competition there is pretty stiff. A low intensity laser tuned to exactly the right wavelength is supposed to stimulate the mitochondria to produce more ATP, which improves healing even in an old injury. What amazes me is that this therapeutic wavelength is VISIBLE light. I don't see how it can get past my skin to the damaged tendon, much less reduce the scar tissue on the other side of the tendon. I want it to help. I want so much for it to help. And I want a hypoallergenic pony unicorn.
I tried it once, for both hand and shoulder. It didn't seem to do anything for the hand at all. It might have helped the shoulder a little, briefly. It didn't do me any harm, which puts it way ahead of lots of other pain treatments (including massage, direct acupuncture, capscicum ointments, muscle relaxants, and almost all PT.) So I tried it again, just on the shoulder. Again, it might have helped a little, briefly...I can't tell if it's a real benefit, or if I'm fooling myself because I want it so much. The pain varies so much it's hard to be sure of changes when they aren't large, sudden, or consistent. Did it get better because of the treatment and worse when the treatment effects worse off? Or just a little better in the warm middle of the day and worse when it got cold at night?
I tried it once, for both hand and shoulder. It didn't seem to do anything for the hand at all. It might have helped the shoulder a little, briefly. It didn't do me any harm, which puts it way ahead of lots of other pain treatments (including massage, direct acupuncture, capscicum ointments, muscle relaxants, and almost all PT.) So I tried it again, just on the shoulder. Again, it might have helped a little, briefly...I can't tell if it's a real benefit, or if I'm fooling myself because I want it so much. The pain varies so much it's hard to be sure of changes when they aren't large, sudden, or consistent. Did it get better because of the treatment and worse when the treatment effects worse off? Or just a little better in the warm middle of the day and worse when it got cold at night?
