Doctor's visit
Background: I have golf elbow, acquired through Crossfit. It’s a tenacious case of tendinitis, I rested it for 3 months and it still didn’t go away. The gym recommended a chiropractor … but I have HMO-style coverage through Kaiser so I’m trying that first.
First visit was with a general practitioner. I’ve liked him in the past, [warning: gruesome] last time I saw him he carved a cyst out of my head under the $30 co-pay and wrote a prescription for Vicodin just in case it hurt later. That’s service! But I was afraid that he’d take a paranoid path, like, “3 months didn’t work, so rest for a year”.
But I was wrong! Quiet the opposite, he saw lack of exercise as the greater health threat (and said so much, at length), encouraged me to keep it up, and gave me a referral to a physical therapist. As a “just in case” he also put in a referral to an orthopedist, but warned me to stay away if I could … I think his quote was, “the only thing an orthopedist can do is stick needle in you”, followed by an cautionary anecdote about how those shots can increase the likelihood of tendons snapping.
They also gave me a band that goes just above the elbow. Tried it at crossfit today, went fine, but wasn’t a particularly aggravating workout. Felt good, but too soon for a verdict.
In sum, the experience left me more positive about Kaiser’s HMO care and western medicine, which is saying something because I am one paranoid dude. My primary care physician had the big picture in mind and his course of treatment aligned well with my goals.
