Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Elbow Begoings and Biofreeze


My friend, Biofreeze.
I'm not even sure when we met. It must have been after I turned 30, at least.
There's got to be some kind of nature's law: Man turns 30, he will start to have creaky joints. In my case it is my left elbow, mostly, and my lower back. The back is another blog, so we'll leave it at that.
The elbow, oh, the elbow.
It was 1993. February. I was on an island outside of Gothenburg, Sweden. We had gone out there for a day to see the sights, climb a big hill and have a picnic.
I thought I was being silly and cool by walking on the water - well, it was frozen Atlantic Ocean water, but water it was. Ice. And after a bit, I bit it. Fell on my side, my left side. Most of my elbow caught the brunt of the fall. Now, I was 20. Didn't think I could ever get hurt. And it didn't. Not until a few months later. Went to the much vaunted but still socialist hospital. Did xrays and said nothing was broken. But here I am two decades later with a bum elbow that can tell me when it is going to rain and if the temperature is changing drastically up or down. When the barometric pressure hits, my elbow throbs.
Not to mention when I type for more than an hour at a time. Which I have done frequently in the last 20 years. I've had a couple of American doctors tell me I damaged the ulnar nerve sheath that holds the nerve going through my elbow. It will get swollen and - POP! It will make my whole left hand go numb.
Not good for a typist. Or a cello player. Or any other instrument player.
So now Biofreeze and I met up one fateful day in my doctor's office. I had used TigerBalm, Aspercreme, and several others. Biofreeze works. It makes the pain either go away - or in some cases makes it tolerable. It also helps my lower back after two back surgeries. But that's another story.
Biofreeze, you're not just a blue gel. You're ... my ... friend. Thank you for being my friend.
*Said in hommage to Red Solo Cup, of course*
So there, internets. Behold my friend. The wife uses it on her back - or more importantly she makes me rub it on her back. Hm. Maybe I should get her to rub it on my elbow... yeah...
Later.

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