I fail at ortho
I had my pre-employment physical for the new job today. Perhaps I was too honest when I filled out the questionnaire. I fudged a few of the questions:
"Do you ever experience chest pain?"
"Yes, but it's costochondritis, which is why I splint my sternum when I sneeze. I'm not going on steroids; leave me alone."
Easier to write No.
I was, however, honest about the fact that I've been to a chiropractor. Unlike my self-diagnosed costochondritis, there is a paper trail of that fact, so I thought it better to tell the entire truth. What a can of worms that opened up. No, I don't really experience back pain, I just go for adjustments from time to time. What I get is pain in my shoulder and hips.
It didn't take the doctor long to find the crepitus in the joints. And when I extended my legs, my right hip made a THUNK reminiscent of the transmission slipping in my old Chrysler LeBaron.
"Go see an ortho."
"Okay, I will."
It also didn't take the doctor long to figure out that since I didn't list a PMD, and since I was there for a pre-employment physical, that 1) I am a jackass and 2) I am a jackass temporarily without insurance. Hence, no ortho any time soon. I promised her I would follow up on it as soon as I could.
She asked me about arthritis history in my family. That kind of got my attention. There is none, as best as I can tell, but for her to throw it out there made me start wondering about other causes for the pain than just simple repetitive stress injury. I've never felt it to be worth going the whole ortho route just for that. Degenerative bone disease, on the other hand, is a totally different conversation.
I should mention that I hate ortho. It does nothing for me. Anything heart and lungs, I'm right at home, as any medic should be. Renal and GI stuff I caught up on in nurse land. Peds, OB-GYN, no problem. I never would have escaped Tonnie Glick without some command of neuro. But ortho just doesn't grab my attention at all, even when it's my joints, which is why I needed the doc to call me out for a jackass.
"Do you ever experience chest pain?"
"Yes, but it's costochondritis, which is why I splint my sternum when I sneeze. I'm not going on steroids; leave me alone."
Easier to write No.
I was, however, honest about the fact that I've been to a chiropractor. Unlike my self-diagnosed costochondritis, there is a paper trail of that fact, so I thought it better to tell the entire truth. What a can of worms that opened up. No, I don't really experience back pain, I just go for adjustments from time to time. What I get is pain in my shoulder and hips.
It didn't take the doctor long to find the crepitus in the joints. And when I extended my legs, my right hip made a THUNK reminiscent of the transmission slipping in my old Chrysler LeBaron.
"Go see an ortho."
"Okay, I will."
It also didn't take the doctor long to figure out that since I didn't list a PMD, and since I was there for a pre-employment physical, that 1) I am a jackass and 2) I am a jackass temporarily without insurance. Hence, no ortho any time soon. I promised her I would follow up on it as soon as I could.
She asked me about arthritis history in my family. That kind of got my attention. There is none, as best as I can tell, but for her to throw it out there made me start wondering about other causes for the pain than just simple repetitive stress injury. I've never felt it to be worth going the whole ortho route just for that. Degenerative bone disease, on the other hand, is a totally different conversation.
I should mention that I hate ortho. It does nothing for me. Anything heart and lungs, I'm right at home, as any medic should be. Renal and GI stuff I caught up on in nurse land. Peds, OB-GYN, no problem. I never would have escaped Tonnie Glick without some command of neuro. But ortho just doesn't grab my attention at all, even when it's my joints, which is why I needed the doc to call me out for a jackass.
posted by Nurse Cha at 11:20 AM
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