Another scenario that we see quite frequently in our Physical Therapy Clinic is when people go to the Doctor, and the Doctor tells them to just rest and “try these painkillers”… and “let’s see how it goes”. Does that sound familiar?
But wait… it gets even better! This approach rarely offers significant positive outcomes and after 6 weeks, you return to the Doctor because so little change has occurred. Now, the Doctor may refill your prescription pain pills. Remember, they did not do much in the first 6 weeks.
The irony really is, that the “wait and see” approach to treating elbow pain is highly ineffective. It often causes more frustration because the passive approach does not work for most people. And then they tell you to rest some more or to order high-level imaging, like an MRI. And we wonder why we have such a problem with managing elbow pain here! It’s madness… and even borderline insanity (that we keep doing things the same way and expecting a different result each time). This can even explain why so many people aged 40+ are suffering with chronic elbow pain.