Need help with some muscle pain

my sister's a massage therapist --who doesn't live anywhere near me --she's told me for muscle pain you use ice and heat...but always start with ice. The rest and elevation is a good idea too. I'd also take some ibuprofin if it were me, but I'm not a doc, so go with what feels right to you.

Hope things get better for you!

THe area of tenderness you describe is a tendon, the fibrous part of a muscle. These strains take much longer to heal than muscular strains. If it is swollen, then you really have some significant inflammation. If you don't have any contraindications to using ibuprofin (kidney problems, stomach ulcers/bleeds), then use the maximum dose on the bottle for ibuprofin or alleve on a regular basis throughout the day (not for pain, for the inflammation). Elevate ABOVE THE HEART, and it is safe to alternate ice as well as heat despite common thoughts of ice first 48 hours and heat afterwards. Ice will help reduce swelling which reduces pain. Heat in contrast increases blood flow, increasing swelling and sometimes pain. THe irony is that blood flow is needed to heal the injuries, so alternating the two works really well for some people and "pumps" blood and nutrients in. Don't use either for more than 15-20 minutes at a time and take a 30 minute or more break in between and do 4-6 cycles per day (if you have time). Stretch too.