Ugh! Tentenitis on my elbow! (treatments?)

[fyrediver]

As one of those dumb sods that has gotten tendonitis in one elbow and then the other, my advice is to not allow the other elbow to overcompensate during your workout!

I tried to power through and chased it back and forth between my two arms for a year before I finally stopped and let it fully heal. After 2 injections in each elbow my Doctor said if I didn't get it under control he was going to have to cut the adhesions.

Flying Hunter is spot on. My PT did REALLY deep icing until it was numb. I have a shelf in my freezer devoted to ice packs! Cross tissue massage (a special kind of pain) was also helpful to break up the adhesions. The elbow bands can help if they're tight enough and placed properly. They help isolate the end of the tendon and reduce the pressure on that connection.

I also lowered the weight I was lifting and focused on increasing range of motion and including supporting/stabilizing muscles. Dumbells instead of barbell exercises allow the arms to move independently instead of in lock step. Dropped my bench press but switched to dumbell presses while laying on an exercise ball etc. This type of exercises bring other muscles into play with less isolation of the large muscles.

[Chuc]

Pulling exercises do not involve the elbows. The actual problem is the grip you use. Grip the bar like you hold a bucket by the handle and let your forearm relax. The tendonitis is caused by the forearm muscles not at the elbow joint itself. The only relief for tendonitis is to rest it and ice it for a few weeks.

[WillBrink]

Well I guess as I get more into weights...I had to injure something!

I had read where switching from a straight barbell to the -ez curl bar for doing rows, this would take relief off my wrists. Well..that is true...however since my wrists felt better, I decided to slowly add weight and wound up with what feels like "tennis elbow."

My right outer elbow is tight and feels stiff in the morning. It gets better as the day goes on but hurts if I try to quickly pick up anything remotely heavy.

This has gone on for about 2 weeks now. With my workouts, this pain does not really bother me unless i am doing triceps kickbacks or the rows with the ez-curl bar. Therefore...I have cut these things out of my workouts.

Still...the pain will not entirely go away.

I am trying Advil and ice in the evenings and some light stretching but the pain is still there. It IS getting better but not going away entirely.

Anyone know some cures or therapy for tendinitis? Any special creams or stretches that would help?

I guess at age 47, I should not expect such immediate recovery and yeah...I know...I should have gone slower with the added weight/reps and the rows. Lesson learned.

Any help would be appreciated.

-brickboy240

In addition to the solid info already provided:

Some info: Tennis and Golf Elbow: Causes and Treatment via Dr. Chaing

Also, some people find relief using fatgripz and similar products, like T Grips. I'm playing with Globe Gripz now and they may be the best of the bunch.

I find neoprene sleeves helpful myself as they offer a little support, but more important, keep the muscles, tendons, joint warm.

[E.W.]

I would also recommend some sort of Ace type elbow sleeve to wear during training. They offer very little in support but they are great for creating and maintaining heat in the joint. I have had zero luck with the narrow bands that they market specifically for tennis elbow. One thing for sure is these injuries generally take a long time to heal so you have to find ways to work around them. I have had issues for years and its just as mentally aggravating as it is physical. I train hard and move some pretty big weight with no problem, but try to put a gallon of milk on the upper shelve in the fridge.....Fail.

[WillBrink]

I would also recommend some sort of Ace type elbow sleeve to wear during training. They offer very little in support but they are great for creating and maintaining heat in the joint. I have had zero luck with the narrow bands that they market specifically for tennis elbow. One thing for sure is these injuries generally take a long time to heal so you have to find ways to work around them. I have had issues for years and its just as mentally aggravating as it is physical. I train hard and move some pretty big weight with no problem, but try to put a gallon of milk on the upper shelve in the fridge.....Fail.

Ditto. I got no benefit from those. The neoprene sleeve works FAR better.

[Averageman]

I'm betting my Shoulder being a bit "Jacked Up" is causing my tendonitis in my elbow?
It would seem to make sense...

[StrikerFired]

I got the same injury from spending a lot of shooting one year. It started in May, and by October it hurt to do anything. It took 4 or 5 months of Physical Therapy and all kinds of stretching/Ice/Anti-Inflammatory drugs to get it better. From there I re-worked some things and knock on wood, haven't had a re-occurrence in two years.

[brickboy240]

Well my elbow IS getting better...but it is slow going.

Doing my stretching, icing and exercises for it daily.

Tailored the workout where I can avoid triceps kickbacks, hammer curls and upward rows....the things that REALLY irritate the elbow the most. Laid off the pushups too. Surprisingly, most of the other things I do really don't make it flare up too badly.

I am actually surprised at what exercises hurt it and which ones don't really hurt at all. Don't want to stop upper body workouts entirely...that would just suck.

I had a pulled shoulder months ago and it too lasted for a while. I did not stop working out but worked AROUND it and it eventually went away.

I guess after 10 months of seriously getting back into lifting after being away from it for so long...I should expect some sort of set back. Hell...I am much older now! LOL

Lesson learned...slow down, stretch more and ease into new exercises.

Thanks everyone for the help...this forum is always very helpful.

Will, thanks for the link. I know what caused my injury (getting too carried away on upward rows with ez curl bar LOL) nice to have more resources on how to cure it and avoid it in the future.

Odd..I played tennis for years and never came close to getting tennis elbow! LOL

-brickboy240