Tennis Elbow Anyone?

Jane Royse

Jane Royse

Cathlete
My "fibromyalgia" physician has diagnosed me with tennis elbow. I can't get into a physical therapist until the end of August. It first started bothering me in January, but I was in STS & pushed myself through it. :eek: I know - I should have listened to my body! After I was done with STS, I completely stopped weight training my upper body for 2 full months, thinking that rest would take care of it. When you have fibro, you tend to think that every ache or pain is "just" fibro... My physician prescribed Naproxen, which hasn't done a thing, & PT. I'm so mad :mad: at myself for putting this off for so long, because I'm sure I've aggravated the situation needlessly. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
I had tennis elbow in March, and was finishing up STS, too. Same situation as you. It aggravated it more. I tried resting it and did light weights. Then, I did no weights at all, but, whenever I came back to the weights the pain would come back. The thing that helped was acupuncture!

I did it 3 times, and it went away. i could tell the difference right away after each session. You may want to try that!
 
Thanks, Linda! I've had acupuncture before (for migraines) - I will definitely give it a try if PT doesn't get me where I want to be. I would never have thought of it!
 
I'm sorry to hear that. I can see how that would be frustrating. Best thing for anything that is overworked is REST. At least 6 weeks worth in order for a full recovery. Maybe this is a time where you can really begin to work your lower body, and doing some plyometrics that don't involve holding weights and use explosive movements. You could also do lots of core and abdominal work which doesn't utilize the arms much. Pilates would be great as most of it is done on your mat on your back, as well as a new craze where you do "barre" work at a ballet barre. Don't let the elbow get you down but use it as a reason to try something new and exciting!
Beyond that eating extra protein to help with cell regeneration in the tissue along with Vitamin C rich foods such as red peppers, jicama, Kale, kiwi, and strawberries will help heal the tissue and help support the rebuilding of it. :)
 
Thanks so much for the encouragement & the tips, Jodelle. I thought that after I rested it for 2 months that it would be OK, but as soon as I went back to lifting, it started up again. Obviously, 2 months wasn't enough. You're right - instead of focusing on what I can't do, I need to focus on what I CAN do! I'm hoping that this new series will have a lot of different things that I can do, too!
 
It definately sounds like it will! I'm so excited about the Turbo Barre, as I just started teaching Barre for the first time and there is always so much I can learn from Cathe when it comes to teaching! She is my mentor when it comes to effectively teaching others how to keep fit in the classroom!
 
Me too!

Glad I found this thread! I have been suffering since Jan of last year! My GP gave me 3 steroid shots 6 months apart. The last one never took effect. He sent me to an ortho surgeon and my appt was yesterday. I was ready for surgery and to move on! NO! Ortho surgeon put me in a wrist cast (for 4 weeks), gave me another shot (in the inflamed area) and I'm scheduled for PT. I've never done acupunture so I may look into that also.

I, like many of you, worked through the pain. The past few months only doing light upper body. The doc says no weights for at least 4-8 weeks! EEK! It's summer!...lol. But I can do lower body work and cardio. I just found a reason to purchase Cathe's weighted vest :). That will at least give me some weight while doing lower body.

Well, this isn't the first time I've been sidelined from Cathe's workout. In Jan 2007 I had hip surgery for a torn labrum and that took some time to recover. Geez...being physically active can be a pain!..LOL
 
I had a strained elbow last year and tried resting it, but every time I thought it was ok and started back up, it would hurt again. Finally went to physical therapy for about 8 weeks (once a week was all I could afford). Each week after doing the exercises the PT would really get into the muscle with a deep massage with her thumbs. I could not believe the knots that were in my arm or how she could find them so easily. I think that type of massage really worked wonders on me. I can say my elbow is now pain free.

Good luck with your recovery.


Jean
 
I got tennis elbow about 2 years ago while doing STS. For me, rest didn't help because the pain came back. For me, a major cause of the problem was using a barbell for certain upper body exercises that locked my elbows into a fixed position (like barbell curls). The restriction of range of motion really triggers my pain. I still use a barbell for legs and can use a barbell for some upper body work, but I mainly stick with dumbbells. This has made a tremendous difference.

I hope you find a solution that works for you!
 
I injured my elbow in September of 2010 resulting in tennis elbow. It was excruciating! Rest, rest, and more rest. I tried PT for weeks and weeks and ended up getting a corticosteroid shot that did alleviate the pain for maybe 4 months. The doctor has suggested surgery if another shot did not work. I really was not interested in any surgery or another shot. So back to PT for more torture. Did not work. I then tried acupuncture. It did not help the pain, but I sure felt relaxed! I then heard about the Active Release Technique(Active Release Techniques: A.R.T.) and found a therapist. I had 16 visits. The last one was about 1 1/2 months ago. I feel that this treatment worked well for me. Although I still have some pain, it has not stopped me from my weight training and other physical activities. There is no need for any anti-inflammatories. The orthopedic surgeon told me that it can take up to 2 years to completely heal! It will be 2 years in September. I most likely will have to live with the small thorn in my side, which is fine with me. It's just a reminder to be careful. Hope that you find your cure! Such a small tendon injury can really disrupt everything in your life!!!
 
Thanks!

Hi Jean,

Thanks for your post! I'm hoping PT will help also. It can be expensive even with copays...lol. I'll see what happens after PT and then move on from there. This has been very painful for the last year and a half. Even picking up a cup of coffee can sometimes be painful! And it's the right elbow and of course I'm right handed.

I did do Athletic training last night and took the wrist cast off. I cheated a little and did grab an 8lb dumbbell to do the squats on the steps....I know...bad me.

This morning was no wieghts at all. I did HIIT 30/30 and LIS from 4DS. Looks like I will do heavy cardio and lower body for the next few weeks. I just ordered Cathes 20lb vest from Walmart (cheaper than her site...hmmm).
 
cyprusave said:
I injured my elbow in September of 2010 resulting in tennis elbow. It was excruciating! Rest, rest, and more rest. I tried PT for weeks and weeks and ended up getting a corticosteroid shot that did alleviate the pain for maybe 4 months. The doctor has suggested surgery if another shot did not work. I really was not interested in any surgery or another shot. So back to PT for more torture. Did not work. I then tried acupuncture. It did not help the pain, but I sure felt relaxed! I then heard about the Active Release Technique(Active Release Techniques: A.R.T.) and found a therapist. I had 16 visits. The last one was about 1 1/2 months ago. I feel that this treatment worked well for me. Although I still have some pain, it has not stopped me from my weight training and other physical activities. There is no need for any anti-inflammatories. The orthopedic surgeon told me that it can take up to 2 years to completely heal! It will be 2 years in September. I most likely will have to live with the small thorn in my side, which is fine with me. It's just a reminder to be careful. Hope that you find your cure! Such a small tendon injury can really disrupt everything in your life!!!
Click to expand...

Wow! Sounds exactly the same. If I can control the pain to a minimum I can work with it. I really appreciate this post and will research A.R.T. also.
 
Another possible solution . I've had tennis elbow a couple of times as has DH. He's a physician, which helps.
He recommends a wrist splint worn every night when sleeping. It worked for both of us in a few weeks and is cheap, and non invasive. I don't use weights while it hurts and start back gradually after the pain is gone. HTH.
 
Hello Jane,

I'm so sorry to hear about your Tennis Elbow :(. It's funny, the majority of people who get this condition don't play Tennis ;).

I had TE on/off for a few years along with Carpel Tunnel Syndrome. It's awful, I feel your pain. In my case, it was caused by repetitive strain/heavy lifting at my full-time job, so unfortunately I could not take the adequate rest needed. Acupuncture and a wrist splint (like the above poster mentioned) helped tremendously.

I hope you find relief soon :)

Natasha
 
Had the surgery

Hi all! I just wanted to drop by and say that I ended up opting for the surgery. The pain was 24/7 and nothing helped alleviate it. I had the surgery on 8/30 and spent two weeks in a long arm cast then two weeks in a wrist cast which I had removed last Monday. Right now I'm only working on ROM exersizes for the next two weeks then start on actual weight to help rebuild the muscle and tendon. I only feel slight surgery pain right now but the real test will be when I start using hand weights. I'm pretty optimistic though since the non-stop pain is gone!

Hopefully I'll be ready in time for X-Train!!!
 
nccjones said:
Hi all! I just wanted to drop by and say that I ended up opting for the surgery. The pain was 24/7 and nothing helped alleviate it. I had the surgery on 8/30 and spent two weeks in a long arm cast then two weeks in a wrist cast which I had removed last Monday. Right now I'm only working on ROM exersizes for the next two weeks then start on actual weight to help rebuild the muscle and tendon. I only feel slight surgery pain right now but the real test will be when I start using hand weights. I'm pretty optimistic though since the non-stop pain is gone!

Hopefully I'll be ready in time for X-Train!!!
Click to expand...

Keep us posted! That sounds wonderful. I'm trying acupuncture - have an appointment tomorrow.
 
Hi, just a quick update. Last Thursday marked my 6 weeks post op. Today I started with light weight training. It felt so good to have a weight in my hand again...lol. My PT has me doing 3 reps of 8 each with 2lb db on both wrist curls and wrist ext, 5lb db for bicep curl (elbow on the inside of knee...just like in Gym Style) and 5 lbs for one arm rows. She also told me one of the worse exercises for tennis elbow is the overhead extension for triceps and that I should avoid that in the future and only do it from the bent position pushing out. I had also read about that somewhere in my research that the overhead was not a good excercise on the elbow joint.

So...overall...I feel good. When I was suffering the past two years, I would do changes in my routine and one is I went to lower weights and it still hurt. Today...nada, no pain. It was amazing! I still have stiffness in the elbow and some lingering soreness from the surgery which she said was normal and would go away in time.

I'm so excited that I took care of this before XTrain comes out. I'm hoping to be in fighting shape for it. I'll be honest...I'll go lighter than normal on the upper body weights for the first six or so months than I used to. I do not want to injure my elbow again, but it will be so nice to work the arms again.

Anyway, I just want my fellow tennis elbow sufferers to know that I feel going the surgery route was the best thing for me. Yes, it put me behind for a few months from working out, but I wanted this fixed, and everything I tried the last two years did not work. I'm hoping I'm truly on a road to full recovery :)

Thanks for the support fellow Cathletes!

Laura :)
 
Wow, Laura, it sounds like you're doing great! Thanks for the update, & I hope that recovery continues to go smoothly for you.
 
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