Tennis elbow ... workout suggestions

[jcm]

I'm suffering from wicked tennis elbow - had to stop xtrain 2 weeks before I finished. Ice, heat, massage, blah blah blah. Trying all of it. Last time it was nearly impossible to get rid of. After 2 weeks of doing nothing (frustrated and depressed) I have to keep working out. So, can't lift weights... not even lower body since gripping dumbells isn't good. Can't do metabolic... same problem. Which I guess leaves me cardio. I've been doing various HiiTs, Tabata, xtrain legs since that doesn't really require weights. Did kickbox this morning and hopefully that wasn't a mistake. Just curious if anyone out there (either a PT or someone who has been through this) has any suggestions. I know cardio alone isn't the way to lose and tone but I don't seem to have any other options ... do I?

 

[dmerz]

I had a bit of tennis elbow a couple years back. Not "wicked" as you describe yours as I was still able to grip a dumbell. First- I switched my mouse at work to a "handshake" style mouse - less twisting in the elbow. Don't know if that might be aggravating yours as well or not.

Do you have a weight vest to add some weight and do lower body work w/o gripping a dumbell? What about exercise that you don't have to hold a barbell or dumbell? Like hip thrusts or bridges - you could just place it on your hips and stabilize it. What about zercher style squats and lunges where you place the barbell in the crook of your bent arm to hold it? What about band work? If you eliminate the gripping can you use loops to add resistance to upper body moves? Just a couple thoughts. Once mine was better I pretty much switched all bicep work to hammer style dumbells only since there is no elbow twisting on that move. Good luck!!

 

[jcm]

those are great suggestions! thanks see - i just needed a fresh perspective!!

 

[owhynot]

I have had tennis elbow since the first of the year. Everything I did hurt. I couldn't even use 5 lb db for any bicep work - hammer curls were the worse. I tried band work - painful. I rested for weeks. Finally saw a doctor who gave me a brace to wear. I still did cardio and lower body work with just my body weight. I still hurt so on April 24th the doctor gave me a steroid shot. I was not to do anything for a week - no pushup, triceps dips, I could hold a plank position - cardio was ok. Tuesday I did Cathe's Fit Split Shred Cardio / Push Day with lighter weights and I had very little issues. Tomorrow I will do the Pull Day workout and see how that goes. I this shot doesn't work, I will need to have PT work done. This has been very frustrating but I do what I can.

 

[Traildoggie]

Get a wrist brace with a stiff "stay" that immobilizes your wrist area. wear it to sleep every night, faithfully. I personally would skip all weight workouts, anything that makes the elbow hurt, until it settles down. I'm my case it was a couple weeks. for me, light weight activated it as much as heavier weight. I've had this a few times over years. this technique always works for me and costs about $10 for the brace one time. non invasive. cheap. effective.

 

[jcm]

I have had tennis elbow since the first of the year. Everything I did hurt. I couldn't even use 5 lb db for any bicep work - hammer curls were the worse. I tried band work - painful. I rested for weeks. Finally saw a doctor who gave me a brace to wear. I still did cardio and lower body work with just my body weight. I still hurt so on April 24th the doctor gave me a steroid shot. I was not to do anything for a week - no pushup, triceps dips, I could hold a plank position - cardio was ok. Tuesday I did Cathe's Fit Split Shred Cardio / Push Day with lighter weights and I had very little issues. Tomorrow I will do the Pull Day workout and see how that goes. I this shot doesn't work, I will need to have PT work done. This has been very frustrating but I do what I can.

I had this in my other elbow a few years ago. 2 months of physical therapy did nothing. i was getting prolotherapy injections in my back for pain there. I asked if he used that to treat tennis elbow. He did, and it just took that one round of maybe 3 shots in that area and within about 2 weeks I was completely pain free and it hasn't come back. An insurance issue is the only reason I'm not going back and having the other one done. It's worth at least looking into!

 

[owhynot]

I had this in my other elbow a few years ago. 2 months of physical therapy did nothing. i was getting prolotherapy injections in my back for pain there. I asked if he used that to treat tennis elbow. He did, and it just took that one round of maybe 3 shots in that area and within about 2 weeks I was completely pain free and it hasn't come back. An insurance issue is the only reason I'm not going back and having the other one done. It's worth at least looking into!

Thank you for this. It is something I will look into. I did Mixed Impact Cardio / Pull Day yesterday - bicep curls still hurt and so did some of the back work. It's not my elbow that hurts - it's a forearm muscle that the sports medicine doctor said is tennis elbow.

 

[Nanbo]

@jcm , I had "tennis elbow" a few years ago due to improper form/straining with pull ups. A tennis playing co-worker recommended the Thera Bar. This rubber wonder was a miracle worker! It not only helped alleviate some of the strain I was feeling, but helped to strengthen my forearms and wrists as well. This device can also be used for "golfer's elbow". I bought it from a local PT along with a tube of Biofreeze.

 

[JeanneMarie]

I also deal with tennis elbow. My trainer calls it lifting elbow though, since it's obviously not from playing tennis in my case.

He has me rolling my bicep and triceps area. Most pain of this nature is referred pain from another area that is inflamed or strained. It has helped a lot with mine. He also has me doing an overhead strength move with a mace weight. Both things have helped tremendously.

As for workouts, I pretty much continue to do what I've always done. I can work through the discomfort most of the time. The thing that aggravates it more than anything for me, is full body pull ups.

 

[jcm]

I also deal with tennis elbow. My trainer calls it lifting elbow though, since it's obviously not from playing tennis in my case.

He has me rolling my bicep and triceps area. Most pain of this nature is referred pain from another area that is inflamed or strained. It has helped a lot with mine. He also has me doing an overhead strength move with a mace weight. Both things have helped tremendously.

As for workouts, I pretty much continue to do what I've always done. I can work through the discomfort most of the time. The thing that aggravates it more than anything for me, is full body pull ups.

what is a mace weight?

 

[JeanneMarie]

what is a mace weight?

A mace weight looks kind of like a baseball bat with a ball or large end on it. The majority of the weight is in the ball at the end. Because of the imbalance in weight, the mace allows for some very challenging counterbalancing movements that work muscles in completely unique ways. We use them for all sorts of moves, including hitting a huge tractor tire, barbarian squats, unbalanced rows and overhead presses and more.