Tennis Elbow

A snowHead

I have a tendentious in my elbow (aka tennis elbow), confirmed by the nice lady doctor yesterday. I know this is pretty common but on the NHS website it says typical recovery times are 12 to 24 months whereas the doctor reckons a "a couple of weeks with no housework" should do it.

I think it was brought on by extreme hedge trimming just before Christmas.

What are peoples' experiences?

A snowHead

davidof, i think you are reading NHS site with your Eeyore hat on.
Actual quote is:"Most cases of tennis elbow last between six months and two years. However, in about nine out of 10 cases, a full recovery is made within a year."
NICE suggests many cases recover in weeks.
But listen to the physiotherapists:"Your pain should ease within 2 weeks and you should recover over approximately a 4–6 week period."
Its all about not doing the activity that caused it, so stop trimming that hedge.
Take some Ibuprofen, and get on with your life.
(I'm sure skiing and beer help too snowHead

)

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I simultaneously had tennis elbow on one arm and golfers elbow on the other. Didn't seem to be improving, even after 6 months, so had cortisone injections. One has cleared up after about 18 months, the other can still flare up occasionally, but nowhere near as bad as it was. I guess the answer to your question depends upon how bad it is, what you do on a daily basis that might aggravate it and what treatment (if any) you've had.

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No nice way of putting it - but it means you're getting old.
I do not think NHS Direct has a potion for that.

I tried a few things and found that Wild Turkey takes the edge off it in the evenings.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Like @Awdbugga I have had both at some point. Golfer's elbow took a lot longer to go because I play quite a bit of golf Embarassed

and wasn't prepared to ditch it. With both there is pretty much no substitute for rest unfortunately. I've been told it is possible to do various exercises to build up complementary muscles but it didn't appeal to me...

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@davidof, I switched to using my mouse left handed and got a series of cortisone injections. That more or less fixed it. Still use the mouse left handed!

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Had it for years on and off. Drs, painkillers, anti-inflammatory`s, (some rest rolling eyes

) always took ages to get better. These days I go to see my osteopath, some pretty instant relief and a much quicker healing time!

After all it is free

I had a bad 'attack' a few years back. Few weeks of highly pain then worse to the point that I couldn't grip, twist or lift anything with my hand/arm at all.
Saw a pretty useless NHS physio who advised stopping whatever was irritating it (duh! But also not entirely possible after a few days) and gave me some "gentle" exercises which didn't help at all.
Found other exercises via Google involving stretching and bending fingers and wrist/hand, and they helped a lot.
Other thing which helped me a great deal was wearing a compression band (DIY bit of twisted Tubigrip) around the forearm just below the elbow.
Between that and the exercises it resolved to bearable and useable within a couple of weeks, I recall, and completely not long afterwards. Didn't use anti inflammatory tablets or creams, nor ice or heat, and pretty much carried on using it (though tried to minimise known irritants). Depends how bad yours is, of course, but I find your doctor's estimate to be a lot more realistic than the website's. Hope that's true for you.

I'd recommend avoiding the injections, they seem to make it last longer. I've had some good results with nitrate patches. Still not something routinely offered but very safe and evidence seems to be building.

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Pain is your body's way of telling you not to do something wink

Seriously though, tennis or golfer's elbow is the typical sort of annoying ailment that you become more prone to as you get - no kind way of putting this - older. I've had both and I've treated both.
Another thing it exemplifies is that if there’s no one good way of fixing something then there are always lots of suggested treatments, none of which have any great evidence for efficacy.
And another thing....as exemplified here, no one can even agree on how long it lasts for. This too is pretty typical. Sufferers know it’s often near impossible to pin point when symptoms started, and as for when they disappear???? Hell, I’m boring myself now. It'll get better....eventually. There are things that can ease it if it’s really bad, some of which have been mentioned here. As for cortisone injections - I've only ever put myself at the non pointy end of the syringe.

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I have suffered from tennis elbow for about 4 years. It’s much better now but still comes on at times. I found the best treatment is to track down the extensor carpi muscle from the lateral epicondyle on the elbow, find the sorest spot and massage with a combination of longitudinal, cross fibre and direct pressure. It also helps me to forcibly flex and extend the wrist with the elbow locked straight. This stretches off that muscle and helps to stop the pain running down into the 4th & 5th fingers.

While it can be very painful, it’s a long way from your heart! Toofy Grin

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@davidof,

Lifting a heavy bag of rubble up to the shoot, the 'inspector/guard' at my local refuse re cycling center,instructed me to push it down a ledge and into the corner...

OUCH!, ugh, what the...

After some icing and Ibuprofen, googling the symptoms, the NHS search informed me it was a typical 'Tennis Elbow' problem taking IIRC 12 to 24 months to recover...

3 days later beginning to feel better, 2 weeks later as if nothing had ever happened.

So, it was just a strain with similar symptoms ...

It might be ' nothing'. I hope it is...

You know it makes sense.

I've had tennis elbow for 4 -5 years. Two things cause/agitate it, gripping and twisting (think using a screwdriver). It gradually has improved although not gone. Knowing what causes it ensures I'm careful not to make it worse. I used to use screwdrivers all day long with work, now I use an electric one. Wringing out rags etc should be done with care, they are the perfect exercise for shredding the tendons. Skullie

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Isn't a "tennis elbow" just an inflamed tendon? The inflammation should resolve itself in a few weeks.

It could be from one time action, or from repeating actions. But the tennis players usually get it from playing tennis, same action over a long time.

If it's brought on by repeated action, it typically takes longer to heal. Because as soon as the pain decreases, people go back to doing the thing that caused it. Not good. You need to do something to change how you "play" so you don't trigger it again. That takes months.

Those brought on by one time stress, as soon as the pain is gone, it's...gone! You're unlikely to repeat the same action to reignite it.

So, just trim your hedges "normally", avoid the extreme part Toofy Grin

A snowHead

Try getting a Bowen Technique treatment, or two. I had Tennis Elbow and Bowen Technique worked for me - no Doctors or drugs needed.

A snowHead

My Sister was a Tennis Coach for a while and ended up with tennis elbow. It took a while to clear up...and the attention of a good Physio. Apparently the problem, in her case, was coming from either neck, or shoulders (I can't remember now).

So bear in mind, the problem could be coming from elsewhere.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@Old Fartbag, hubby gets it from time to time, and it is usually as a result of problems from his neck.
It can also be caused by too much time typing or using a computer mouse.

There is a trigger point you can use to help the pain. It does work. http://www.easyvigour.net.nz/fitness/hOBP5_TriggerPoint_Tennis_Elbow.htm

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Hey @davidof, How is your tennis elbow now? It was either an acute irritation and better already, as @abc suggests, or a chronic problem that takes about a year to get better.

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I'll let you know when it is better, probably not before the spring.

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My GP told me to wear a wrist brace! Seems contrary, but stops a lot of movement further up the arm. Cheap and worked a treat! (Wear at night as well as as much as possible during the day)

After all it is free

Right, no one seems to know about this, but apparently it's the only treatment for tennis elbow that actually works. You need to get the theraband flexbar (I got the red one, which is fine) and do these exercises:
http://youtube.com/v/A2QQaVfeI4U

The main thing is to get on the case asap, as the longer you leave tennis elbow, the worse it tends to get and the harder it is to fix.

@Scrumpy, Not a full brace, but I wore a lot of tubigrip over wrist and thumb base/hand, or pretty tight sporting wrist support. Helped my tennis elbow flare up a lot, along with the tubi band just below the elbow.

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Slightly off topic, although it was mentioned above, i get golfers elbow (pain on the inside) when doing a lot of poling whilst skiing classic xc (for example when there's been a lot of snow). Only on my left arm. Self diagnosis sugests that if I try and keep my elbow closer to my body it mitigates it but otherwise I get a nasty jolt every pole plant.

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Pain is natures way of letting you know you are still alive.

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I've got golfers elbow (same thing but other side of the bone) from my time on crutches in 2017. No sign of it clearing up just yet.

You know it makes sense.

I have had problems over the years with both elbows.As an electrician it’s a bit of an occupational hazard if your doing a lot of repetitive work .NhS physios didn’t help but my mates wife has a chiropractic clinic and I got deep tissue massages and acupuncture from one of the therapists there and it worked amazingly well and really quickly .Flares up from time to time and I also slap on a lot of voltarol gel and use one of those elbow straps you can buy at boots.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

@Creamer, I tried. No improvement to the tennis elbow but it cured my fear of heights Laughing

No idea how as it seemed like complete mumbo jumbo to me during “treatment”!

A snowHead

@Gordyjh, sorry to hear that Bowen didn't help your elbow. Like I said earlier, I had two treatments a few years ago that sorted me out for good. I've had Bowen for a number of aches, pains, and injuries (mainly due to playing ice hockey) over a long period of time, all I can say is try and understand the 'mumbo jumbo' - maybe a second treatment will do the trick?

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I have had this for a few years associated with weigths in the gym. Have tried all the exercise bands/balls/straps etc. Initial success with steroid injections but returned. Most recently prescribed GTN patches (used for angina) which improve oxygenation to the affected tendon. However it is pretty mild at present and not keen on the GTN headaches so holding off. Anyone got experience of TENS machines or vibration therapy.

I imagine mine will go when I give up the weigths.

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@Creamer, I had 6 sessions!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

I'd say elbow is 85% better now, obviously the end of the ski season helped Happy

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After all it is free

When I had tennis elbow only rest seemed to help.

Help!!

Tennis Elbow

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