wanting update from the guys who had elbow problems a couple months ago

plmb1 · 03-16-2009, 07:19 PM

I started a thread a few months ago asking questions about how to help or heal tennis elbow.........well not much to tell with me except the doc is wanting to do surgery......I'm not ready for surgery myself though. I'm gonna give it till June and if its not any better by then I'll have the surgery.

Anyway, I was just wondering how some of you other guys that was having the problem were doing and what you did or did'nt do to help the problem.........

sytennison · 03-16-2009, 09:08 PM

Wow, you go to your doctor with tennis elbow and he jumps straight to surgery? That seems a bit aggressive. The two doctors I went to with my little elbow problem recommended: giving up weight lifting, NSAIDs, cortisone shots, and physical therapy, in that order. Neither of them even mentioned surgery.

Anyway, my tennis elbow has pretty much resolved itself through a long regimen of avoiding certain exercises, high-rep sets, suffering, and lots of ice. I still have elbow pain, but at least it's no longer tennis elbow.

MuscleSportMag · 03-16-2009, 10:02 PM

Did your doctor have any MRIs done? If it's just 'tennis elbow,' then x-rays won't show anything but possibly arthritis. Soft tissue damage or nerve damage or impingement detection need much more invasive testing done.

MRI (with and w/o dye injected), EKG and (can't recall the exact name now) the electric shock test are all steps that can be taken before opening you up.

Elbow strains are merely part of athletics and as long as the injury is not anything serious (loose bodies, joint locking, subluxation, nerve damage), then it may be something that you will have to learn to live with.

plmb1 · 03-16-2009, 10:51 PM

I have seen two different docs.........they both said the same thing. To take the shots, meds and pt. At first I did not take the shot. But after awhile the pain was so bad I did not give a chit anymore so I went back and got the shot. It did not help at all so he gave another shot. After the second shot the pain lessened for about a week but then came right back. I have done everything the doc/pt said to do but it is not getting anywhere fast.

I stopped working upperbody all together about 2 months ago due to the pain. I still work legs but thats it. I'm gonna give it a few more months and see if the pt will work in the long run. I cant remember what the tech term the doc used but it is something to do with a torn tendon or whatever u call the thing...........anyway, I just wanted to fing out what was going on with the rest of you fellows with this problem.

It sounds like my problem may be a little worse than most........Oh well........they never said it would be easy.........thanks for the info guys...

Kiknskreem · 03-16-2009, 10:55 PM

Have you already been stretching, icing, taking fish oil and iburpofen, and gotten some massage/ART, and a cortisone shot?

All those things should be tried before surgery.

sytennison · 03-16-2009, 11:30 PM

Yikes! If two cortisone shots only bought you one week of relief then your problem is clearly in a different class than mine. Even so, I'd still want some more diagnostic work done before I let a doctor monkey around with my tendons.

plmb1 · 03-17-2009, 12:04 AM

Oh yeah........I have done/doing all the above. It has got a little (very little) better.........thanks for your info......I'm open to anything at this point...

GK-0911 · 03-17-2009, 12:20 AM

Do anything everything to avoid surgey on your elbow, I had surgery 1.5 years ago and am just getting back to the gym in the last two months.

Another factor is I lost about 20% R.O.M, I would be asking the Surgeon about the possibilities of losing R.O.M as it is a given with most elbow surgeries.

Good luck in any event.

m1k3g0rd · 03-17-2009, 06:49 AM

That much pain doesn't sound like classic tennis elbow. I had tennis elbow for around 20 years (from actually playing tennis) and it never lasted that long. Tennis elbow generally goes away by itself, since it's actually tendonitis. Ice, aspirin, rest, etc should make it go away after a few days at the most. In order to make it completely go away, you have to stop the activity that's causing it for a long enough period of time. I stopped playing tennis several years ago and rarely have any elbow pain these days. I also use a neoprene sleeve when I do any kind of arm/shoulder work that might aggravate it - that seems to have stopped it.

BrotherWolf · 03-17-2009, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plmb1

I cant remember what the tech term the doc used but it is something to do with a torn tendon or whatever u call the thing...........anyway, I just wanted to fing out what was going on with the rest of you fellows with this problem.

It sounds like my problem may be a little worse than most........Oh well........they never said it would be easy.........thanks for the info guys...

That's quite different than tennis elbow, if tendon is tore then surgery is the quickest way to repair.. you can try therapy in fact you should see a sport therapist depending on the type of damage you can do rehab and it might work

SamJaros · 03-17-2009, 07:25 AM

I have golfers elbow (opposite of tennis elbow). The only thing I had a lot of pain with is chin ups with palms facing in. I switched to pull ups with palms facing out, and I have had no issues since. If I were to change back they would get inflamed again.
Try changing your exercises to avoid irritating the tennis elbow.
Have you tried using a wrap just below the elbow while working out?

Guinness42 · 03-17-2009, 07:45 AM

I have been grinding through my tennis elbow problem. I tried taking a week off and the pain got much worse. I have been trying to avoid going to the Doc but am probably going to go next week.

Have any of you had problems with it moving up or down your arm? Mine worked it's way down to my wrist and hand and now is also giving me pain in my shoulder. I assume that inflamation is probably the cause. Just wanted to see if any of you have experienced this as well.

DaddyR · 03-17-2009, 09:27 AM

Doc told me to wear the tennis elbow brace at all times except when sleeping and gave me a script for Voltaren gel, both to be used for at least 2 weeks. My health insurance refused to fill the script without pre-authorization and since the doctor's office never got around to doing the pre-auth and my elbow was feeling better after several days of wearing the brace and using the samples of Voltaren gel that teh doc had given me, I stopped both.

Now it's back but not as bad as before. I should have done the full 2 weeks as doc had told me to. So I'm wearing the brace and went out and bought a tube of Aspercreme because I refuse to play games with the da*ned insurance company. It's getting better slowly. I should probably quit upper body workouts completely for a week or so but I'm not ready to get that serious about it.

masel99 · 03-17-2009, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiknskreem

Have you already been stretching, icing, taking fish oil and iburpofen, and gotten some massage/ART, and a cortisone shot?

All those things should be tried before surgery.

This is what I did for 4 months (except the cortisone shot). Plenty of stretching and plenty of ice. No lifting what so ever for 4 months. When I thought I could start back, I started at about 10-25% of the weight I was using before. Took about a good month and I was back to where I left off. I still don't do some exercises and I doubt if I'll be able to do them again. Like Zottman curls and any curls where you rotate you wrists. Also some Tri exercises I stay away from. - Good Luck

sytennison · 03-17-2009, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaddyR

My health insurance refused to fill the script without pre-authorization and since the doctor's office never got around to doing the pre-auth and my elbow was feeling better after several days of wearing the brace and using the samples of Voltaren gel that teh doc had given me, I stopped both.
...
So I'm wearing the brace and went out and bought a tube of Aspercreme because I refuse to play games with the da*ned insurance company.

[rant]
I told both of my doctors that I thought the main reason for the pain in my right elbow was due to a poorly set fracture of my right radius and ulna when I was a teenager which has caused trouble for me my whole life. Both doctors said that they could do no more than prescribe NSAIDs and give me a cortisone shot before trying anything else because my insurance company wouldn't pay for it unless we tried the cheaper treatments first. When I finally worked my way through weeks of useless bull**** and got a referral to a physical therapist, he didn't take my insurance. I tried to get a new referral, but I was on my way out of the country and ran out of time. I'm now back to square 0, my right elbow still hurts (although it's not tennis elbow anymore) and no one has bothered to take an x-ray of the damn thing to validate or rule out my initial claim.

Health Insurance Companies - Interfering with doctor-patient relations since 1929
[/rant]

plmb1 · 03-17-2009, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guinness42

I have been grinding through my tennis elbow problem. I tried taking a week off and the pain got much worse. I have been trying to avoid going to the Doc but am probably going to go next week.

Have any of you had problems with it moving up or down your arm? Mine worked it's way down to my wrist and hand and now is also giving me pain in my shoulder. I assume that inflamation is probably the cause. Just wanted to see if any of you have experienced this as well.

DO NOT WORK THROUGH THIS KIND OF PAIN...........You will make it worse in the long run. Thats one reason my injury is as bad as it is. I did not lay off the gym like I should have at first............You know the saying........."Live to fight another day".........

plmb1 · 03-17-2009, 01:28 PM

Hey guys........Thanks for all the info......I will update you if I find out anything that you may want to hear about.

For now I'm going to stay with leg workouts twice a week and the stretching, exersices, Ice, Tens unit, meds and supps for the elbow....Again......thanks!!!

Guinness42 · 03-17-2009, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plmb1

DO NOT WORK THROUGH THIS KIND OF PAIN...........You will make it worse in the long run. Thats one reason my injury is as bad as it is. I did not lay off the gym like I should have at first............You know the saying........."Live to fight another day".........

I hear you, but my arm hurts worse when I rest it, if that makes any sense.

I am going to get into the Doc. Hopefully I can get an injection and avoid any down time. I do appreciate your advice and your right. have to "Live to fight another day"

plmb1 · 03-17-2009, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guinness42

I hear you, but my arm hurts worse when I rest it, if that makes any sense.

I am going to get into the Doc. Hopefully I can get an injection and avoid any down time. I do appreciate your advice and your right. have to "Live to fight another day"

If it hurts worse when resting.....do light stretching...(very light) until the pain goes away.....of course after you see a doc....

If the doc tells you that you have tennis elbow...first....try going to PT, taking Naproxen, using Voltaren Gel (ask for samples of gel) and lay off the upperbody workouts for a couple months. I know it's tough not to train but if you do as you said......."get a shot and avoid any down time".........that may be a HUGE mistake on your part because tennis elbow heals ONLY through ice, rest, meds and smart PT work.......pretty much in that order.

If after the couple months off with all the above having been done and the elbow is still the same......then, try the shot and go from there......

By the way......if you do not have insurance for PT....(like so many these days) becasue of being laid off or what ever the reason you can get a print out of the stretches/exercises that you need to do from pretty much any PT. You can also go online and find them also. The online stuff is pretty close to the same as what I got from PT.........good luck.

Bando · 03-17-2009, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plmb1

It sounds like my problem may be a little worse than most........Oh well........they never said it would be easy.........thanks for the info guys...

I've had elbow pain for awhile but it sounds like you are in a whole other arena of pain, I hope it does get better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by masel99

I still don't do some exercises and I doubt if I'll be able to do them again. Like Zottman curls and any curls where you rotate you wrists.

It's funny I can't do traditional curls, but hammer curls and BH curls (where I twist as I come up) don't bother me a bit, in fact I think my pain has lessened since I started those twist curls.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guinness42

I hear you, but my arm hurts worse when I rest it, if that makes any sense.

Are you making an effort to rest it with your arm straight out all the time? Someone posted about keeping your arms straight when you sleep and it's helped me a lot.

I'm pretty much pain free by using joint supps, avoiding certain moves, warming up and using elbow sleeves on certain lifts. So I guess I count myself lucky.

edited to add: I also do wrist/reverse wrist curls both ways once a week per my trainers' recommendation