Kettlebell Any suggestions with Elbow tendonitis issues?
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offwidth
Level 10 Valued Member
E-stim: Electro Stimulation.
patterner
Level 5 Valued Member
This really helped mine (I had medial epicondylitis).
Tendons are (pardon the pun) a real pain to rehab since they're non vascular. One method I've heard of is to do really high rep (but low load) exercise to really "piss off" the tendon and increase inflammation acutely to help bring more blood flow to the area to increase healing:
Elbow Tendonitis: How It Occurs and What to Do About It | Jordan Burnett
Address the problem NOW and save yourself some heartache down the road. Do not fall into the trap of missing training or completely avoiding movement patterns. An injury like this must be trained through in order to make it heal effectively. Take it from me, layoffs do not work.
Edit to add: The "piss off" part was what it felt like the Tyler Twists were doing when I did them. I hated that Therabar so much, but after about the second week, the pain started to subside, and by week four I was pretty much pain free.
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Bauer
Level 8 Valued Member
Btw, I have often found that my joint problems mostly don't come from training per se but from overuse during work or prolonged asymmetrical posture (for example, sitting in a certain way at the desk).
Training usually highlights this and might be the trigger, but not the cause. I find that Original Strength resets are great for preventing this kind of issues
MarkSch
Level 6 Valued Member
This is my semi-regular posting of the Tyler Twist /Theraband links. It cleared up both golfers and tennis elbow very quickly and easily, and I still do them from time to time to keep in shape:
I never actually used "The Stick" from the above links, only the green level Theraband. Good luck!
I never actually used "The Stick" from the above links, only the green level Theraband. Good luck!
Steve W.
Level 8 Valued Member
Lots of possible causes, and lots of possible treatments, so the trick is finding a treatment that fits your cause. A fix that a hundred other people swear by may do nothing for you. I've had some very severe and persistent golfer's elbow symptoms at various times, and tried almost everything that is commonly recommended -- stretching, eccentric wrist and arm curls, eccentrics with a dumbbell loaded on one side, all kinds of trigger point and soft tissue techniques (lacrosse balls, Arm Aid, voodoo floss, The Stick, etc.), finger extensions with rubber bands, you name it, with mostly no effect.
About the only thing I never tried is the FlexBar Tyler twist and reverse Tyler twist, but I must say that's one that I've seen a lot of positive testimonials for.
But here's a fix that worked almost instantly for me:
Get a lacrosse ball and find a doorway or outside corner between two walls, such that you can pin the ball between your pec and the wall and extend you arm on that side in front of you. With your arm at your side, roll the ball around to different places on your pec until you find a tender spot. Keep the ball pinned in that spot and move your arm up and down, from your side to out in front above parallel with the floor and back, about 10 times. Keeping the ball pinned and moving your arm works much better than just rolling or pressing on the trigger point. Then roll around to find another tender spot and repeat until you hit all the tender spots you can find, all around your pec area.
Yes, working on the pec instantly improved my golfer's elbow pain and completely eliminated it after a few days of regular treatment. Now, whenever I get an occasional flare up, I use this method and it continues to work.
If this works for you, you will feel a lot better immediately. If not, then this fix doesn't address your particular cause.
BTW, when it comes to KB exercises, I've found that keeping a partially bent elbow under tension is a recipe for elbow irritation. A partially bent elbow pulling against the bell or getting pulled straight by the force of the bell, as in a swing or the drop of a clean or snatch = medial pain (golfer's elbow). A partially bent arm supporting the bell, as in a get up, or the lockout of a press or snatch = lateral pain (tennis elbow).
It's really easy to fool yourself and think you are locked out when you are only ALMOST locked out.
About the only thing I never tried is the FlexBar Tyler twist and reverse Tyler twist, but I must say that's one that I've seen a lot of positive testimonials for.
But here's a fix that worked almost instantly for me:
Get a lacrosse ball and find a doorway or outside corner between two walls, such that you can pin the ball between your pec and the wall and extend you arm on that side in front of you. With your arm at your side, roll the ball around to different places on your pec until you find a tender spot. Keep the ball pinned in that spot and move your arm up and down, from your side to out in front above parallel with the floor and back, about 10 times. Keeping the ball pinned and moving your arm works much better than just rolling or pressing on the trigger point. Then roll around to find another tender spot and repeat until you hit all the tender spots you can find, all around your pec area.
Yes, working on the pec instantly improved my golfer's elbow pain and completely eliminated it after a few days of regular treatment. Now, whenever I get an occasional flare up, I use this method and it continues to work.
If this works for you, you will feel a lot better immediately. If not, then this fix doesn't address your particular cause.
BTW, when it comes to KB exercises, I've found that keeping a partially bent elbow under tension is a recipe for elbow irritation. A partially bent elbow pulling against the bell or getting pulled straight by the force of the bell, as in a swing or the drop of a clean or snatch = medial pain (golfer's elbow). A partially bent arm supporting the bell, as in a get up, or the lockout of a press or snatch = lateral pain (tennis elbow).
It's really easy to fool yourself and think you are locked out when you are only ALMOST locked out.
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BrianCF
Level 7 Valued Member
This really helped mine (I had medial epicondylitis).
Tendons are (pardon the pun) a real pain to rehab since they're non vascular. One method I've heard of is to do really high rep (but low load) exercise to really "piss off" the tendon and increase inflammation acutely to help bring more blood flow to the area to increase healing:
Elbow Tendonitis: How It Occurs and What to Do About It | Jordan Burnett
Address the problem NOW and save yourself some heartache down the road. Do not fall into the trap of missing training or completely avoiding movement patterns. An injury like this must be trained through in order to make it heal effectively. Take it from me, layoffs do not work.startingstrength.com
Edit to add: The "piss off" part was what it felt like the Tyler Twists were doing when I did them. I hated that Therabar so much, but after about the second week, the pain started to subside, and by week four I was pretty much pain free.
I have the green Therabar at home. That F@#$%ing thing irritated my tendonitis and probably made it last longer than it should have. Hate the Therabar. Still have nightmares from it.
Bauer
Level 8 Valued Member
Funny thing is, I have used the same technique (pin and move) on the pec and it relieved my sharp shoulder pain that I'd had for years within days, giving me full overhead ROM. It was the only thing that worked. (I then used Dead Bugs and TGUs to strengthen the newfound ROM and movement patterns).
Steve W.
Level 8 Valued Member
Good choice of words...
Pain is a funny thing (strange, not "ha ha"). It's often an artifact of the nervous system without a clear immediate cause. So the key to treating it is not necessarily to stretch this or strengthen that, or to rest or repair damaged tissue (although in many situations those things do work and are necessary), but to find indirect ways to reset or reprogram the nervous system to respond differently. Figuring out how to do that can be a mysterious and frustrating, trial and error process.
elli
Level 10 Valued Member
The Tendonitis Cure
Fix Your Elbow, Knee, and Achilles Pain Nagging joint pain - everyone deals with it at some point. But don’t think a little time off is going to cure it. Be proactive to get long-term relief. Here’s how. It happens to almost every athlete and dedicated lifter: tendonitis. And when it really...
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patterner
Level 5 Valued Member
It definitely makes it feel worse before it feels better....I think I powered through...3-4 weeks maybe, and then over one weekends rest it just disappeared.
Greg H
Level 5 Valued Member
I recovered from golfer's elbow this year after months of S&S. All mentioned already, but I used the Theraband (3x10, 3 x a day), Voodoo Floss (2x a day) and hand stretches (1-2 times a day) for maybe a month. It took about 6 weeks to clear up, thought definitely felt longer. The first two weeks there's definitely some "this is never going to heal" fear. I also switched from S&S to one of the Pavel 2 handed swing protocols for a while. I didn't have pain with two-handed swings.
While I am not 100% positive, I believe the TGU were the issue for me, but at first I thought it was the swings. I noticed that with the 32kg, my wrist was slightly bent back/palm up during the raise to elbow portion. I discovered that this position caused pain in my elbow.
While I am not 100% positive, I believe the TGU were the issue for me, but at first I thought it was the swings. I noticed that with the 32kg, my wrist was slightly bent back/palm up during the raise to elbow portion. I discovered that this position caused pain in my elbow.
CMHoward
Level 6 Valued Member
THE
Im constantly having elbow, both Tennis and Golfer Elbow from weighted pull ups and heavy swings.
This item fixes it every time...EVERY time.
Theraband Flexbar.
Im constantly having elbow, both Tennis and Golfer Elbow from weighted pull ups and heavy swings.
This item fixes it every time...EVERY time.
Taylor Rimmer
Level 4 Valued Member
Go to grassroots self treatment website (no affiliation), and get the elbow video that corresponds with your tendinitis (golfer or tennis). Great work that’s helped me & several of my clients. I think it’s $10 or so.
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