Tennis/Golfers Elbow??

Venetian · 06-12-2006, 01:41 PM

Does anyone have this problem and is there a solution??

Has anyone tried deep laser massage with any success?

Thanks for any info on this.

jester911 · jester911's Garage

http://www.tenniselbow.org/

Joeaksa · 06-12-2006, 02:43 PM

You did it too long! You were supposed to stop when you needed glasses, now, well, now its a whole different story!

Howard Agency · 06-12-2006, 03:18 PM

Realllly old joke

Tennis Elbow
A man complained to his friend "My elbow hurts I better go to the doctor." "Don't do that," volunteered his friend "there's a new computer at the drug store that can diagnose any problem quicker and cheaper than a doctor. All you have to do is put in a urine sample, deposit $10, then the computer will give you your diagnosis and plan of treatment."
The man figured he had nothing to lose so he took a sample of urine down to the drug store. Finding the machine, he poured in the urine and deposited the $10. The machine began to buzz and various lights flashed on and off. After a short pause, a slip of paper popped out on which was printed:

You have tennis elbow. Soak your arm in warm water twice a day. Avoid heavy labor. Your elbow will be better in two weeks

That evening as the man contemplated this breakthrough in medical science, he began to suspect fraud. To test his theory he mixed together some tap water, a stool sample from his dog, and urine samples from his wife and teenage daughter. To top it all off, he masturbated into the jar.

He took this concoction down to the drug store, poured it in the machine, and deposited $10. The machine went through the same buzzing and flashing routine as before then printed out the following message:

Your tap water has lead.
Get a filter.
Your dog has worms.
Give him vitamins.
Your daughter is on drugs.
Get her in rehab.
Your wife is pregnant.
It's not your baby - get a lawyer.
And if you don't stop jerking off, your tennis elbow will never get better.

Noah930 · Noah930's Garage

deep laser massage = crap

Which one do you have, tennis elbow or golfer's elbow?

K.B. · 06-12-2006, 05:14 PM

Had golfers elbow for about 12 months before I even knew what it was. An A.T. showed me an exercise/ physical therapy that made it feel a lot better in about another 2 months.
With your hand in front of you, fingers pointing up, twist so fingers point inward. Use other hand to supply pressure as you move from a fully bent elbow to a straight arm. Repeat several times a day.

Gettin old is rough!

Venetian · 06-12-2006, 07:18 PM

I have golfers elbow(inside pain) and has made use of my arm almost impossible. I know if I didn"t do anything for several months it would go away(past experience) but would quickly return if used(eg golfing).

Noah-have you had personal experience or knowlege of deep laser massage?

I guess I"m getting desperate.

trekkor · 06-12-2006, 08:56 PM

Massive doses of B-6 and B-12 helped me quite a bit...

jester911 · jester911's Garage

I am not a golfer but a tennis player. It has been my experience that most cases of tennis elbow occur because of improper swing in repitition.

Once you get rid of the pain after lay off you should get your swing fixed through proper instruction.

No remedy will cure it until the swing is fixed.

It is true in tennis and I am pretty sure it holds true in golf as well.

ErVikingo · 06-13-2006, 05:34 AM

I use on of the Aircast tennis elbow straps (with some success). Might get a shot to fix it...

Racerbvd · Racerbvd's Garage

I've been trying a herbal patch called PRO-SERO for my arthritis joint pains, they seem to be working. You might want to check them out.

http://www.proseropatch.com/

M.D. Holloway · 06-13-2006, 08:09 AM

I got the corizone shot in the tendon - that didn't feel very good for the first 30 seconds then it was great. I followed up with the strap thing. Haven't had it come back. Do the shot.

steve911 · steve911's Garage

LubeMaster's got it right -- cortisone shot and the strap. I also did localized ice to reduce the inflammation and rested it for several months to allow the area to heal.
Have been pain-free for several years now.

Noah930 · Noah930's Garage

There is no conclusive evidence supporting the use of laser massage in treatment of epicondylitis.

Here are the things that can help:
Behavioral modification (Stop doing whatever is causing the pain. If you have golfer's elbow, stop picking things up with your palm up, or with the object away from your body. If you have tennis elbow, stop picking things up with your palm facing down. Most people with the ailments don't play golf or tennis.)
Stretching exercises (If you have golfer's elbow, stretch out the forearm flexors by putting your arm out straight in front of you, palm up, and use the other hand to bend backwards--dorsiflex--your wrist. If you have tennis elbow, do the "opposite" by putting your arm out in front of you, palm down, and use the other hand to flex down--palmarflex--the wrist.)
Counterforce strap (strappy thing just distal to the elbow, works by re-distributing the force of pull on the common flexor/extensor tendon, much like sliding your hand up and down the frets of a guitar)
Steroid injection
Surgery

Regardless of whatever type of treatment you seek, about 70% of people get better in a year.

Venetian · 06-14-2006, 05:12 AM

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions-much appreciated.

Nathans_Dad · Nathans_Dad's Garage

One caveat on the corticosteroid injection:

There is a risk of tendon rupture with any steroid injection and several muscles attach at the epicondyles. In our rheumatology department they do steroid injections for epicondylitis only as a last resort and then with strong cautions to the patient to take it REALLY EASY on the arm for at least a month.

Just FYI.

Noah930 · Noah930's Garage

Yes, that's a risk. We mention it to patients whenever we give them steroid injections. Fat atrophy and lightened skin pigmentation are 2 other things we mention. But it's extremely rare for tendon rupture to occur. I wouldn't say never, but rare enough that it's not a realistic problem. Rule of thumb: don't have them more often than about one every month, and don't have more than 3 injections in the same spot. There's no research out there which documents that 3 injections are safe, and 4 are not. But no one is really brave enough to deviate from this standard of care. Still, take it easy after the injection. The steroid usually takes 1/2 to 1 week to take effect, so until then your elbow may actually feel somewhat MORE sore. You can ice the elbow the night after the injection.

Jamie79SC · 06-16-2006, 07:32 AM

Had it off and on for 15+ years. In the end I was in constant pain.

Cortisone worked great but only lasted for a few weeks. Finally, I submitted to the re-attachment surgery. A friend who is an ortho surgical assistant warned me that recovery would be 12 to 18 months and would be a b!tch. He was right, BUT after 18 months I was almost completely cured. Three years on, I'm about 90% good.

The surgery is awful, but my outcome was very good.

Venetian · 09-01-2006, 11:00 AM

Well after 5 mons of serious elbow pain, I had a cortisone shot 4 days ago. As of yesterday the elbow feels much better with almost all the pain gone.

Hopefully this is more than a temporary fix. My concern now is how do I prevent this from re occuring?? Obviously I"m off golfing for a long while. I plan to not strain the arm at all for at least a couple of weeks then slowly start stretching and exercising it using a light (5 lb) dumbell.

Does anyone have other suggestions. I am very concerned about this happening again. Has anyone heard of prolotherapy for this problem.

Thanks again for any info!