Anybody got any good advice for dealing with tendonitis. I know..”rest” but gotta work .Usually get a bout for a couple weeks a year after laying some block but this ones hangin in there.Wear a elbow brace(Sleeve) but it cuts off circulation after a while.Use a wrist brace too since I think timber falling on it exaserbated the elbow.Strange but picking up wieght is no problem but using a fly swatter is a killer.Gotta use my floor nailer next week ; guess Ill start trying to be a lefty.Not ready to start workin at Home Depot yet!
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
From plumbing failures to environmental near disasters, OHJ staffers dish on our worst and best moments.
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
I use one of those ACE cuffs that goes around my upper forearm, seems to work wonders. I have a hard plastic one, and a soft velcro one with a strap that has a big bulge in it, it works the best.
I too get a bout of tendonitis once in a while and it can last quite a while.Check with a good pharmacist.Last time they recommended a gel-filled brace(don't remember the brand) that seemed to really help.It semi-immobilized the elbow w/o cutting off circulation.It had a hole in the elbow area and was blue colored.I know how it feels.
CLARK DOOR & WINDOW
I told my brother in law this exercise. Most doctors dont know of it but it does the trick.
Face a wall, place your hand on the wall with your arms straight. Now turn your hands in fingers pointing to each other. Fell the tendons in the elbows stretch. Now turn the hands so the fingers are pointing away. Again you will feel the stretch. You will repeat this a few times twice a day. This will stretch the tendons. In most cases the irritation or pain is due to the tendon being tight, not because there is still an injury. Mine has been 90% better and so has my in laws. It really works.
Ace wrap and duct tape.
Ditch
Tendonitis is do to an inflamation of the sheath which surronds the tendon. Moving the tendon only inflames the sheath more causing more pain. My Dr. prescribes Naperson or twice the reccomended dose of Alleve. All the strething and bandages in the world won't remove inflamation.
Works for me.
__________________________________
Rest is still the best medicene. Ask yourself if you had a broken arm what would you do? then find time or a way to give the arm a rest.. Mine has been hanging on for 8 weeks and I simply use the other arm, do less than I want to or have someone help me (something that's very hard for me to do)
The wrap at night seems to help a lot.. the wrap whenever you need to do something helps more.. if you can take the wrap off and let the arm rest..
Try using Bromelain by Country Life. you can get it at a health food store. Take two pills on an emtpy stomach. Twice a day for 2 to 3 weeks. Then once a day. It's a natural anti-inflamatory. It keeps mine in check.
I found that an Air Cast (Velcro band with an air bag that presses on the tendons helped ) The sports medicine doc prescribed 2400mg Motrin a day ,air cast, throw away my Estwing and get a wood handle hammer Ultra sound and laser phisio and rubber band exercises.It took 2 months but I could still work.Trouble is I let it get so bad I couldn't lift a cup of tea or get keys out of my jeans pocket!The arm still has a funny shape to it years later.Try not to let it get really bad!
I have the same problem. Fortunately electricians are bit less demanding on elbows. Not by much but I don't swing a hammer much but we see more, IMHO, twisting action. The shock or hammering the floor machine has to be brutal. My problem, it was just soreness after long days before this, got much worse when a difficult pull gave way all at once and I, with every ounce of weight and muscle straining into the pull, yanked tip of my elbow into the corner of panel box behind me.
If I had planned it I couldn't have done a better job. It felt like the ultimate funny bone hit. Throbbing pain and a weird contradictory numbness from the top of my head to the tips of my fingers. I couldn't make my arm work for about an hour. It blew up after I got home but didn't feel that bad. After a few weeks of light jobs, I lucked out, I though it was healed. The first heavy work day told me it was an on going problem.
That was a few years ago. I still have flare ups but I cope and stay pain free most of the time. What worked for me:
I got two, for when one is in the wash, neoprene wraps with reinforcing 2" Velcro straps. The ones that go above and below the elbow about 6". They are bulky, hotter than hell in the Florida heat and they have to be repositioned every few hours. They do provide the support, cushioning and reminder to take it easy that works during flare ups. They will slow you down and can limit range of motion. But they kept me on the job.
Two smaller, lighter straps that go on the upper forearms. The one I like best has a small air filled bag, about 2" by 3", that is positioned outboard and on the offending ligaments. These I wore on weekends and off hours. They are less supportive but also cooler and less restrictive.
A couple of ace bandages, 2" and a sling. These I wore at night, when I could stand it, or weekends when the elbow was giving me major pain. The greatest improvements came when I kept my arm in the sling for a weekend. No cheating. Use your other hand for everything. The sling helps remind you as much as support the arm.
Get with a physical therapist, dating one helps, that you get along with. A controlled set of stretches and exercises, once you have healed a bit, can return range of motion. Pay attention to stretching the back and neck as much of my pain was radiating from these and not just in the elbow area.
Ice packs after straining the joint and heat before stretching or work help. six ounce paper Dixie cups filled with water and stored in the freezer come in handy. You peel back some of the paper and while holding the base of the cup rub the ice over the entire elbow area until the skin is quite frosty. This also works on knees. Avoid frostbite. This works great after a hot, rough day.
Generic ibuprofen and naproxen sodium are your friends. MSM and condroiten appeared to help with the swelling and healing.
Going to the doctors, at least the two I saw, was an expensive waste of time. The pain pills were nice on weekends but being doped up and working on a live panels is not my idea of fun. Other than the pills they suggested using a support, ice, heat, ace bandages, a sling and perhaps seeing a physical therapist. For $180 and the loss of a days work they told me I didn't have any broken bones, x-ray, and repeated what I was already doing. Gee thanks.
I went long, like that is unusual. I hope some of this helps.
Go see your doctor. He might want to do X-rays on it and /or an MRI. I know this sounds very extreme, but I found out the hard way. I wound up going in for surgery on both shoulders and both wrists. Two different doctors told me that the shoulders should have been done earlier, but the previous doctors kept blowing it of as inflammation. All he did was give me anti inflammitories and exercise. Refused to take the pain pills. The elbows have been a problem but haven't gotten that far yet.
May I recommend Vioxx for inflammation? One 25mg per day is like taking 2400mg of Advil(Ibuprofen). It doesn't kill your stomach either. Available by prescription only
Had it for a while several uears ago. French was right, rest will heal it. And for this injury, you gotta let it heal. Take it easy for now. Let it heal.
The next step is to examine what you are doing to injure it and what changes you can make in your tecknique to prevent future injury. Remember, the pain is the result of injury.
For me, my SIL, a physical therapist, kinda a she-devil angel, pointed out that I picked up heavy objects, like a pail of DW mud, with my wrist facing forward, in effect, hyper-extending the joint. O.K. when the joint is 18 years old, full of piss and vineger, not when it's older.
Instead, she instructed me to pick everything up with the back of my hand facing forward. Huge difference. Also, after a bit of hammering, stop, shoot the sh!t, and stretch the arms. Again, age before speed. Those days have passed.
Also, don't lift idiotic loads anymore. I-beams, 2 bags of cement, 20 2x4x10's. You might be strong enough, but your joints, ligaments and tendons ain't.
I don't suffer from tendontis no more.
DW has this problem with nearly every joint, so acute that " I will not help you build another house" is a direct quote.
2 days rest even between keeping the grandkids does not help her, even after 10 years of numerous medical treatements and opinons (she's 59, GHM if she knows I posted this) Carried the 2 YO upstairs to nap yesterday and felt it today.
So, suggestion is, if your genetics dont let you abuse yourself (luckily I still can occasionally) you are going to either have to tolerate the pain or revise your work or life style. (just an opinion, no research backup other than that DW has never found a cure on internet or within medical profession)
PS edit to Mark in previous post: Our DIL is occupational therapist too, she could not even get any results for DW, thankfully you could from SIL. DW can't even carry the 40# 2YO upstairs without feeling the effects the next day.
Frenchy had some good comments for me last year or before in a post on a similar topic where I complained I could not carry 6 sheets of 1/2 PB at a time up the stairs anymore - use machines Frenchy said - ach me, too late smart, too soon old, etc.
Edited 5/2/2003 1:29:33 AM ET by JUNKHOUND
What you have is the same as tennis elbow, pitchers elbow etc. Much of the advice you have gotten is sound and obviously based upon the personal experience of the writer. See your doctor and get a non steroidal anti inflamment,and a order for physical therapy. You need to get rid of the inflammation before you begin a routine of stretching and strengthening of the forearm. Avoid those motions that cause pain and remember those that don't. Proper lifting techniques combined with bracing (there are many types of braces out there finding the one best for you is a trial and error process.) will offer relief but by themselves are not a cure. If this is from swinging a hammer find one that does not transmit the vibrations through the handle as much. There is no instant cure and it will frequently return. Ice in a plastic bag for twenty minutes on the elbow helps this can be done numerous times during the day. Some one described ice massage this is also an effective way to apply ice about 7-10 minutes per application is sufficient.
Edited 5/2/2003 10:37:15 AM ET by PD
Tennis elbow. I got it 4 years ago by playing tennis. It lasted for a full year in my right elbow, followed by 9 mo in my left elbow. It was, as I'm sure you and every other poster will agree on, debilitating. (I had to give up on tennis-a passion of mine-for about a year and a half.)
As has been said before, ice often, anti-inflammatories, elbow brace (I use the Air Cast), give the tendon a rest, think about what you are going to do and how best to position your body before doing it.
The tendonitis that you may be feeling is caused by microscopic tears in the tendons that connect the forearm muscles to the bone on the upper part of the forearm near the elbow. (Stretch your hand out and clench your fist, if you have pain on the outside of the upper forearm, you have tennis elbow, which is only one form of elbow tendonitis.)
As another poster pointed out, you must determine what caused the tendonitis to appear, and correct it. For me, my killer one-handed backhand was the problem, so I've shifted over to a meek and inconsistent two-handed backhand. But I can at least play now.
I've known some people to have this pain for only a month or two, maybe 6. My playing partner has played with the pain for 4 years. (Too competitive for his own good.) Eventually, if you're deligent, it will go away. When it does, do not think that it not return. I've altered the way I work and play based on preventing tendonitis from returning. Although my elbows have been relatively pain free for almost 2 years, I still wear the air cast elbow brace everytime I play tennis or work on an especially physical job, such as demoing tile walls of any kind of flooring, and I take naproxum sodium or ibuprofen after stenuous work or play to minimize inflammation. As B. Franklin once said, an ounce of prevention is worth as pound of cure.
Now for the disclaimer. I can't vouch for any other poster, I can only say that I am not a doctor. I visited my orthepedic surgeon on several occasions because of tennis elbow. He had two last ditch options which I decided against. The first is a series of 3 steroidal injections. The steroids will make your elbow feel like new. It will last for about a month. There is some success with it (steroidal injections cured my plantar fasceitus, but you must not treat it as fully cured, as it is not. The second and final solution, is surgery. He wouldn't go into much detail, only saying it was not an option he would recommend at my stage, and I didn't press it.
Good luck.
The micro tears in the tendon is a good point. These tears as well as bigger tears in muscle and tendon heal with scar tissue that scar tissue is not as elastic as the tissue around it. And tendons are not as elastic as the muscles they attach to the bones. And in the case of elbow tendonitis these tears occur very close to the attachment point on the bone and may result in some additional calcium being deposited at that point resulting in additional inflexibility. This is where proper care and stretching along with strengthening come into play. It is this increased inflexibility that sets you up for the second and third + episode of the problem. There is always the problem of the older you get the tougher it is to get over these things. Everyone has there favorite brace, medication etc. keeping the tendon warm helps so a neoprene elbow sleeve my help but not anybodys favorite in the middle of a humid summer and for 8 hrs a day. These things where designed for athletes who would wear them for a couple of hours a day not 8-10. There is a new product called Thera patch(?) uses your body moisture and moisture from the air to cause a chemical reaction and generate a mild heating effect. Not real expensive but worth a try. Should be available in most drug stores. And then ice that elbow at lunch and at the end of the day or after that game of tennis. All of the lotions and creams intended for arthritis and muscle aches and pains are not a cure but may offer some relief.
Emu oil??????
I may have something similar. It hurts to make a fist and to lift a skillsaw from the ground. When I shake hands, people think I'm a wimp because I have no grip and squeezing is painful. The pain seems to be concentrated at my right elbow. For the last two months I have been taking Glucosamine 500mg and Chondroiten 400mg, 3 times a day and my elbow is slowly getting better. I am a hard core skeptic and have done research on this stuff and even Dr Barrett at http://www.quackwatch.com can't find anything wrong with it. It seems to be working for me. My grip is coming back and after two months there is still some pain but it is diminishing. When I sleep with my arm under me, it aggravates the condition so I try to keep my arms out from under me when sleeping. My brother had the same thing a few years ago and his pain is completely gone now. He takes one tab of G&C a day for maintainence.
I tried that stuff a few years ago when it became popular; I've had an ACL repair on the right knee and torn cartiledge in the left. The Glucosamine gave me such a headache on the first dose, I've never had the guts to go back to it. Had arthroscopic surgery to fix the cartiledge in the left knee and been fine ever since.
As they say, every body is different. Glad it works for you.
I never met a tool I didn't like!
Beware of Ibuprofen!
By blocking the hormones that cause swelling, Antinflammatories block the very fluids that heal the damaged tendons. I used to get severe tendonitis from carpentry all week and rock climbing on the weekends. I was a heavy Vitamin I user. After I heard this bit of wisdom from a friend in PT school, I stopped using ibuprofen and instead focused on not over gripping and letting the tool do the work.....let the hammer fall on the nail, etc. Voila, I've come close to reinjury but never really do the damage.
"Antinflammatories block the very fluids that heal the damaged tendons"
FC, your friend is misguided. NSAIDS do nothing of the sort. They may keep down the swelling, but that swelling has nothing to do with fluids providing healing. It does keep the joint somewhat immobilized and painful so you don't continue to use it, though. They can tear up your stomach something awful, though, and even affect your kidneys. So take with food and be careful.
Your other advice is very sound.
Wanna try some voodoo?
Take a small towel, wet it with hot hot water and pour ginger all over it. Wrap it around your elbow and leave it on as long as you can, overnight?
I had some ongoing sore wrist/elbow problem? I forget, but this old wife noticed it and made me try it. It worked, so what do you have to lose?
If that doesn't work you could go outside, get naked, run around swinging a chicken over your head, while sceaming " I am ok!". It won't help your elbow, but it keeps the neighbors guessing.
Had same problem and changed over to air driven tools and elbows fine now. With that floor rent a air driven nailer.
Ice is the best way to relieve the inflamation. When I get a bout of it, I ice down in the morning on the way to the job and wear a velcro strap when I am using that arm even with paperwork. Ice down at lunch and on the way home from the job. Ice down at night when you are watching tv. Keep soft hands when picking up things and no handshaking. It will mellow quickly if you do the ice work and pay attention to the soft hands. Exercise will only harm you and delay the healing. GW
When I was still framing houses, my right arm would be sooo sore at the end of a day from swinging an Estwing, that it took two hands to lift my Milwauke saw into the truck. I finally went to a doc, and she gave me a shot of Cortisone(I think) in the elbow. It felt great for a month or so, but then I could feel the pain in all the other joints. Best cure-stop working the arm.
You guys ain't gonna beleive this one.... but I just saw a post about this guy who says he p--s on his hand to releive pain. So here goes .. I use honey bees, yup that's right ... honey bees. Kinda like acupuncture using their stingers instead of needles. It's called Bee Venom Therapy. I use them on my wrists, elbows, lower back and it really works!! Now that you're done laughing, I have tried chiropractors, therapy, drugs and none of them has done much good for me, certainly nothing lasting. The effect of the bee stings lasts for months! (NOTE: If you've ever had a strong reaction to a bee sting this treatment is not recommended.) I also use the raw unpasturized honey for dry skin and for skin abrasions and cuts. It has antiseptic properties and the natural fructose helps in healing. I have two bee hives in my back yard. They are easy to take care of and my 10 yr old son helps and we all enjoy the fresh honey which is much better for you than the stuff in the store which has been pasturized homoginized so all you get is sugar. Anyhow hope you guys have a good laugh ( or maybe even try it) HAPPY HAMMERING Bill D. Quality Wood Chips.
Would like to thank all the folks who replied to my tendonitis query.Doing alittle better this week.STarted taking Ibuporfen ,forced myself to reduce the "things to do list" , ice and switching to lefty on some things.Still feel lucky at 50 to never to had broken a bone,spent a nite in a hospital and no stiches.Only one or two slightly malingering pain problems..one from being a gymnast in school to my wrist and hard to sleep on my right shoulder from a draft horse pulling a poplar log over me after we dragged a yellow jacket hive.
All the suggestions were great..some ill try later..some ill save for last resorts.Really just need a strong new buck or (doe) to take some of the load.
Ouch. Reading this thread brought back some PAINFUL memories.
Rob's All Natural Pain Rub... http://www.rockyforkfarms.com
Amazing stuff
SamT