Doug Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 I woke up with the worst case of tennis elbow this morning. At least that's what I think it is after spending a couple of hours of research on the internet. How can this happen? I didn't do anything to cause this as far as I know. I havent paddled since Saturday and it's Thursday already. Has this "just happened" to anyone else. Is there a quick cure? Need to paddle in 2 days. Help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spuglisi Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 I woke up with the worst case of tennis elbow this morning. At least that's what I think it is after spending a couple of hours of research on the internet. How can this happen? I didn't do anything to cause this as far as I know. I havent paddled since Saturday and it's Thursday already. Has this "just happened" to anyone else. Is there a quick cure? Need to paddle in 2 days. Help! Never just woke up with it but I've had overuse issues. The neoprene forearm straps offer some relief but if it persists for no apparent reason you might want to have it looked at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob budd Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 My shoulders can get into a similar state if the arms remain in a bad position while sleeping. A day or two and some vitamin I usually work along with a few PT stretches. I've actually found in the last year or so that wrist, elbow, and hand pain can originate in the shoulder not unlike the way sciatica can present as apparent discomfort in the legs. I can't say if that's what you are experiencing, best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grl Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 Give yourself some time off. Your body is telling you something, and "quick fixes" are myths. If it doesn't improve with rest, see a professional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdkilroy Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Ice, NSAID's (ibuprofen, aleve what-ever your favorite flavor is) and don't piss it off. Be consistent with your treatment. I have had it on both sides; at times so severe I couldn't get a coffee cup to my lips. It has never been affected by or prevented my paddling. (I wonder if that is a benefit of that 360 degree feather I use.) Push-ups seemed to help as well. best of luck, Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Posted October 1, 2010 Author Share Posted October 1, 2010 Ice, NSAID's (ibuprofen, aleve what-ever your favorite flavor is) and don't piss it off. Be consistent with your treatment. I have had it on both sides; at times so severe I couldn't get a coffee cup to my lips. It has never been affected by or prevented my paddling. (I wonder if that is a benefit of that 360 degree feather I use.) Push-ups seemed to help as well. best of luck, Jon Jon, I can't believe I can do push-ups with this elbow! Doesn't even bother it yet I have trouble holding a cell phone to my ear. Perhaps I have IPE (I-Phone Elbow). Super dosing Advil now. Haven't missed a weekend paddle since February, not about to start now. Thanks everyone for your feedback so far. It's tough getting old... Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdkilroy Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Doug said: "... I have trouble holding a cell phone to my ear." Interesting observation Doug. I use speaker phone almost exclusively now to avoid having my arm in the phone-holding position for any length of time... that really seems to annoy my elbow. Keep doing those push-ups... the problem will resolve and you'll be a stud. By the way, go easy on the ibuprofen (Advil), 400 mg three x per day (with food and plenty of water) is enough. Do it for a couple weeks as though you were taking an antibiotic. It is consistency that is most important here. You aren't treating pain, (because you're not pissing it off, remember?) you are treating inflammation. Slow and steady wins the race here. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subaruguru Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Many folks, including myself, find Alleve (naproxen sodium) to be better tolerated by their GI than ibuprofen or aspirin. You can easily get cheap scripts for 250 and 500mg tabs, and can take 1.5g/day for a week, tapering to 1/2 or 1/3 ad infinitum, as I do to prevent flares of psoriatic arthritis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prudenceb Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 I'd up that ibuprofen to 600 mg three times a day - prudence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhunt Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 I think is worth a try. I hate the hype but I tried it anyway (different exercise) for Golfer's elbow and it did seem to help. I just got one, not the whole set. Not an instant answer but it might help avoid repeats. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pintail Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Doug, you are going to have to do that excercise of paddling with straight arms, aren't you? (As well as being excellent for enforcing torso rotation, it <does> bring relief, I assure you -- I, too, have had a sore elbow this season; but from what I suspect has been a hairline crack in the head of the radius) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Posted October 1, 2010 Author Share Posted October 1, 2010 UPDATE #1: 22 hrs later.... On a scale of 1-10, 10 being where the pain was at 10PM last night after a brisk 2 mile walk, I am at a 7 this morning at 9AM. With 1200mg of Advil in my system since 11AM yesterday, 10-15 push-ups each time I medicate and after a good nights rest, things seem to be improving. My goal is to do an easy 12+ mile Squam Lake paddle tomorrow (48 hrs after the flare up). All your feedback has been appreciated. I'm contemplating switching to Alleve today (Earnie's sugestion) to soften the blow to my GI and appreciate all the suggestions you have all shared. Thanks Jon for the professional feedback as well. Perhaps we should create an MD section to our message board. This topic appears to have a positive result for this paddler. I will bring up the idea at the next board meeting if others think it could have a positive impact for the club members and the general kayaking community. Food for thought... Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lallen Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Doug, you may want to see whether the Ibuprofen or Naproxen Sodium is better on your stomach. I found the Naproxen Sodium actually gave me worse GI issues-may be my system. Also, I second the opinion of listening to your body and if it's telling you to rest, take a break and get it checked out. I learned this the hard way with knee pain I chose to ignore a number of years ago and kept pushing. Your body does talk and sometimes it better to ease up for a short period vs doing further injury and paying the price for a longer time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Nystrom Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 FWIW, I've had MUCH better results with Naproxen (Aleve) for inflammation relief (tendonitis, bursitis). Aspirin, Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen do very little, but Naproxen provides fairly rapid pain relief and typically kills the inflammation entirely within 48 hours. To prevent any GI issues, you must take it with food. Doing that, I've never had any problems with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulieC Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Since "tennis elbow" and the opposite "golfer's elbow" are both overuse injuries, I would pipe in here and say that listening to your body is wise and allow for some rest. It is really hard to do when you don't want to miss a weekend of paddling, too! Ice is your friend! As an LMT, it is beyond my scope of practice to recommend anti-inflammatories, but listen to what your friends, MD's and others may recommend. Ice in itself is an anti-inflammatory. Stretching is good and there are strenghtening exercises that can help. Also find a massage therapist in your area who understands working with injuries. Massage can make a world of difference with tennis elbow. I have also found that Kinesio Tape can help too. Attached is a link to an article I give to my clients on Tennis Elbow. It was originally written for MT's so skip over the massage part, but there are a couple of good stretches and easy exercises with pictures that I give it out for that reason... http://benbenjamin.com/pdfs/06JJ.pdf If the problem really persists -see a Dr and get a referral for PT. Good luck and I hope you heal quickly!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Posted October 1, 2010 Author Share Posted October 1, 2010 UPDATE #2: 3:30 PM FRIDAY My Doc prescribed: 1. Advil 800mg every 8 hrs w/food and 2. a "Medrol Dose Pac" (MethyIPREDNISolone) over the next 6 days. 3. Also, a neoprene forearm strap as Sal mentioned earlier. I'm hoping the Dose Pac will give me rapid releif and allow me to paddle tomorrow. That is the goal. I hope I don't screw things up for myself, we'll see. He said nothing about ice but I will add that and continue the push-ups as per Jon's advice. Pain level deminished to 50% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djlewis Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 I think is worth a try. I hate the hype but I tried it anyway (different exercise) for Golfer's elbow and it did seem to help. I just got one, not the whole set. Not an instant answer but it might help avoid repeats. Lisa I don't think you need that gadget -- reverse and forward wrist curls might do the trick -- looks about the same from that picture. They did for me, for both tennis elbow and wrist tendonitis (at different times). Of course, that's not a quick fix, but assuming it works for you, it is a permanent one, and requires no drugs, gadgets or physical therapists (which may be why it's rarely mentioned in the literature). Think of it as a winter project to get ready for next season. My only warning is to start with extremely low weight (like 2lbs/hand) and increase it slowly. Even in the end, favor high reps over heavy weight. But eventually you can work up to the exhaustion point and keep increasing that. <b>Just go slow</b> -- repeated for emphasis. Update -- the article posted by JulieC does mention reverse writs curls and has a specific regime for them. Looks like a good article in general. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djlewis Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 FWIW, I've had MUCH better results with Naproxen (Aleve) for inflammation relief (tendonitis, bursitis). Aspirin, Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen do very little, but Naproxen provides fairly rapid pain relief and typically kills the inflammation entirely within 48 hours. To prevent any GI issues, you must take it with food. Doing that, I've never had any problems with it. Ibuprofen works fine for me, at least on the inflammation from my shoulder with osteoarthritis. If I take one dose an hour before launch, another at lunch, and, if it was a hard day, another in the evening or before bed, I find the next day and after to be pretty pain free. If I don't do this, then the shoulder gets started in an inflammation/pain cycle that takes days to calm. Acetaminophen, on the other hand, does nothing for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pikabike Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 I had a bad case of tennis elbow that began in late winter 2009. I brought it on with a home renovation project and LOTS of drywall mudding and taping. Paddling didn't hurt it but didn't help, either. It only went away this year, though the worst part was the first few months. In addition to scarfing Ibuprofen (tapering later to nothing), I backed off anything that caused the pain to flare up, and I rubbed Icy Hot on the entire forearm and elbow in the evenings. Not every night--just when pain was enough that it might keep me awake. I kept a container of Icy Hot starting decades ago. It's good for both joint pain and just plain old sore muscles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdkilroy Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 I would be VERY cautious about using aspirin or anti-inflammatories (ibuprofen, Aleve etc) at the same time as oral steroids unless you are looking for a fast track to an ulcer or a GI bleed. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Posted October 3, 2010 Author Share Posted October 3, 2010 I would be VERY cautious about using aspirin or anti-inflammatories (ibuprofen, Aleve etc) at the same time as oral steroids unless you are looking for a fast track to an ulcer or a GI bleed. Jon UPDATE #3 Hey Jon, Got your advice (above) a bit late. There has been much advice from so many good people including conflicting doc instruction. Since I know you care more about me than my new Primary Care Physician, I think I will cut out the Advil immediately and run the course on the steroids only. Perhaps a new Primary Care is in order. After I asked him if he received my medical history from the previous practice (3 months ago), he said he wasn't sure and had a pile to go through on his desk. Yikes! That's another good topic... "How do you know you have chosen the right physician?" The good news was that I woke up yesterday 90% pain free in my elbow. Used the Greenland stick the first 7.5 miles and kept a mellow pace. Switched to my "Ikelos" on the return and left the group for a final 3 mile sprint back to the launch as I was running late for an important engagement last night. "Yikes", so un-CAM like of me. I feel like things are moving in the right direction. I sincerely thank everyone that took the time to share their knowledge on this topic. Happy paddling... Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djlewis Posted October 3, 2010 Share Posted October 3, 2010 I woke up with the worst case of tennis elbow this morning. I just reread that. If this is a completely new thing for you, then it's not tendonitis -- that comes on slowly, not all at once. So it's probably a pulled tendon/muscle or something else acute, and will clear up with some rest. In fact, sounds like that's what is happening. Happy (pain-free) paddling. --David. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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