Anyone got any experience of this and how to get ride of it? I’ve had it for about three weeks now and although it’s not getting any worse it isn’t getting any better either. I’ve found a load of stuff on the ‘net that I’ll try such as icing it, heating it and some strengthening movements but what has actually worked for you if you’ve had it? -do I have to stop riding bikes?

Give the tennis a miss for a while ?

Ive had tennis and golfers in different arms, latest tennis was getting worse for 3 months, tried rest and ice but had to stop ride. ended up getting GP to refer me to physio and she did course of stretches and ultrasound which didn’t really help. So then sceptically agreed to acupuncture which was pretty much an immediate improvement, carried on with that and after about 6 visits the arm mostly better. Golfers was sorted by a physio massage after months of pain.

I’ve found a load of stuff on the ‘net that I’ll try such as icing it, heating it and some strengthening movements

Pretty much that. Ice and ibuprofen to take the inflammation out after exercise. Deep heat to improve bloodflow inbetween.

Strengthening exercises involved a dumbell and one weight on an end (i.e off center) then with forearm on the arm of a chair lift the weight up with the other hand, and let it rotate the wrist outside a number of times, then repeat to the inside, then with a normal dumbbell do the same thing bending the wrist up/down. You’re not trying to lift the weight, just slow it down.

Change hands at 100.

http://drjuliansaunders.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/ri_dodgyelbow.pdf

is helpful in many cases.

cheers Spoon, that’s the sort of thing I need to start doing I think. It’s not that bad that I can’t ride or exercise, I have been doing yoga and spent the w/end in Wales riding, although it does seem a little more irritated today after rattling my bike round Cwmcarn. It began out of nowhere, a few Saturdays ago for no reason at all whilst I was fettling around with my bikes it just decided of it’s own accord to get slowly more painful as the day went on. The following morning I had to dump the kettle in the sink whilst filling it up because I couldn’t hold on to it! I has subsided since then but it’s still not right. It didn’t like being knocked into a door frame this morning either 🙁

that article looks good as well Martin, thanks for that I’ll have a read a bit later on.

Deep heat to improve bloodflow inbetween.

I’m always slightly suspicious about the efficacy of Deep Heat seeing as it’s basically just a skin irritant/counterirritant (methyl salicylate).

Eccentric exercises seem to be key for tennis & golf elblow (and also many other forms or tendonitis)

I found the following quite useful at alleviating my symptoms – it’s pretty much a video of what TINAS described:

https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=3614

You can buy arm straps that apply pressure on the tendon, my mate is sure it helps him riding but I couldn’t notice any difference using one.

There are exercises involving using a small dumbell (2kg worked for me) and flexing the elbow ligaments by supporting the forearm with the wrist joint on the edge of a table, lifting the dumbell with the opposite hand and then slowly letting the wrist drop in 5 seconds. It is all about extending the tendons by controlled dropping rather than trying to lift the weight. Another variation is to reverse the wrist position so the back of the wrist faces down and lift the dumbell so you are in effect still stretching the tendons This worked for me and I have had it on & off for 18 months or so. Look on the net for proper instructions. Strangely enough I find riding the road bike aggravates it more than the mtb

Eccentric loading seems to have the most effective outcome for the largest number of people

[video]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MJSFelLK8Oc[/video]

Is it definitely tennis elbow?

do I have to stop riding bikes?

Is it cycling that is causing the pain?

Might have to lay off the death grip descents for a bit. Or at least soften up your rebound. Basically you’re pissing it off and getting it inflamed, so if you ease off a bit, it could well go away by itself. Keep pissing it off, and it could be a long-term PITA.

Try changing your wrist position slightly by rotating your brake levers. Might feel odd, but could stop you stressing the same point in your elbow.

Do you play PC games/console – I found that this was aggravating it more than my climbing.

I had/have the golf version..

Tried exercises as above, large hammer for the twisty exercise.

Mine was worse after carrying bag type stuff with it partially bent under tension, the GP thought the cycling was probably not the cause.

I found the velcro strap with the lump that presses on the tendons helped but tended to move when riding.

I started using Ergon gp2 grips with the tab bit on, not sure if it helped but they seemed to suit me.

Anyway, went to see GP after more than a year and within a minute or two i had an injection which was “uncomfortable”…. it was almost an instant fix and lasted more than 6 months. After then it was never as acute as before. I am still aware of it occassionally but nothing like before so a gòod result.

Chris

Get a sports type massage on it, the type that smashes up the muscle so it is bruised for a couple of days. Then again if it doesn’t start to get better. Add some of those exercises or those gyroball type things that you grip and spin, climbers use them.

I’ve had both tennis and golfers.

Ive had it twice… First time I bombarded myself with ibuprofen for a week(gp’s suggestion) and bought wider bars for the cross bike. The second time , more ibuprofen and forced myself not to sleep on my arm .

Dry needling.find a physiotherapist that does it. Could be spasmed muscles. Or find the trigger points and apply pressure with your own thumb or fingers by yourself.

But I’d start with a physiotherapist

thanks again for the responses, here’s a few answers to the questions

Is it definitely tennis elbow?[/I] yes, NHS physio said it was last Monday

Is it cycling that is causing the pain? no – see above my original post, it started for no reason whatsoever about 3 w/ends ago one Saturday afternoon, I havn’t done anything different to my usual routines. I can feel it whilst mountain biking but biking doesn’t appear to make it worse – it does feel like it’s getting better slowly

Do you play PC games/console no- only typing on a laptop at work.

I had it for well over a year. Acupuncture worked for a few days but it soon returned and I was on Ibuprofen for months. Injections worked for a few weeks but you are limited to how many you can have and the medical people seem to be steering away from them from what I’ve been told. I did the arm/wrist exercises and rode my bike more. The bumpier the better as it seems to stimulate the blood flow. If I don’t ride for 3 or 4 days or so it returns, then goes away again after a ride. I was told by the physio NOT to ride…………..It was aggravated most by changing gear on the back pull (HGV).

biking doesn’t appear to make it worse – it does feel like it’s getting better slowly

This would suggest a tendonosis rather than a tendonitis to me – the distinction is the the latter will probably go away by itself with rest, the other one won’t.

If you’re already seeing a physio, see if they can work on the attachment points and the muscles that serve the elbow. And talk to him/her about the right eccentric exercises. It could be that the dumb-bell stuff will be too much for it at this stage (going by the kettle incident you described). Using therabands might be better.

Another good ‘light’ eccentric exercise is to stand straight, put the palm flat on the wall with fingers pointing up, use the affected elbow to lower your body weight into the wall, but, importantly, use the other arm to help push your body weight back out again. 10 reps each side is normally plenty.

Mine hung around for years in both elbows. Needed two hands to drink a cup of tea.

Had the release operation in the end and been pretty good ever since.

It’s a ridiculous condition really!

It’s a bastard of a thing to get rid of.
I’ve had it from climbing and it kept me out for at least a year.
The exercises definitely work but it creeps up on you very slowly and I nearly gave up as it seemed like nothing was happening.
I started climbing again in the end on the recommendation of a fellow climber who’d had this and literally climbed through it and this is what I think sorted it out. Reckon it took over a year all told but seems ok now a year on. As said it’s a stupid injury that sounds innocuous but can really impact on everyday tasks quite a bit.

Good luck though