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nikhylo
Feb 17, 2014, 3:27 AM
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I know there is a lot of posts about tendonitis but I still seem to be at a bit of a loss for where to go from here. I started climbing a year ago and was climbing a lot indoor and out. After about 3 months I started to have some problems in my right arm with what was diagnosed by a very reputable sports therapist as tendonitis so I underwent lots of treatment with him and at home including cold massage and lots of time with tens machines, I continued climbing whilst still in pain but continued treatment for another 3-4 months until the end of the summer and decided to take a break through the winter as it seemed to be getting worse. I continued treatment during the winter and the last few months havent had any pain so I decided to start back at the indoor gym a few weeks back. Did 2 days climbing low grade routs without an issue, went back today and to do the same and started to experience quite a large amount of pain after my 2nd climb to the point that I couldn't climb again. I would have thought that 6 months and continuing treatment would have done the trick. Anyone have any tips or suggestions on what could be done from here. I cant do another summer with the same pain. Thanks!
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onceahardman
Feb 17, 2014, 12:06 PM
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The e-stim is not likely to be effective.
Ice massage can help you to be more comfortable at rest, but will not really cure anything either. The problem is not that your elbow is too hot.
Where, as exactly as possible, do you feel the pain? And what motions/exercises, specifically cause you the most pain?
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marc801
Feb 17, 2014, 3:36 PM
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onceahardman wrote: Where, as exactly as possible, do you feel the pain?
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nikhylo
Feb 17, 2014, 5:39 PM
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Thanks for the reply. As the image shows, the area circled is where most of the pain is concentrated leading to the upper side of the elbow and the line down the forearm shows where the pain runs when climbing. I was woken up numerous times last night while lying on my right side (the effected) because I couldn't find a position to lay in that wouldn't hurt
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Photo on 2-17-2014 at 10.31 AM.jpg
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morcomm
Jul 24, 2014, 6:46 AM
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Many tendonaglias (aka tendonitis) are conditioned pain syndromes programmed into the central nervous system. In other words, they're learned behaviors that can be deprogrammed (i.e. unlearned). A wise sport therapist may have some better suggestions that yours truly. But I would suggest breaking up the habitual ways you go about working out and doing your routine in some new order. Obsession and self-imposed stress are your two greatest enemies.
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DouglasHunter
Jul 29, 2014, 5:31 AM
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nikhylo wrote: Thanks for the reply. As the image shows, the area circled is where most of the pain is concentrated leading to the upper side of the elbow and the line down the forearm shows where the pain runs when climbing.
Your photo indicates multiple muscles / tendons that could be involved. I would go to one or more doctors to have your pain evaluated and hopefully diagonised correctly. It seems unlikely that you have a simple [sic.] case of tendonitis. Or there may be more than one issue in that arm.
Also, it's not really enough to say "I have tednonitis." when talking to the doctors get the specifics, you should be able to tell a thrid person what muscles / tendons are involved, what the treatment is and why. I know this can be hard, I talk to athletes after they have visited a PT and most athletes can't tell me what the problem or the treatment is. Ask lots of questions, take notes! Its your body it should not be a mystery to you. good luck.
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shockabuku
Jul 30, 2014, 12:35 AM
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Looks a little different than the typical medial or lateral epicondylitis.
I've had lateral epicondylitis in both elbows over the last two years. Not climbing doesn't seem to help. Less intense climbing (i.e. not bouldering or pushing hard routes) may allow better recovery. I've found some combination of eccentric weight exercises and stretching helps. I also use a compression sleeve and massage which may or may not help. It definitely is a long recovery process, like on the order of 5 months or more but gradual progress is seen.
It's no fun; good luck.
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rxb609
Aug 12, 2014, 10:19 PM
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I'm not a doctor or physical therapist, but have had experience with tendonitis. For me it was the medial (inner) tendons on both arms. Also, I had some tension/inflammation in my lower bicep tendon at the elbow joint. (the area you circled in your picture)
I had gotten heavily into pull-up sets years back, and when I took vacation, strangely enough, is when the tendons started aching. And it was insidious. I stopped altogether, but whenever I would come back to climbing, the inflammation would come back.
For me, the two things that helped were:
1. backing off of bouldering, particularly at my "red point" level. I stick to on-level (or just below) top rope routes.
2. Massaging out the lactic acid from my forearms and biceps everyday. It was pretty interesting to see that relieving tension and soreness buildup in the musculature then gave some relief at the tendons, as well.
Not saying it's perfect now, but it is much improved from before. It has made this condition - for me - more manageable.
Good luck.
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Sparkington
Nov 12, 2014, 10:51 AM
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Just posted this to "new climber medial epicondylitis". It's not exactly the same issue that you're describing, but this stretch has helped me a lot. Hopefully it helps you out.
I also got an armaid device. They're phenomenal. They're pricey, but totally worth it in my opinion. I never use the leg strap though, and the everything in the DVD can be found on the website. It's not rocket surgery. If I had to do it again, I would've bought "just the armaid" and the medium gray rollers (for more sensative tissues). Sounds like you might need something on the softer side. Anyway, not trying to sound like i'm selling something, it's just helped me a lot.
here's the stretch
Sparkington wrote: I was having this issue too. I tried a lot of the stretches I found on the internet, and nothing particularly helped. I mentioned it to my brother who does static and flying trapeze, and he suggested the following. His take on the injury was that it was the finger flexor tendons getting tight, irritated, and bunched up. 1. I hold my arm straight out to the side palm outwards. 2. I pull my fingers as vertically as possible while at the same time trying to push my palm away from my body (I can't emphasize the push enough). When I do this, I lean into it, and try to stretch everything from my wrist to my shoulder. 3. When things start getting a bit tingly and the stretch starts wearing off, I tilt my head away. It gives just a little bit more. When I do it right, I feel the stretch all through my flexors all the way to my medial epicondyle. I can never get my fingers totally straight by the way. It's helped me a lot. I've seen people doing something like this stretch, but they tend to do it passively; they put their hand in this position and lean it against a wall. This does put the flexors in a relatively stretched position, but I've never "felt" the stretch when I do this. The thing about this that works for me is actively trying to stretch my arm as far as possible. It's a static position, but by pushing my arm out and trying to keep my palm and fingers as vertical as possible, I feel a stretch all through my arm. I feel like I've done a poor job at describing this, so I took a few photos. http://imgur.com/a/eRiFL I felt a little silly at first standing in the gym doing a "stop" motion with my arm, but since I've started doing it, my medial epicondylitis has gone away. I was also having occasional pain when i released my grip quickly, and that has disappeared too. When I started doing this, I was doing it about twice a session for ten seconds each side. Now I do it about once a week. |
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