UKC

I don't know if this is a common thing or not .... I am getting a pain on the inside of one elbow after a good days climbing. This takes many days or weeks before I can climb again, then the same pain returns.

Has anyone else experienced this? If so, do you know how to stop it? It's totally detrimental to training and climbing so any help would be welcome.

Sounds like golfers elbow, very common in climbers. Support straps helped me but the only thing that fixed it was not climbing over lockdown (about 3 months).  

There was an article on here about it and some physio tips etc to help. 

I've had this in both elbows. At about the time it got bad I stopped climbing and travelled for a year. When I got back a year later I jumped straight back into climbing - not good! I think over-training and lack of resting did for me. I just don't think my body shape lends itself to the heavy weight lifting and brutal pull ups regime I was subjecting it to. I found that massaging the the affected tendons (quite harshly) alleviated the aching. Cold weather would be worse. Some folks resort to surgery but I never felt that bothered about climbing to go that far. I've seen some pretty serious looking kit on here for tackling tendonitis - if they don't work they look like you could spice up your sex life with them? Oh and rubberised support straps work too - the ones with a velcro patch that you can tighten quite a bit.

Be careful with this. My advice would be have a read and see a physio. It can be difficult to get the treatment right without help. http://drjuliansaunders.com/ask-dr-j-issue-223-dodgy-elbows-revisited/

Golfers elbow at a guess. I have not had golfers elbow but recently had tennis elbow (similar but pain on outside of elbow.) I invested in an Armaid device and it helped me within days and cured me within weeks. Still use it now for 'maintenance' to stop repeat flare ups. It apparently also works for golfers elbow. Videos available here to explain how it works. 

https://armaid.com/pages/how-to-videos

I’ve had this many times in both elbows over the years but much less so recently.

What works for me is making sure I warm up properly before climbing or training.

Also training the opposite (antagonistic) muscles and ligaments has given my body more balance.  So, press ups and I’s, Y’s and T’s on the rings.  

As others have said, sounds like golfer's elbow. I've had it in both. The eccentric exercises described in the Julian Saunders article linked to above were highly effective for me. Did them fairly intensively to get rid of it and now just do a weekly session which has kept it at bay ever since.

This article from John Roberts has a useful summary:

https://johnroberts.me/outdoors/2016/03/10-things-ive-learned-about-climber...

Find a good protocol for isometrics and you'll be sorted. 

Go and see a physio. A good one will diagnose the issue and give you a bunch of exercises to do. These will eventually fix the problem, so do them. I've found keeping a pain diary very useful to ensure that I don't push the rehab process too quickly, and to convince myself over a course of weeks or months that rehab is actually happening. As per John Roberts' blog linked to above, you have to elicit some pain, but not too much. Getting this right is difficult.

If you are just climbing, resting and then starting climbing again, you will never be rid of your elbow problem...

As others have said, sounds like Golfers Elbow, surely one of the most common injuries/conditions to be found in climbers?  In fact is there anyone who hasn't had a touch of this from time to time?!   

Dave MacLeod talks about it here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iMueqiCsVI&t=214s and covers the treatments and prevention exercises extensively in his Make Or Break book.

However if it's really early stages and not severe, you might find the miracle stretch Tom Randall describes here works for you https://tomrandallclimbing.wordpress.com/2012/11/23/golfers-elbow-a-possibl...  

Occasionally I get a bit of this in my left elbow, usually if I'm on a training regime which involves a lot of fingertip pull ups, but I've found if I make sure to warm up correctly and do this stretch every evening for a week or so I'm cured BUT this doesn't work for everyone...

However as others have said, if you are able to see a physio, preferably one who deals with climbers a lot, then absolutely do so.  

I found this quite useful. Pretty much went away after a week. I used a lighter weight than mentioned  

youtube.com/watch?v=J9MV8b2Xll8&

I also stretch it out while doing my warm ups by lowering myself down on a big hold with most of my weight on my feet on down climbs. Rarely have any pain now.

...this Julian Saunders one vimeo.com/110276040 and finding the correct angle is essential.  I used to have lots of flare ups when I only climbed once a week, climbing 2-3 times a week seems to have helped (tendons like consistent load, which is why the eccentrics work)

http://drjuliansaunders.com/dodgy-elbows/

I used this guidance many years ago. My symptoms were exactly the same as yours, mine 'popped' on a climbing wall when I hadn't warmed up properly.

first thing is you need a diagnosis and I'd consult a doctor and get a referral.

Broadly speaking, this and the Dave Mcleod methods are broadly the same which is eccentric exercising of the tendons. also learning to climb 'open handed'.

The other bit of advice (I'm not a medical professional in any way) is you need patience. This is a long term slow heal, slow build, but mine eventually settled and I've never had recurrences.

Best of luck.