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Elbow recovery

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Earlier in the year I developed "golfers elbow" on my left side. I think this was a consequence of trying to climb too much really steep overhanging stuff that was a bit beyond me. Anyway, it got quite uncomfortable, so I did a similar thing as I do with finger injuries I've had by resting it for a few weeks, then climbing easier stuff so as not to aggravate it. So now, after about 5 months, it still hasn't completely gone, although there is very slow but continual improvement. I've cut my climbing volume down, and only spend a short time now and then working steep stuff, but I can still feel it a little if I press a finger against the end of the tendon, and also more generally after a longer session climbing.

So, what I'm looking for is some accounts of how others have managed this (recovery time, recurrence etc.) so I can get an idea of how this problem is likely to go longterm. I'm not looking for links to articles on what to do as I've already googled all that.

 Dandan 23 Aug 2018
In reply to wurzelinzummerset:

I'm in the final stages of recovery from golfers, I'm at the point now where I can climb normally and just need to deal with some soreness afterwards, this soreness is on a general slow decline and as it no longer inhibits my climbing and it's not getting worse, I largely ignore it.

Dropping volume was the key for me to start recovery, I could still climb hard(ish) as long as I didn't do it for too long and didn't ignore any signals that the elbow gave me. Sometimes sessions got cut short, sometimes things felt great, but while I continued to push the limit a little while paying attention to my body, things improved.

My one other tip, which may well be specific to me, is that when the muscles involved in golfers get sore and tired, the pronator teres takes over more than it's share of duty and gets really tight.
Find the bone on the inside of your elbow, move along the forearm about an inch onto where the flexor carpi and palmaris longus are, then move in towards the centre of the elbow joint about an inch where you should find the bulge of the pronator teres. The first time I located this muscle I thought it was a bone protrusion, it was that hard! Give it a good massage in the muscle belly, well away from the attachment point, and it should ease up the golfers soreness almost immediately. I found it was best done after climbing or when you had at least a days rest planned before more climbing.

Good luck!

 

 lorentz 23 Aug 2018
In reply to Dandan:

Agree. Muscle tightness played a large part with mine.

I'm not being paid to say this next bit, and I'm not connected in anyway to the maker...

The relief that the armaid massage device bought to my golfer's elbow can't be described. It was the best £100 I ever spent.... Not cheap, but helped with the symptoms so much. Don't really get golfers elbow anymore, use the device if I start to feel the familiar twinges coming on and they ease off again. Good luck.

 nniff 23 Aug 2018
In reply to wurzelinzummerset:

 

This:

https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/skills/how_to_heal_elbow_tendonitis-361...

 

Weight and clips available from Decathlon for less than £5.  Works well

 nniff 23 Aug 2018
In reply to wurzelinzummerset:

 

This:

https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/skills/how_to_heal_elbow_tendonitis-361...

 

Weight and clips available from Decathlon for less than £5.  Works well

 The Lemming 23 Aug 2018
In reply to wurzelinzummerset:

 

> So, what I'm looking for is some accounts of how others have managed this (recovery time, recurrence etc.) so I can get an idea of how this problem is likely to go longterm.

Last September my elbow pain got so bad that I was diagnosed with Tendonopathy.  It got to the point that it hurt using a zip or picking up an empty mug.  The only thing that will get rid of your elbow pain is to rest the elbow.  It took me seven months to recover enough to get back to work, let alone go climbing.  If you rest now then you have a chance to take considerably less time to recover.

Every time you go out to play, you are aggravating the tendons around your elbow. 

2
 GDes 23 Aug 2018
In reply to The Lemming:

I wholeheartedly disagree with this advice. Having suffered from golfers elbow and various other tendon issues, the physio advice and my experience has always taught me that rest is not what fixes tendons. Carefully prescribed, progressive loading exercises fix them. One physio put it as "tendons stay as they are. If they're weak they stay weak, if they're damaged they stay damaged, if they're strong they stay strong. Unless something happens to them".

The bottom line is, go and see a physio, ideally one who knows about climbing. If you can't find one, I can recommend Julian Saunders via Skype. Not cheap, but then if someone offered to make them better with their magic wand for £100, would you do it? 

 David Bennett 23 Aug 2018
In reply to wurzelinzummerset:

You might not like this reply so apologies in advance......

Like me you are no spring chicken and will take longer to recover. I had a real problem with my right elbow when I was in my late 40s after going hard following a 10 year break from climbing. I tried everything, eccentrics, rest, drugs, physio. Nothing worked. Eventually I had a medial epicondyle tendon reconstruction and have never looked back. 3 months recovery. Just be sure you don't have an ulnar nerve problem since tendon and nerve issues at the elbow are easily confused and the treatment is very different. 

HTH

 

 marsbar 23 Aug 2018
In reply to GDes:

I've got ongoing tendon issues in my wrist.  I was under the impression I must rest it so all the inflammation is gone (which takes longer than I'd like) before doing strength exercises.  

 The Lemming 23 Aug 2018
In reply to GDes:

> I wholeheartedly disagree with this advice. Having suffered from golfers elbow and various other tendon issues, the physio advice and my experience has always taught me that rest is not what fixes tendons.

You are indeed correct, rest alone does not fix the problem.  When I said rest I should have qualified it by saying rest from climbing or heavy lifting such as lifting your own body weight up through your arms.  I have a modestly physical job where at times I have to lift heavy weights.  I was off work for seven months and during that time I followed sound medical advice and followed appropriate exercises to strengthen my muscles and allow my tendons to get used to heavy weights.  It took ten months before I felt confident enough to return to climbing without worrying about injuring myself again and not being able to do my job.

However the OP asked about recovery time.  I gave my account of a chronic elbow injury and how long I refrained from climbing or lifting heavy weights equivalent to climbing forces exerted on my arms.

Acute tendon injuries heal quickly however I'm guessing that the OP's injuries have developed over time rather than a one off injury while climbing.  I could be wrong, but I'm guessing that the elbow injury has been festering for some time.

> The bottom line is, go and see a physio, ideally one who knows about climbing.

I whole heartedly agree, and I spent a small fortune privately seeing a physio once or twice a month for seven months.  I saw it as money well spent, as it kept me my job.

I still stand by my advice to rest, as in resting from heavy lifting or exercises that put great strain on elbows.

 

In reply to Dandan:

> I'm in the final stages of recovery from golfers, I'm at the point now where I can climb normally and just need to deal with some soreness afterwards, this soreness is on a general slow decline and as it no longer inhibits my climbing and it's not getting worse, I largely ignore it...

I remember reading here a while back you had elbow problems, over what sort of time has this all occurred? I think I backed off before things got too bad earlier in the year, so I'm hoping things will continue to improve if I'm sensible. I climbed yesterday for a few hours indoors  and this morning the only discomfort I get is if I push on the affected area or try to pick up a very heavy weight with that one hand.

 

 

Thanks for all the other responses. Any others I'd be interested in reading.

 james.slater 24 Aug 2018
In reply to wurzelinzummerset:

I developed golfers elbow heading into winter 2016, which was probably associated with an increase in more intense indoor climbing, and specifically hard bouldering. I ignored it for a while (dont we all!), but it soon become bad enough that it cut some sessions short due to pain. I attempted antagonist exercises by myself through the winter which gradually improved it. This was 3 times a day, 3 times a week at least for about 3 months. I saw the physio at my local climbing wall because improvement seemed to plateau off to a point where it was sore warming up and post climbing, but fine during climbing. He basically told me to keep hammering the antagonist physio, but dont stop climbing. And I also introduced various pushups into my warm up. 18 months on and I still do a couple of quick sets of elbow antagonists and push ups as part of my warm up, and my elbow is pretty much fixed. I occasionally have soreness but this is only after a particularly harsh session or route. 

It takes time, a long time if you ignore it! I think I read somewhere than tendons only start to respond to a repeated input after several months, at which point you have to do even more to help it heal. Rest would be the worst thing at this stage, you need to climb to let your tendon know what will be expected of it, but not to push it too far. This is a fine line and my recovery wasnt a linear progression, you will get to know your own body eventually.

 JR 24 Aug 2018
In reply to GDes:

> I wholeheartedly disagree with this advice. Having suffered from golfers elbow and various other tendon issues, the physio advice and my experience has always taught me that rest is not what fixes tendons.

Agree, same as my experience in general.

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

 

 TCP 24 Aug 2018

Had tennis from work and then golfers from using a moon board. The easiest way to deal with golfers was to stick to vertical walls or gentle overhangs - ease off from bouldering. I used a circuit board instead. The biggest break through was use a dumb bell bar with a 1kg weight on the end. Rest your arm on your leg and ten let the bar fall (resist the weight slowly) to the horizontal (starting from vertical) away from the inside of your elbow. Go online or have a look at some Dave macloud books to see it in action.

It sorts golfers out really quick - if you continue to boulder on steep stuff or keep hammering your arm whilst doing it don't expect it to work. Doing nothing does not help. 

The same method works for tennis but I found not as well - you get tennis from crimping or squeezing. A sports masseur who really gets in there worked but it took time. I climbed all the way through recovering from both.

 

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