[tnichols]

I "injured" my right elbow in June of 2008, oddly enough clearing storm damaged trees at our local range. I originally thought I was just sore from an activity I don't normally do, but the pain just didn't go away within a week or so. Through a little internet research, I self diagnosed it as "Tennis Elbow". I have tried RICE (rest, ice, compression, and elevation), two months of daily ultra sound therapy, physical therapy, cortazone injections, etc... All the while, all but quitting shooting. My 20,000 round a year habit, and all dry firing ceased. I went from shooting 3-5 days a week to 3-5 days a month, hoping the rest would maybe solve this. Here I am 9 months later, with little to no improvement and my skills fading. The pain is on the outside of the elbow, and is most noticeable from 80% extension on out in a strong Iscosilies (spelling?) stance. It is a hot burning pain, and really gets intense as you get to full extension and grip the the gun correctly. It's easy to say, just suck it up and fight through the pain mentally, but it's strong enough that your body reacts to it in negative way, altering your grip and arm position. I have been using a arm band from the onset, but it doesn't seem to help, other than it protects the inside of your forearm from the grip tape tearing it up during the draw. I have a appointment this coming week with a specialist. This has been extremely difficult for me, mostly mentally, as I live to shoot and compete. Have any of you folks experienced this same problem, and what did you do to solve it? I'm all ears!

[PINMAN44]

Hey

I'm sorry to hear about your ailment. I used to treat patients with lateral epicondylitis "tennis elbow" with E-Stem and ice. when I was interning as a rehab aid. My only suggestion besides consulting your physician would be as many preventative measures as possible. Such as an anti-inflammatory (NSAID) before practice(as long as your not allergic etc.) as well as some rehab exercises. Braces are good, you want to avoid surgery! After practice the same measures should be taken into account. If your not allergic to shellfish I would recommend a joint supplement. As many preventative measures as possible without causing more potential harm. I would consult a physician before doing anything, they know more than us.

Good luck and I hope everything goes better!

Robby

This post has been edited by PINMAN44: 28 January 2009 - 02:14 PM

[North]

I’m with you brother. I had surgery on 9 May 08, and it looks like I'll have a second surgery in mid February. Good news is my surgeon says that studies show the second surgery has an 85% success rate.

[PINMAN44]

Good luck bro, I hope everything goes smoothly. Take it easy North

[North]

Avoiding surgery was not an option with me as I had a torn tendon.

[DarthMuffin]

Sorry to hear about it. I tried everything mentioned, and more. After fighting it for two years my only option was surgery. The surgeon found a bunch of scar tissue, which may be what is causing your problems since it's gone on so long. That was in Oct of '07. Surgery sucks. Recovery is long and painful but the good news is that the general pain was instantly better as soon as I came out of the operation. Your arm will be pretty much immobilized for several weeks, you'll have VERY limited use for several more weeks, then limited weak use for a few months. By about Mar/Apr of '08 I was shooting again. I'm still not 100% but it's 80% better, it hurts if I overdo it still, and I feel that I'll be doing strengthening exercises on it the rest of my life (if I stop it gets worse again).

[tnichols]

Thanks for the advice. I'll be interested in seeing what the specialist says. I would really like to avoid surgery, if for no other reason that I would miss out on this upcoming season. Then again, at best, I'm only at 60-70% with it the way it is. Single Stack looms in the not to distant future, and I'd like to be fairly squared away going in to that one.

[Surge]

If you've already done everything else, then your options are:

1) Surgery
2) Live with it and hope it goes away on its own if you try to avoid the things that hurt.

Option 2 works 80% of the time within 1 year for all comers. Recycling through therapy after therapy is expensive and the therapy techniques are highly variable.

There is no magic treatment.

[ExtremeShot]

I had major tennis elbow from shooting...I started using a forearm brace (designed for tennis elbow) while shooting. It took a while to get used to, but it eventually made the pain go away.

D

[AustinMike]

I had an elbow problem that was causing a lot of pain about 2 years ago. I just thought it was "tennis elbow", but it kept getting worse and I went to a specialist. I forget the correct medical terminology, but what happened is the the tissue around the ulnar nerve in my elbow was swollen and pinching down on it. 8 weeks of physical therapy and exercises got rid of it for me. Hope a specialist can get you fixed up without surgery!

[badchad]

tnichols, on Jan 28 2009, 02:02 PM, said:

I "injured" my right elbow in June of 2008, oddly enough clearing storm damaged trees at our local range. I originally thought I was just sore from an activity I don't normally do, but the pain just didn't go away within a week or so. Through a little internet research, I self diagnosed it as "Tennis Elbow". I have tried RICE (rest, ice, compression, and elevation), two months of daily ultra sound therapy, physical therapy, cortazone injections, etc... All the while, all but quitting shooting. My 20,000 round a year habit, and all dry firing ceased. I went from shooting 3-5 days a week to 3-5 days a month, hoping the rest would maybe solve this. Here I am 9 months later, with little to no improvement and my skills fading. The pain is on the outside of the elbow, and is most noticeable from 80% extension on out in a strong Iscosilies (spelling?) stance. It is a hot burning pain, and really gets intense as you get to full extension and grip the the gun correctly. It's easy to say, just suck it up and fight through the pain mentally, but it's strong enough that your body reacts to it in negative way, altering your grip and arm position. I have been using a arm band from the onset, but it doesn't seem to help, other than it protects the inside of your forearm from the grip tape tearing it up during the draw. I have a appointment this coming week with a specialist. This has been extremely difficult for me, mostly mentally, as I live to shoot and compete. Have any of you folks experienced this same problem, and what did you do to solve it? I'm all ears!

Sounds like tennis elbow but see the specialist to be sure. Then read my paper: http://absolutept.co...rticle_html.htm

... and watch my video: http://www.youtube.c...h?v=T-6bMamqCn0

I haven't had the time to make a more professional video but the one I did gets the point accross.

[CHARLES D]

I had the same problem a few years ago. After being involved in a car accident, I went to a Chiropractor for severe back pain. The Chiropractor put a stimilase electrical shock electrodes on my back. During a visit, I asked the Chiropractor if I could get the electric stimulase on my elbow. Surprising enough, my elbow pain went away after a few sessions. Good luck to you.

[Paul Burtchell]

Check for your nearest provider.
http://www.activerelease.com/


ART is a patented, state of the art soft tissue system/movement based massage technique that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves. Headaches, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, shin splints, shoulder pain, sciatica, plantar fasciitis, knee problems, and tennis elbow are just a few of the many conditions that can be resolved quickly and permanently with ART. These conditions all have one important thing in common: they are often a result of overused muscles.


How do overuse conditions occur?
Over-used muscles (and other soft tissues) change in three important ways:
acute conditions (pulls, tears, collisions, etc),
accumulation of small tears (micro-trauma)
not getting enough oxygen (hypoxia).
Each of these factors can cause your body to produce tough, dense scar tissue in the affected area. This scar tissue binds up and ties down tissues that need to move freely. As scar tissue builds up, muscles become shorter and weaker, tension on tendons causes tendonitis, and nerves can become trapped. This can cause reduced range of motion, loss of strength, and pain. If a nerve is trapped you may also feel tingling, numbness, and weakness.


What is an ART treatment like?
Every ART session is actually a combination of examination and treatment. The ART provider uses his or her hands to evaluate the texture, tightness and movement of muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments and nerves. Abnormal tissues are treated by combining precisely directed tension with very specific patient movements.


These treatment protocols - over 500 specific moves - are unique to ART. They allow providers to identify and correct the specific problems that are affecting each individual patient. ART is not a cookie-cutter approach.


What is the history of Active Release Techniques?
ART has been developed, refined, and patented by P. Michael Leahy, DC, CCSP. Dr. Leahy noticed that his patients' symptoms seemed to be related to changes in their soft tissue that could be felt by hand. By observing how muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments and nerves responded to different types of work, Dr. Leahy was able to consistently resolve over 90% of his patients' problems. He now teaches and certifies health care providers all over the world to use ART.


Worked great for me when I was powerlifting.

This post has been edited by baerburtchell: 29 January 2009 - 04:57 PM

[AWLAZS]

badchad, on Jan 29 2009, 08:19 AM, said:

tnichols, on Jan 28 2009, 02:02 PM, said:

I "injured" my right elbow in June of 2008, oddly enough clearing storm damaged trees at our local range. I originally thought I was just sore from an activity I don't normally do, but the pain just didn't go away within a week or so. Through a little internet research, I self diagnosed it as "Tennis Elbow". I have tried RICE (rest, ice, compression, and elevation), two months of daily ultra sound therapy, physical therapy, cortazone injections, etc... All the while, all but quitting shooting. My 20,000 round a year habit, and all dry firing ceased. I went from shooting 3-5 days a week to 3-5 days a month, hoping the rest would maybe solve this. Here I am 9 months later, with little to no improvement and my skills fading. The pain is on the outside of the elbow, and is most noticeable from 80% extension on out in a strong Iscosilies (spelling?) stance. It is a hot burning pain, and really gets intense as you get to full extension and grip the the gun correctly. It's easy to say, just suck it up and fight through the pain mentally, but it's strong enough that your body reacts to it in negative way, altering your grip and arm position. I have been using a arm band from the onset, but it doesn't seem to help, other than it protects the inside of your forearm from the grip tape tearing it up during the draw. I have a appointment this coming week with a specialist. This has been extremely difficult for me, mostly mentally, as I live to shoot and compete. Have any of you folks experienced this same problem, and what did you do to solve it? I'm all ears!

Sounds like tennis elbow but see the specialist to be sure. Then read my paper: http://absolutept.co...rticle_html.htm

... and watch my video: http://www.youtube.c...h?v=T-6bMamqCn0

I haven't had the time to make a more professional video but the one I did gets the point accross.

I have been using Chad's exercise. It works for me. I have seen improvements in a week. Pian free no but better.

[tnichols]

Thanks to all who replied with advice and encouragement. I gained alot of knowledge, and it helped me to be more informed going into my meeting with a specialist. I feel very fortunate to have found a local specialist that listened, and better yet, didn't seem at all offended by the gun "thing". We talked for at least 45 minutes, and formulated a plan. What we ended up doing was another shot of cortisone (he felt the first one wasn't "placed" correctly), 30 days straight of NSAID's, and physical therapy with another visit scheduled in 60 days to check progress. Thanks again to all that replied and I'll keep you posted on the progress.

[DarthMuffin]

Good luck with it.

When you get to the excercise point, in addition to Chad's exercise there are two more that I do which help. If you do PT after the cortisone, you might see exercises like this. #2 really helps.

1) hold a long heavy object like a 4D mag light or pipe wrench (maybe start lighter) by the end (so it's pointing upwards out of your hand) and slowly rotate your wrist through a 180 degree vertical arc.
2) you'll need to make an aparatus for this. Take a wood dowel, about 1-1.5" across (broom handle works, but thicker is easier to grab), about 18" long. Drill a hole crossways through the center and tie on a piece of paracord or light rope, enough to reach the ground from a standing position. Tie a weight onto the string (I'm up to a 3lb dumbell) hold the dowel in front of you horizontally and "winch" it up and back down, then winch up and back down rotating the opposite direction.

[badchad]

tnichols, on Feb 5 2009, 12:51 PM, said:

Thanks to all who replied with advice and encouragement. I gained alot of knowledge, and it helped me to be more informed going into my meeting with a specialist. I feel very fortunate to have found a local specialist that listened, and better yet, didn't seem at all offended by the gun "thing". We talked for at least 45 minutes, and formulated a plan. What we ended up doing was another shot of cortisone (he felt the first one wasn't "placed" correctly), 30 days straight of NSAID's, and physical therapy with another visit scheduled in 60 days to check progress. Thanks again to all that replied and I'll keep you posted on the progress.

I think your specialist is NOT abreast with the current scientific research with regards to treating tendinitis type injuries. Research has shown that in the long run, those who have corizone injections are worse off than those who don't have any treatment at all:

http://www.ncbi.nlm....1?dopt=Abstract

[barry]

I had the same thing a few years ago. Doctor perscribed Anti -inflam.(meloxicam 15 Mg).Cleared it up in 2 weeks to point i could shoot pain free.For last 2 years I take them for a few days before a major match and have no problems.

Barry

[tnichols]

I'm in the process of reading Chad's paper. I'm unable to veiw the video, because at work we are unable to veiw anything on you-tube. The doc has me on the same stuff that Barry used. We'll see how it goes.

[BillL223]

I developed a "tennis elbow" problem when shooting very high power bowling pin loads (plus the two times a week practice plus match on weekend). I agree with "Extreme Shot", tennis elbow brace was the answer.

[Tokarev]

ExtremeShot, on Jan 29 2009, 06:42 AM, said:

I had major tennis elbow from shooting...I started using a forearm brace (designed for tennis elbow) while shooting. It took a while to get used to, but it eventually made the pain go away.

D

Is this a tennis elbow splint? Something like this?

Cho-Pat

[ExtremeShot]

Tokarev, on Feb 18 2009, 02:51 PM, said:

ExtremeShot, on Jan 29 2009, 06:42 AM, said:

I had major tennis elbow from shooting...I started using a forearm brace (designed for tennis elbow) while shooting. It took a while to get used to, but it eventually made the pain go away.

D

Is this a tennis elbow splint? Something like this?

Cho-Pat

That's it.

[patrik]

Try this...

Patrik
Tennisarm

[DarthMuffin]

If you're looking for a forearm brace I went through several of them. The one that worked the best for me, and help up the longest (still have it just in case), was the BandIt:
http://www.amazon.co...sl_4mo84zcoyb_b
(the non-magnetic one)

[stipo]

Hi, I feel yer pain!
I've been through it in both elbows, always on the outside of the elbow. Went to a friend who is a local orthopedic surgeon (if you follow college bball, it's Tyler Hansbrough's dad...I played against Dad back in the day!) and he recommended the NSAID route coupled with therapy. I took Feldene (best available b4 the new crop like Celebrex and Vioxx) daily for about a month.
The therapy was to lay the arm on a chair arm as you sit in it....or lay it on your thigh, seated. If your elbow is too sore to use a dumbell, then he said to start "with a can of beans" or whatever. I was able to do the dumbell.
With your lower arm resting flat on your leg, chair, etc, do a series of wrist-only curls with whatever weight is comfortable. I got to where I'd let the weight roll as far down my fingers as possible before beginning the lift. Then rotate your wrist and do the same set of curls reversed. IOW, one set palm up, then palm down.
I did both arms 'cause I'm just that way.....worked up to 40 lbs, 3 sets of 16 reps each way. It doesn't necessarily strengthen the tendon that is painful but the others are strengthened so that they "help" the sore one. Inside a month my pain was gone.
The other time was not as bad, I used Alleve and excercise and cleared it up.
If age is a question, I was in my 30s the first time, late 40s the other.
Hope this can help you, I know how bad it can be.
Incidentally, I originally injured mine with poor backhand form on the racketball court.

Stipo again.

I forgot to mention that I used an elbow brace as well. Mine was cloth that wrapped around the upper forearm and fastened with velcro.

This post has been edited by stipo: 11 March 2009 - 08:40 PM