New Tennis Elbow Therapy

[atgm]

I was reading the NYT and came across this new tennis elbow therapy that seems to be an effective treatment for the pain and loss of strength. Since I remember seeing that some people here have tennis elbow from either kendo or other activities, I figured it would be worth posting.

One of my friends who's been doing kendo for over half his life is only 24 and he has pretty bad tennis elbow too.

[Kendoka]

I was reading the NYT and came across this new tennis elbow therapy that seems to be an effective treatment for the pain and loss of strength. Since I remember seeing that some people here have tennis elbow from either kendo or other activities, I figured it would be worth posting.

One of my friends who's been doing kendo for over half his life is only 24 and he has pretty bad tennis elbow too.

Thanksfor the link.

[ben]

Very interesting therapy for tennis elbow. I like that kind of thinking.

Another elbow injury common to kendo is "kendo hiji" or kendo elbow. It is similar to what some baseball pitchers get. The full name in English is "Elbow extension posterior compartment syndrome" and it most commonly occurs in kenshi who has been practicing for an extended period of time (15-20 years+). A full and excellent explanation by Dr Saburo Arima can be found in Kendo World magazine vol 2.3.

b

[Idyllic]

What does tennis elbow feel like? and when does it hurt when doing kendo? I remember a kendoka telling me that her elbows hurt after i strike and bulldoze straight through the centre.

[Karaken]

Thanks for the post. My wife could have saved several month of pain and agony and even alergic reaction to the creams that were applied based on the recommendations of physical therapist. After visting Orthopidist ( They call them here in PT ) and Thermatalogist. She's almost OK. What Orthopidist shown her was extending move by flexing her wrist down and twist but this one with Rubber Bar does appear to be more effective. Oh well 5 months too late but better than never.

[Karaken]

What does tennis elbow feel like? and when does it hurt when doing kendo? I remember a kendoka telling me that her elbows hurt after i strike and bulldoze straight through the centre.

According to my wife, it's dibilitating pain but only when you make a move in certain angles. You almost have no strength to do anything but only with certain moves. So she says.

[pinksamurai]

Acupuncture or therapeutic massage can fix the problem pretty quickly. My teacher had a bad case of it for 10 years. After about a month it was gone (mind you he was still practicing 3 times a week doing kendo and iaido during treatment). With rest, and treatment it can be taken care of even faster.

[pgsmith]

Acupuncture or therapeutic massage can fix the problem pretty quickly.

While that's probably true, my insurance will pay for neither, and I'm not rich enough to shell out the $80 per session that was asked. So, I've just been living with it for about four years now. Sometimes it's better, other times it's worse. I started with the $25 rubber bar three days ago, and will let everyone know how it turns out.

[Tatu]

a friend of mine forwarded this article to me and I was skeptical but i bought it anyways. I didn't do anything structured, I Just fooled around with it and the pain in my elbow is completely gone. I don't know how but it worked and it worked great - the shiznass rocks!

I would be careful when ordering the right one b/c the blue one, heavy, was too heavy.

[turboyoshi]

. Sometimes it's better, other times it's worse. I started with the $25 rubber bar three days ago, and will let everyone know how it turns out.

Please do. I get this pain only occasionally but I'm curious to see how well this treatment works for those who have it worse than I. In the study, patients were feeling better within 3-5 weeks, and this was much sooner than anticipated.

[Halcyon]

I got one a couple of weeks ago as well. The medium (green) resistance.

Last year, I had a pretty severe case of tennis elbow in my left arm. After some conventional PT had little effect, I got a corticosteroid shot. That, by the way, is some fantabulous stuff. But not something you wanna keep getting or rely on.

A couple of months ago, the tennis elbow started coming back a little bit, so this article came out at just the right time for me. I'll let you know how this new thing works.

[pinksamurai]

Heya pgsmth,

Yep, I totally get the 80 dollars and insurance bit, hopefully this will change in the near future. Heres a recommendation since i see your from texas, though im not quite sure where in texas your at. Also as a general note to anyone else who might be interested.

In texas I know there are at least 2 acupuncture schools, one in austin and the other i cant remember off the top of my head. You may wish to check them out and see if they are within a reasonable traveling distance for you. Just do a google search for acupuncture schools and see what pops up.

For everyone else's general info the east coast and west coast have several acupuncture schools, and the midwest also has several.
All of them have student clinics which typically have reduced rates compared to private practitioners. Anywhere from free to about about $30 depending on the school. They are supervised by experienced, licensed professionals.

Hope this helps out.

Oh, also as an FYI. Sometimes you can talk to a practitioner and see about reduced rates or bartering. Most of the practitioners I know are more than happy to do what they can to help out someone in need, especially with the economy and health costs the way they are.

[Maro]

I rock climb as well as do Iai. Both tend to exacerbate the other. I did get some great stretches from my Rock Climbing instructor.

No pictures though.

[ScottUK]

I started with the $25 rubber bar three days ago, and will let everyone know how it turns out.

Any update, Paul? I am having an especially fun time with my elbow/forearm at the moment...

[Halcyon]

Here's an interim report on that newfangled tennis elbow therapy.

I got a Thera-Band Flexbar in early September. The one I got was the medium (green) resistance. I've been using it every weekday (five days a week) for about five or six weeks now.

First, a little background. Last year, I had a pretty severe case of tennis elbow in my left arm, most likely an overuse injury from kendo and iaido. I couldn't even pick up a coffee mug (with the palm facing down) without shooting pain. My sports doc recommended a conservative approach first with conventional PT at a clinic, but I had minimal improvement. So my doc gave me a corticosteroid shot. Immediate and dramatic improvement. Also continued with some at-home PT. Didn't entirely get rid of the tennis elbow, but it was much, much better. On a side note, you shouldn't get a corticosteroid shot more than about three times in the same location. It significantly increases the odds of an all-out tendon rupture. Also, the shot can melt away some subcutaneous fat, so if it's injected close to the surface of the skin (as with elbow shots), it can create a dimple in that area, though that didn't happen to me.

Anyway, a few months ago, the tennis elbow started coming back a little bit. Then I read that article about the Flexbar.

Results: So far, it seems to be working quite well. I don't really feel any pain in the elbow now, though I can feel it's not 100% at times. So there's definitely been an improvement over when I started using it. FYI, this is a pretty easy thing to use, especially if you work at a desk like me. I grab it and do the motion about eight to ten times, three times a day. I do both sides, since I prefer to feel a bit of symmetry, even though I don't have tennis elbow in my right arm.

Will give you further updates down the road.