Opinions on the Armaid?

I currently have been dealing with a lot of elbow tendonitis issues and one of my friends at the local gym suggested I look into getting an Armaid. Has anyone used this and is it worth the money/does it help?

I give the Armaid 2 thumbs up as does the rest of my climbing crew. It's not uncommon to have four of us in the car and everybody but the driver is Armaiding it up.

I like mine. It's not a silver bullet, but I'd be massaging those parts of my arm anyway, and the Armaid makes some of that a lot easier.

Instead of strapping it to my leg, I prefer resting the bottom of the armaid between my legs -- the position and angle is better for me that way.

Mine had a problem at first: the black foam roller was too soft, and it compressed and wouldn't roll. They were quick to replace it, and glad I had contacted them -- something about there had been a bad batch of rollers, and they really wanted to make it right.

For tendonitis specifically, there are a lot of other treatments, too. Look into those -- they may get you what you need.

After struggling with tendinitis/tendinosis for several months, I recently pulled the trigger and bought one. Have used it for only 3 days, so take this with a grain of salt. It will seriously work your arm in only a few minutes. I feel more pressure relief than when I went to the chiropractor.

I found some tender trigger spots I didn't know existed with this thing. I feel that the ease of use and finding additional problems is the benefit of this thing. With long term use I'll know if it actually makes a difference.

I had severe tendinitis problems -- to the point where I had to stop climbing for several months. I used the aramid in conjunction with exercises, deep tissue massage, and ice and heat. Impossible to separate out the effects of each, obviously, but my perception is that it was very beneficial. Both easier to use and better than self massage than using my fingers.

Huge thumbs up from me - near instant relief from elbow tendinitis which I've had for donkeys. Did in a few weeks what my physio couldn't do in months of regular sessions. YMMV of course, but mine sorted me out amazingly well. Bear in mind that it isn't nice grinding away at trigger points, though!

Anyone ever use one of these for finger massage? amazon.com/Acupressure-Mass…

From the picture I can't really tell what it does, but there are a few positive reviews from climbers...

The Chinese finger fuckers are good stuff.

Use 'em all the time, especially after tweaky gym climbing, and they seem to cut down the pain around the knuckles significantly. Would recommend getting a pack of 4 or 5 though, hand 'em out to your friends, have some extra in case you lose 'em, etc.

Some people say they can do the same with their strong climber fingers that an Armaid does. These people are full of shit. Be careful with the attachment point between the base and the device. I packed mine a little hard and seem to have snapped some piece - probably an easy fix but it still works perfectly and I don't really even need the base - makes it lighter and way more packable when taking to the crag.

BoDo is better and much cheaper for most climbing-relevant massage than ArmAid. BoDo simply lets you dig deeper more intensely more accurately than the ArmAid.

I bought an ArmAid a couple of years ago. I liked it at first, but never use it any more. It's well-designed, but I think the design is targeted for non-climbers.

Jon Frisby wrote:Some people say they can do the same with their strong climber fingers that an Armaid does. These people are full of shit.

It's not "fingers", but carefully-selected knuckles which work better. I can drive my knuckles with arm and shoulder strength for massaging around elbow and forearm and hand-fingers.

But usually the medium-size BoDo works even better than my knuckle. It's a lot like a wooden finger. Better I think mainly because its tip is smaller so more focused and intense than my knuckle.

Ken

Another big fan of the Armaid here. Voodoo floss works really well for elbow pain too, but not as convenient to use as the Armaid.

If anyone is buying this there's a 10% off coupon code. 'ANTO'.

I loved mine until it got stolen out of my car! I hope the thief figured out how to use it at least.

I just bought more Bodos. So I make sure I have one around in different places where I frequently travel to climb, in case I lose one.

Simpler, way cheaper, more effective for applying intense focused pressure, and effective for way more spots on my body than the ArmAid.

BoDo was invented by a top climber.
The website for purchase was down temporarily, so I purchased over the phone from Bonnie Prudden org (+1 520-529-3979)

Ken

I prefer the R8 roll recovery. Check it out.

When do you guys use the Armaid? After climbing? Before? I'm interested in something that can help with my tendonosis.

Vaughne wrote:When do you guys use the Armaid? After climbing? Before? I'm interested in something that can help with my tendonosis.

I use mine after climbing, between routes at times, and generally at least once or twice a day even if I didn't go climbing. I just want to keep my muscles loose so that they aren't putting a constant strain on my tendons.

kenr wrote:I just bought more Bodos... Ken

I searched for Bodos and got a website for Bagels. At first I was thinking how does that help with your elbow? And now I want to eat a bagel and forgot all about my elbow pain.

kenr wrote:I just bought more Bodos...Simpler, way cheaper, more effective for applying intense focused pressure, and effective for way more spots on my body than the ArmAid.

I'm sure a nail on a piece of 2x4 is cheaper still and even more effective at applying intense, focused pressure. I guess I don't understand the Bodo; I've used a door handle (that has a rounded end) and it doesn't do anything remotely close to what an Armaid does (nor does the Theracane, although it's very effective for the back & other areas) I'm sure it's perfect for digging into a spot, but I just don't see how it'd be effective at massaging.

+1 for the ArmAid. I love working out my forearms with it after climbing sessions. It flushes out a lot of the lactic acid that builds up.

reboot wrote:I'm sure a BoDo is perfect for digging into a spot, but I just don't see how it'd be effective at massaging.

All depends on what you think "massage" means, and what's important to succeed with it.

Actually it was from the video and instructions for the ArmAid (which I still own but never use any more) that taught me about finding and focusing on "trigger points". But then I discovered a device which was more effective for actually doing that.

Ken