Beer drinking, tendonitis and climbing

So... Here's a question. From October 09 to May 10 I was on the road, climbing full time. I ate lots of fatty foods and drank lots of beer and my chronic lateral epicondylitis never flared up. During the summer of 2010 I drank more beer and climbed lots. Again, no flare-ups.

During this past fall, I have continued to climb, but my beer drinking has dropped in frequency... And my tennis elbow is back in full force. Most interesting.

I've been dealing with really chronic tendonitis my entire climbing career. And the full time climbing/beer drinking schedule is the first time in my life where my elbows haven't hurt. I went for almost a year of steady, hard climbing and my elbows never hurt.

So. What gives?

Turns out beer has lots of B vitamins, B6 is good for tendon health... Is there a connection? Should I resume my beer drinking? I'm not talking about being a drunkard, mind you -- My beer drinking schedule was as follows: climb all day, come home and drink a beer, and then drink another beer later in the evening...

So I would have 2 beers a day or so, but on a regular basis. That's long term loading of B vitamins. Any thoughts?

I'd like to think that I can drink beer and send hard. Please tell me it's true.

Can't argue with that. It's science.

Beer drinking is a time honored remedy used by almost all older trad climbers. It can pretty much cure anything....

I"ve never had a pain left anywhere when drinking beer and climbing. Soothes the aches and injuries.

I was once a serious runner, and dealt with chronic tendonitis and injuries in my achilles, but the day after drinking beer it was literally painless. I did some quick research and managed to find a few articles on the internet claiming beer may have anti inflammatory properties. Can't say whether that's true or not but it definately made my tendons feel a lot better

As much as I agree with the above posters, in all seriousness the amount of b vitamins are slim.
Take B6 for example, theres about .16 mg of B6 per beer. You have to have say, 90+ beers a day to reach the low end of the B6 recommendation for an active climber. (given you don't ingest any B6 from other sources)
If your still thinking about giving that route a go, you may wanna consider the negative effects of the alcohol itself. Alcohol interferes with absorption of vitamins, especially B vitamins. As well as impairs protein metabolism, i.e. muscle repair. You might be better off with a multi vitamin.

But its so good, once it hits your lips its so good!

Noah C wrote: But its so good, once it hits your lips its so good!

I guess it depends on what you are drinking. I like a local IPA with some vitamin I (600-800 mg)
For really bad pain then some Jameson with lemon.

The hops in beer are an anti-inflammatory, which probably helps. As far how potent the AI effects of beer are, I have no clue.

I've heard a few folks argue that beer is among the best post-sports beverages out there, with low ABV brews aiding in rehydration nearly as well as commercial sports drinks... I'm sure there's plenty we don't yet know about all the loose good stuff floating around in our brews - plenty that may prove medically significant someday soon!

saltlick wrote:I've heard a few folks argue that beer is among the best post-sports beverages out there, with low ABV brews aiding in rehydration nearly as well as commercial sports drinks... I'm sure there's plenty we don't yet know about all the loose good stuff floating around in our brews - plenty that may prove medically significant someday soon!

Noah C wrote:You have to have say, 90+ beers a day to reach the low end of the B6 recommendation for an active climber.

My beer drinking isn't curing my tendonitis, but if it works for you, you probably should keep imbibing.

Noah C wrote: ??? mmmm, no. And I think the hops thing isn't effective as an AI once its been heated and fermented, as in a beer.

"Its my understanding that the AI of hops lies in the isomerization of alpha acids, which occurs during the boil process and survives the fermentation. Granted they break down over time and UV exposure."

does that means i should just drink beer and climb only indoors?

Your sample size is too small to reach a conclusion. As coincidence would have it, I get tennis elbow too. Sponsor me for your B6 experiment (read: send me beer) and I'll give you a ton of extra data points. Now that's science!

I too have been suffering from a sore elbow. Based on this thread I drank 1.5 beers last night, and my elbow feels much better today! You may be on to something here. Definitely should conduct some kind of controlled study with n > 2. Volunteers?

plus beer makes you smarter and women better looking

It may have been all the fatty foods that you mentioned eating. Especially if they were high in Omega 3's. Any chance that you were eating a lot of sardines?

saltlick wrote: - plenty that may prove medically significant someday soon!

Mike Storeim wrote:Beer drinking is a time honored remedy used by almost all older trad climbers. It can pretty much cure anything....