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Bad Golfers Elbow

Original Post
Scurvy Dave · · Squamish · Joined May 2018 · Points: 0

Looking for recommendations treating golfers elbow. Exercises and stretches that help?

I have been to two different physios and my experience has basically been electrified acupuncture and being told to stretch daily with minimal results.

Brendan N · · Salt Lake City, Utah · Joined Oct 2006 · Points: 406
pkeds · · Broomfield, CO · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 30

Ring dips. That is all.

Max R · · Bend · Joined Jul 2014 · Points: 292

Beef up your tricepts by doing extensions with a 10-15lb weight. Helped me a ton. Also bought one of those Thera-bars and do the recommended exercises. Combination of those 2 and warming up really slowly. Long dead hangs on jugs. 

Amber Schumacher · · Alexandria, VA · Joined Apr 2011 · Points: 0

A tennis elbow strap helped me when I had this. I put is just below my elbow joint and it took a lot of the pressure/pain away

David Clarke · · Aurora, CO · Joined May 2017 · Points: 0

Thera-band Flexbar, warming up properly, and ibuprofen.

Walt Heenan · · New Paltz, NY · Joined May 2014 · Points: 25

I struggled with bad tennis elbow for many years. Found the Thera-band Flexbar. It has been amazing for me. (Google: golfer's elbow tyler twist). There are two exercises, the tyler twist for tennis elbow and the reverse tyler twist for golfer's. There are three different bars with increasing intensity, red (easiest), green (mid), blue (hardest). For me, this has turned a long-standing condition that got bad whenever I amped up the frequency or intensity of my climbing into a cured condition.

Bagel Sendwich · · Presidio Heights · Joined Oct 2019 · Points: 0

I just watched the suggested Tyler Twist video (Google: golfer's elbow tyler twist). Youtube comment #12 caught my eye:

No name 1 year ago (edited)

(Not a joke btw) I found an old rubber dildo in my now deceased grandmothers dresser drawer and it looks to be about the same length and thickness as this tool, is this tool just like a rubber consistency? Cause I really don't have any money to spend right now but really want to get rid of this pain for work. So I guess my question is do U think I could just make due with twisting a rubber dildo that is the exact same size as this tool?? This is a serious question not meant to be funny in any way although I know its hard to take seriously but hey thats what it is.
#upcycle
Taylor TBro Brown · · Dumont, CO · Joined May 2017 · Points: 75

I struggle with elbow tendinitis as well, especially when I am climbing consecutive days. I have found that preventive maintenance is the best way to combat it. They may seem to be sort of a "marketing ploy" but the finger strengthener rubber bands have been working wonders for me. They are super cheap and come with like 3 different tensions. I leave them in my car and do 3 sets of 25 on each hand on the way to the gym or crag. I find if I am using them regularly my tendinitis doesn't flare up as bad, and if I'm slacking on using them it will flare up. Definite correlation. Also work into your routine of doing some stabilizing exercises (wrist curls, wide pinch hangs, etc.). 

bagel bagels · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Aug 2019 · Points: 0

Climb easier until most of the pain calms down (month or 2 probably). Then continue to climb easier but the last ~10 minutes of a session do max effort moves. Stop. Go home. Eventually you can do longer sessions at max effort again.

Also, ONCE a week hard cross friction massage for 3-5 minutes.

This was recommended to me by a PT and it worked wonders. As he put it, you have to tell the injury it needs to heal. Has been over a year, but it’s mostly gone in both my elbows (minor flare up after multiple hard days). Within a few months my elbows were manageable enough to project again with little pain.

I’m not a fan of ibuprofen with injuries since you lose reference to how bad the injury still is.

F r i t z · · (Currently on hiatus, new b… · Joined Mar 2012 · Points: 1,155

I had a debilitating case of golfer’s elbow several years ago. Here’s what helped:

- Reverse wrist curls, low weight and high rep
- Arm-Aid massage
- Gelatin supplements. Mix in an unflavored packet with a glass of water and chug it. I saw results within a week.

Ted Wilson · · Ovilla, Tx · Joined Aug 2017 · Points: 734

Theraband flexbar got rid of my golfers elbow in about a month.  I’ve tried everything else but this works.

M Mobley · · Bar Harbor, ME · Joined Mar 2006 · Points: 911

Its not so much the tool as it is the daily routine of actually doing it which is my perpetual problem. The red Flexbar is for sure the best place to start for both sides of the elbow. If your PT doesn't know about Flexbars than you should stop going to them cause they suck at what they do.

Bill Czajkowski · · Albuquerque, NM · Joined Oct 2008 · Points: 21
Brendan N wrote: The Dodgy Elbows Protocol works for me. 

Yep, this is THE WAY. Used this process multiple times; always works. I should probably continue it as a preventative but I'm lazy.

Spaggett, Gotcha! · · Western NC · Joined Jun 2018 · Points: 0
David Ebel wrote: Looking for recommendations treating golfers elbow. Exercises and stretches that help?

I have been to two different physios and my experience has basically been electrified acupuncture and being told to stretch daily with minimal results.

Your body can't handle how hard you're trying to climb.  Your mind can't handle that your body can't keep up.  Rest now, go slower later.

Also, stop wasting your $ and time to see docs about tennis/golfer elbow.  It's very pedestrian.

Ned Plimpton · · Salt Lake City · Joined Jul 2008 · Points: 116

Flexbar, loaded eccentrics, and this stretch helped me a ton.  Also, I kept focusing on the forearm but got the best results when I included stretching the 'upstream' muscle groups (biceps, shoulders, pecs).  

Conor Clarke · · St. Louis, MO · Joined Apr 2013 · Points: 1,013

Here are ten (!) ideas from Dave MacLeod.

Devin Braun · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2017 · Points: 0
Ned Plimpton wrote: Flexbar, loaded eccentrics, and this stretch helped me a ton.  Also, I kept focusing on the forearm but got the best results when I included stretching the 'upstream' muscle groups (biceps, shoulders, pecs).  

Agree with this. Loaded eccentrics are key for tendon rehab. Flexbar is one way to achieve this though I prefer heavy eccentric wrist curls. Keep climbing at a reduced volume until pain subsides. Stopping exercise altogether will cause the tendon to heal improperly and leave you with pain as soon as you resume climbing again. Stretching and massage did nothing in my experience, though i never tried the above referenced stretch.

Short Fall Sean · · Bishop, CA · Joined Sep 2012 · Points: 7

The pronator teres loaded eccentric exercise (where you rotate the weight down to the side with weight on top of the dumbbell; it's in the dodgy elbows guide) is the only thing that has helped me. The flexbar and reverse wrist curls didn't seem to target the right spot.

Also a big second to what crewdog said - that lock off on a flat edge or sloper kills me. And I basically only do that on blocky, thrutchy problems in the gym, so avoiding gym climbing - or sticking to more straightforward crimp and step problems - does wonders.

Alex Quinn · · Boulder, CO · Joined Dec 2013 · Points: 0

+1 to using an Armaid. It definitely can seem like a gimmick but consistent self-massage has made a world of difference for me.

Andrew G · · Pittsburgh, PA · Joined Feb 2013 · Points: 404

I battled nasty golfers elbow for 2 1/2 years and it seems like I've finally eradicated it. I tried just taking time off, no dice. I started with the dodgy elbow protocol, which definitely helped, but whenever I started really pushing my climbing again, it would flair up. I bough a Rolflex, which seemed to help, but didn't eliminate the problem. I started rolling my shoulders/pecs/biceps/triceps/lats regularly with a tennis ball and doing the stretches prescribed in the "upstream solution" section here, as well as working more rest into my schedule (generally limiting my climbing to 3 days a week, but if i do more, or taking a 4+ day break every 2 weeks if i'm climbing more than 3 days a week). I'm sure it's different for everyone, but my elbow pain is totally gone. I've been pushing harder than ever, including on the Moonboard, which would have made my elbow just explode a couple years ago, and haven't even had a flair up. Unfortunately, this is not the easy answer and involves a fair commitment of time for all the PT (though continual maintenance takes way less time than getting over the hump initially) and changes to how I climbed. Oh, and I almost forgot: don't skip the warmup before climbing!

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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