Select to expand quoteBigLump said...
As an ex carpenter I have suffered from "tennis elbow" in my right arm at various time in my life. The most recent and debilitating developed into a chronic condition that lasted over 12 months.
I managed to let it get to the stage where I could not pick up a coffee cup with my right hand.
I eventually sought help and headed off to the physio where he gave me a 50-50 chance of getting over it as I had let it develop to the chronic stage.
The most recent onset was caused by my fitness campaign, joining the gym and getting back into weight training.
Gripping the bar like a lunatic reignited the previous injuries to my elbow.
The physio applied acupuncture needle and connected a TENS machine (mild electrical impulses), he also gave me a reverse forearm exercise (muscles utilised are opposite of the gripping muscles) and a rubber band to perform them.
I religiously performed the exercises and noticed an immediate improvement, it appears to be an overuse, muscle imbalance problem.
I read where the TENS machine works best when used at the maximum bearable setting so when the physio left the room I turned it up and put up with the electrically induced contractions.
In short I fully recovered in about 8 weeks.
I have since purchased my own TENS machine as I have now developed tennis elbow in my left arm (different area). I believe that it is cased when you reach for the catch phase of the stroke.
To engage the paddle in the water your thumb position is pointing skyward and you contract the the forearm muscle to get maximum extension and reach.
A few days after a paddle if I perform the same forearm contraction, the muscles and particularly the tendons in the forearm are extremely sore.
I have stopped paddling and started TENS therapy as well as performing opposite muscle contraction exercises and have already experienced reduced soreness.
I will keep you posted of my progress.
Thanks for sharing - great to read. I'm a big fan of the TENS machines as well - for those who've not heard of them, you can pick them up for about $100, and they send micro voltages into your muscles making them twitch. It's healed many an injury really rapidly for me.
My physio did the accupuncture, but no result, so I went to a local myotherapist (they put pins into people all day everyday), a few days after first session halved the pain, and after next session half that pain again, and hoping next session will see the end of it, and strengthening can begin! Woot! Hopes are up. 
Just had a look at this video and thought it may help all of us with sore elbows.
Select to expand quoteSqueeky said..
Just had a look at this video and thought it may help all of us with sore elbows.
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Any one know what srap he was using was called?
Select to expand quotecel23 said..
my personal experience has found a composite paddle (not full carbon) with a smaller bade and not too tall avoids any discomfort.
This ^^^ as well as, as mentioned before in this thread, when just paddling (not wave riding) the lower hand should be barely be holding onto the shaft, it's just a pivot point, no reason to grip it really hard, just your thumb and index finger is all you really need.
I have also suffered with golfers elbow and used ice when bad and plenty of voltaren cream to ease pain. The Velcro arm support helps a lot when paddling and physio advice is that it takes about 6mths to ease. The other more radical treatment is to get a doctor to extract your own blood spin it and then inject it back into the site for more rapid improvement.
does anyone have any good links to placement of tens pads , specifically for golfers elbow??
Try researching Orthocell a Western Australian company leading the way in this treatment ATI more advanced than other aproaches with good science behind it.
Select to expand quotescotty100 said..
does anyone have any good links to placement of tens pads , specifically for golfers elbow??
Scatty.....there are some videos on you tube , basically over the sore point and along the path of referred pain from the irritated area
Select to expand quoteDannyD said..scotty100 said..
does anyone have any good links to placement of tens pads , specifically for golfers elbow??
Scatty.....there are some videos on you tube , basically over the sore point and along the path of referred pain from the irritated area
Tens machine works great . Acupuncture was good , but it's great to be able to treat yourself whenever required . Didn't go cheapest model about $200 gives better range of treatments. Well worth investment
i developed elbow pain when i got a new paddle which required a slightly different stroke. when i went back to the old paddle, the pain went. i also wax the shaft of my paddle so i dont have to grip too hard
I've had a long bout with 'golfers elbow' that has been problematic with SUP, kayaking and trying to keep fit. After months of physio, dry needling and TENS, the physiotherapist passed me on to the next phase which is cortisone injections.
After 5 weeks, still pretty good, but can feel the re-introduction if I give it too much of a nudge.
Hey all,Long term forum creeper - this thread caught my eye because i'm a physio, so first time posting! ! I guess I can give you my two bob's worth on a few things:We are now calling them medial or lateral epicondyalgia as a fun fact, no longer 'itis' as this implies there is inflammation, which sometimes there is but not always. However, medical fraternity is changing what we call tennis / golfer's elbow just about every month so I could even be wrong haha!
Essentially, the inside (medial) one is pain where your wrist flexor muscles attach (palm side of forearm) and the outside one (lateral) is where your wrist extensor muscles attach (back of hand side).New research is emerging in regards to "tendonopathies" and is changing how we as physio's treat them and up to date physio's break them down into two types / phases - a reactive phase and a degenerative phase.I'm gonna spare the blah blah anatomy stuff - but reactive is a change in how your tendon chooses to heal itself and to treat this, I personally as a physio, tend to go with activity modification (looking at the load, so perhaps changing biomechanics or technique or paddle type or board. Looking at a counterforce brace (strap around the arm), which important to note is not a fix - it's purely to deload the structure to give it a chance to chill the hell out. Discussing with you benefits of NSAID medication (ibuprofen - again, avoiding blah blah blah, but it's not actually for their anti inflammatory effect and you always would need to check with your GP or pharmacist if you're ok to take them... but that's a long explanation)and a few manual therapy treatments such as dry needling / acupuncture (as many have said, it works well) and joint mobilisation.In the degenerative phase this is where we tend to want to make you work, in that I may give you 'eccentric' exercises for your wrist and want you to load it up appropriately to 're jog' the healing process, as well as the manual therapy stuff I mentioned above. But they are two different phases and need to be addressed differently if you want the best outcome. The research on cortisone is average at best, some people do get a good response, other get no response, others get a good response for 3 days and then they are back to square one. We also know that multiple cortisone injections are fairly bad for tendons over a long period.I tend not to advise stretching of the muscles as it is an irritation of where the tendon joins on the bone, so if you go pulling at that join more, you're really not helping the issue... They can be a real pain (no pun intended), as they can linger for a bit and as a stand up paddler myself, I know the temptation to try and push through and get back out on the water is too tempting for some. But especially if you have a reactive phase issue, you really do need to modify how much load you're putting through your forearm.My biggest go to straight away, is usually looking at how people paddle with their bottom arm. If your bottom arm is bent, you're most likely pulling the paddle through the water and flogging your wrist flexors, leading to overuse. It's a good go to as a lot of people don't even realize it's happening. Blah blah blah disclaimers, this is just my opinion, consult a physio before doing anything blah :)Hope that at least is a bit helpful for my first post on Sea Breeze and not too confusing?
oh and as an addition my thoughts on changing paddle - some people may benefit from coming off a snappy or stiff shaft to a composite paddle with a softer flex. However, with a slower shaft you tend to lose drive / energy and so what do you do then? Paddle harder or increase your stroke rate...Which will just stir things up. So i'd question whether going to a composite paddle or a slower shaft is truly of benefit unless you are happy to just cruise and have the self motivation to take it easy! haha, I don't...
I have mild elbow issues, they usually flare up after being on the tools on the weekend if I get the chance and he and there from paddling. But I do know that a higher cadence paddle with a small blade eg werner nitro, is way easier on my back and all the other joints helping me paddle.
I didnt flick back thru to see if I already said it, but does anyone have any experience with the bent shaft werner paddles? Seems to make anatomical sense for your bottom hand and gripping angle and might improve elbow and/or wrist issues From sup?
