good luck
After going the wrist band route, and otc medication recommended by my doctor–Alleve, no thanks–I found that nothing relieved the pain for me. So I ignored it as best I could, and the pain has lessened somewhat over time.
3rd on the elbow band…
…this damn elbow band of ours is getting crowded.
Who’s turn is it tomorrow?
Honorable guarantee
Err…well I didn’t say money back guarantee! 
Actually, I was so impressed by how well this worked, considering the length of time I had been suffering and since nothing else did work (including anti-inflamatories and morphine derived painkillers), that I recommend this to anyone with this problem. I have no affiliation with the manufacturer and stand to gain nothing from this recommendation other than the joy of having helped others out.
Please let us know how it works out for you.
Vince
wrist strengthening
Do exercises to strengthen the wrist. Wrist flexion, extension, etc. Issues with the wrist are the common cause of elbow tendonitis. Wearing something like a bowling glove that limits wrist motion helps many people in lifting.
Using the elbow band
– Last Updated: Dec-23-04 3:07 PM EST –
Is everybody clear on how to use the elbow band. I wonder if those reporting that it doesn't help are not using it properly (or maybe don't have classic elbow tendonitis, that is, tennis elbow).
You put the band just below the elbow, with the pad (if the band has one) over the biggest bulge, which is on the outside of the elbow joint, just below the elbow.
You can tell you have the point by (a) bend the elbow about 80-90 degrees; (b) press down on the point with a couple of fingers on the other hand; (c) straighten your arm. As you straighten the arm, your fingers should feel a tension and bulging as the muscle contracts. The point where that bulging is the biggest is where you want the band and pad to press.
In fact, compressing that muscle you felt contract is the idea. By compressing it you reduce the bow in the tendon-muscle-tendon band in the arm and relieve pressure where the elbow tendon flops over the elbow bone.
Without the band, you should feel pain in the elbow knob when you straighten the arm; with the band, that pain should be gone or reduced. That's another way to tell you've got it, and also to confirm the diagnosis of tennis elbow.
Unless, of course, it works in which …
…you owe Vince 15% finder’s fee.
elbows
I too suffer from this… I developed the burn in both elbows within two weeks of the start of my paddle down the Missouri then the Lower Mississippi. Never stopped hurting for over 5 1/2 months!! Home and after almost two months of rest, i would say im back to about 85%-90%.
I also heard about the bands for tennis elbow but never did pick any up
Not an advertisement .
What kind of paddle are you using?
Is it the right length? Maybe consider it’s blade size and feather angle too. Is the paddle real heavy ?
Not to go against any doctor’s ( non paddler or paddler ) advice and I agree with them about the friction part… to a point.
IMO a slightly SMALLER shaft will feel better and relieve some stress better than going larger. If the blades themselves are nice and smooth , there is less need to grip the shaft. A slightly smaller shaft will let your fingers get around it a little more. Easier to hang on to with less squeezing or over gripping.
Imaging hanging from a chin up bar. Increase it’s diameter 30 % and your gonna have to focus more on your grip to stay on.
Try some other paddles if you can and hope you feel o.k.
Thanks for the plug SeaDart.
tendonitis
Five years ago I had this problem and for 2 years I tried massage,ice packs, heat, advil, cortizone shots and the elbow bands.
Watching TV one day, I heard about a herbal supplement called “MSM” (methysulfonylmethane). We all know the pain, so I was willing to try anything. Picked up 1000 mg tablets of Natures Origin and after 2 weeks of taking them once a day, the pain was gone. I now take an MSM/glucoamine chondrotin combo 3 times a week. Still no pain.
From what I understand, the MSM restores the collagen in our joints.
We’re all different, but this stuff really worked for me.
This is absolute nonsense.
– Last Updated: Dec-24-04 12:23 PM EST –
Here is a link that you can get some of the facts.
http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/DSH/msm.html
In short this is a molecule that is closely related in structure to DMSO, it's not a metabolic source for sulfur for protein for building up collagen. The claims are absolutely false. I'm a medicinal chemist and make my living discovering new drugs, if this worked at all there would be a huge amount of doccumentation and pharmaceutical companies would have numerous patents with formulations. I would not take anything intentionally that is a precursor or metabolite of DMSO. I'll try to post the toxicity data on this compound after I can find some information I have at my office.
Re: Elbows
What kind of paddle are you using?
Is it the right length? Maybe consider it’s blade size and feather angle too. Is the paddle real heavy ?
Not to go against any doctor’s ( non paddler or paddler ) advice and I agree with them about the friction part… to a point.
IMO a slightly SMALLER shaft will feel better and relieve some stress better than going larger. If the blades themselves are nice and smooth , there is less need to grip the shaft. A slightly ******smaller shaft will let your fingers get around it a little more. Easier to hang on to with less squeezing or over gripping.
Imaging hanging from a chin up bar. Increase it’s diameter 30 % and your gonna have to focus more on your grip to stay on.
Try some other paddles if you can and hope you feel o.k. *****
dunno if this was for me but, I use a MOHAwk doubleblade canoe paddle that is way heavy and i guess about 9 or 10 feet long with what i feel are somewhat large blades… thinking of thyin to make a traditional inuit style doubleB paddle… thinkin that the short, fast, low resistance strokes will take the stress’s off of the joints and tendons??
MSM
There seems to be numerous drugs on the market, develpoed by chemists, that are later determined to have negative effects over time.
The MSM is not a drug and can be found in the vitamin section from many stores.
I am not a chemist nor in the medical field; just a 57 yr. old guy who got fed up with the constant daily pain for two years. I was only sharing my personal experience with tendonitis.
MSM
– Last Updated: Dec-25-04 3:39 PM EST –
Sorry Abstract my comments were not directed at you. I appologize if I offended you, lots of people take supplements with collagen extracts and feel like they are doing better, this may be real and may be a placebo effect, and probably harmless unless you are the unfortunate shark used for the extract but my issue is with suggesting people take the chemical MSM which at best is not effective and very likely has toxic effects (not to mention making you smell like garlic farts).
Any substance taken with the intent of altering biolgical function is a drug. MSM is a drug, but it is not an approved drug for sale with claims of curative effects by our Federal Government. Unlike drugs that are tested under exrtensive FDA laws used and later found to be unsafe as you mention after extensive safety testing and use in humans, MSM is already known to be useless and not safe; just because something is found in a natural source does not make it safe. Cyanide, strychnine, and other common poisons are naturally occuring substances. Health food stores get away with selling hundreds of products that are very unsafe thanks to powrful Senators such as Orin Hatch, who own stock in nutraceutical companies. Check into the deaths and brain damage caused by tryptophan amino acid suplements in the 80s or recent sale of androsteroid precursors to minors that have led to suicides and ruined lives. I'm not a fan of big Pharma business practices and rush to get drugs on the market, but I think people need to be aware about scams from the health food industry that are just as harmful. Sorry for the rant.
MSM
I actually felt that all the other things I tried, before the MSM, were just bandaides to the problem; just giving temporary relief. As I said it worked for me and my metabolism. Perhaps in 10 years it’ll turn me into a toad, but for now, as a consumer with limited choices, I value it. My wife hasn’t mentioned the “garlic farts” issue. (safe for now)
I appreciate your passion for your chosen field, but unfortunately it is one that the bottom line and politics, create many obstacles to what you aspire and believe in.
Merry Xmas
elbow
thanks very much for the specifics. i got the band and adjusted it a bit after reading your post. is it advisable to wear it for working at the computer as well?
elbow
steve - thanks. a question - are there any devices that one can attach to the paddle shaft to increase the diameter and that stay fixed?
elbow
i was wondering what kinds of exercises are good to strengthen the muscles around it? my physical therapist didn’t suggest any.
elbow
boy howdy! it makes a huge difference to stretch and warm up. what stretches specifically do you use for the elbow?
elbow
i use an AT bent crank composite. i think it’s 31 cm and angled at around 60 degrees. it’s nice and light and i’ve tried to get the narrowest blades. i’ve been told that the bent crank is good. i like the paddle a lot
When to wear the elbow band?
I wore it pretty much all the time… at the computer, walking, driving, certainly paddling, even sleeping. I removed it only for a couple of hours at a time to rest the skin, which tended to get itchy and prickly under the band (and the piece of cotton ace bandage that I put under it to avoid a serious allergic reaction to the synthetic band itself).
The idea is, I think, to stop the irritation of the tendon across the elbow bone, so it has a chance to heal naturally. Without that, you are continually re-irritating the tendon, and it never gets a chance to heal.
I’m happy to say that 6-8 weeks of that regimen pretty much cleared up my tendonitis, or at least go it to the point where it continues to heal on its own, and I don’t have to wear the band anymore. Before that, it was getting worse every day.
Good luck with yours – if it relieves the pain, stick with it and it will do its thing eventually.
–David