Golfer's elbow from playing guitar?

[Photojeep]

Originally Posted by archerscreek

If your pain is on the inside of the elbow, and is mostly concentrated immediately foreward (toward the hand rather than shoulder) of the bone that sticks out on the inside, then we have the same thing. I have zero doubts my pain is caused by playing the guitar.

It first flared up last summer when I started playing gigs and hence jumped my practice time and intensity. I also stopped splitting time between playing fingerstyle and flatpicking and went to 100% flatpicking, crosspicking, and playing a fast boom chuck bluegrass rhythm.

Also of interest, to me at least, was that shortly before the pain started I switched over to a BlueChip TP-1R 60 pick and started curling my fingers slightly toward my palm instead of letting the tips of them rest on the top.

The pain got so bad some days I couldn't sleep. But even when it was more moderate, I'd have to stretch out my arm and hand between songs. I switched to a smaller and slightly thinner pick and the slightly less resistance helped vs the BlueChip, but there was still pain. Then I read a post from someone who also had the pain and had sought out help from a therapist who suggested certain exercises.

I've been doing those exercises for a week or so and they seem to help somewhat. I have also been playing around with going back to allowing my fingers to open up and rest on the top of the guitar some. It feels like a more relaxed position and was how I played lead on electric.

Hi,
Would you mind sharing the excercises?

Thanks,
PJ

[Photojeep]

Originally Posted by Laughingboy68

The technical term is medial epicondylitis. The inside of the elbow has a bump on it called the epicondyle. Most of the time a bump on a bone is where muscles attach. Most of the eleven muscles of the flexor part of the forearm attach at the epicondyle. This makes for quite a bottleneck. Pain can occur at adhesions between the individual muscles, at the common tendon of many muscles or the attachment of the tendon to the lining of the bone. Time, therapy, acupuncture, and good biomechanical assessment and treatment will help it heal. My frequent recommendation is to find a chiropractor who deals with this sort of problem and has a good reputation. Similar work can be done by some physiotherapists as well.

The braces have to be used intelligently. Their purpose is to take tension off of the tendon and bone interface, however if the problem also involves muscle adhesions or wrist restriction, those problems should be addressed first.

I am a chiropractor, and treat this sort of problem frequently.

Thank you for your very valuable medical opinion and advice!
I have no wrist restrictions at all so I hope that mean no adhesion issues. When I wear the compression sleeve and take a bit of ibuprofen, I'm almost pain free but I'm not sure what that tells me.

Anyway, if you could recommend some exercises or the "proper" brace I would appreciate it. I never know what "brace" actually means. My first thought is something with metal rods like something Tom Brady wears on his knee...

Thanks again,
PJ

[archerscreek]

Originally Posted by Photojeep

Hi,
Would you mind sharing the excercises?

Thanks,
PJ

I've been doing the ones below. Some people use rubber bands or light weight when doing them, but so far I've been doing the exercises without any resistance from rubber bands or weights. I also left out that about 25-30 years ago a sports physical therapist showed me these exercises to help recover from soreness in my elbow from pitching. So when I read about a guitar player doing these to help his elbow, it clicked.

a) Wrist curls both ways (palms up and with palms down).
b) Sit down. Lay forearms on top of thighs. Wrist positioned just beyond the knee, much like a seated wrist curl position. But instead of performing a curling motion, twist the wrist/hand back and forth like you're turning a door handle.
c) With the arm bent at a 90* angle and also with the arm hanging straight down, open the hand as wide as you can, then close to a light fist, then open and keep repeating that.

[reade]

I had elbow pain on the outside of my left (fretting) elbow and down the forearm muscle a bit--and a lesser amount of it in a similar place in my right elbow--for quite a number of months (maybe approaching a year) before finally realizing I should do something about it. The pain in my left elbow ached and burned--enough, as another poster mentioned, to wake me up at night.

In my case it was from increasing the amount of time I spent playing and from indulging in some bad habits of the inexperienced guitarist (such as squeezing the neck way harder than I needed to to fret chords). But I've since learned it's something that can strike even experienced guitarists with good technique.

Initially I thought I'd strained both elbows doing a lift incorrectly one day at the gym, but I corrected my form there and avoided anything that could evenly vaguely aggravate the muscles and the pain persisted, and only then did I finally realize it was from the guitar.

I looked around online and came upon the Youtube video "Cure and excercises for tendonitis (tendenitis)" https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=kE4B99wKBjM. I don't know this guy, but the video was aimed at guitar players and so I tried the stretches he shows and found they really do work.

I'd do them not only before and after playing the guitar, but whenever I thought of it during the course of the day or night. They don't require a lot of time or any special objects, you can do them wherever you are (waiting in line to pay for groceries, at a stop light in the car, watching tv) and they really did solve the problem.

Not overnight. My pain was really bad so I did them probably 6 times a day at first, and, I don't remember exactly how long, but after a few days or week, there was a noticeable decrease in pain and burning.

Then the pain and burning went away completely, and I continue to do them--though less often than I did at first--and it hasn't come back.

I think these easy stretches are worth a try. Before I tried them I was starting to think it was something I'd have to go to physical therapy for.

[OjaiAndrew]

I disagree with the numerous posters that say guitar is not the culprit. It may well be even if it doesn’t hurt while playing. It has bothered me over the years periodically from guitar playing. The solution is the theraband. It’s a simple device that strengthens the musculature and supports the elbow. It has solved the problem for me. Super cheap fix. Look it up on Amazon. Hope it helps you

[rstaight]

Very good advice from Laughingboy68.

You may also try varying your playing position to reduce repetitive stress. It doesn't take much of a change to make a difference.

[vicp]

Originally Posted by OjaiAndrew

...The solution is the theraband. It’s a simple device that strengthens the musculature and supports the elbow. It has solved the problem for me. Super cheap fix. Look it up on Amazon. Hope it helps you

STRONGLY AGREE - the Theraband Flexbar is absolutely the best device that I have found to rehab both tennis and golfer’s elbow. I used to (and will shortly start again) play tennis daily and had developed both tennis (from forehands) and golfer’s (from one-handed backhands) elbow. I tried all sorts of therapies - rubber bands, wrist curls, stretches, etc. Even tried playing left and both handed. Recovery was always slow - sometimes many months.

Eventually I discovered the Theraband Flexbar and started using it (5-10 minutes several times a day - especially for warm-up). Two exercises they show, the Tyler and Reverse Tyler twist address tennis and golfer’s elbow respectively. The results were quite dramatic. I could feel relief almost immediately and subsequent rehab was measured in weeks, not months or years. I still use it before playing tennis for warm up and prevention. The Flexbars come in different colors graded at different strengths. I use the green one.

Searching the web I was amazed at various and expensive treatments pitched. For me this simple $20 item amounted to a “miracle” cure.

BTW, most chiros, along with others in the medical fields, seem to be clueless regarding this fairly common overuse injury.

Hope this helps!

[tnez13]

I mention this any time tennis or golfer elbow comes up. You may want to consider a chiropractic adjustment of your arm and elbow if exercises and rest do not clear it up. I would never have thought of this had it not been mentioned in an issue of the ALTA Tennis magazine several years ago. Chiro helped with a persistent case of tennis elbow I had at that time.

[Photojeep]

Update:
On the advice of OjaiAndrew and vicp above, I got a Theraband Flexbar and after only 2 days I can feel a difference!! I know it's still (very) early yet, but I want to say I am impressed!

I received the Flexbar Friday and started immediately using it by doing the Golfer's Elbow exercise. I played our Easter Mass this morning and came away pain free! Well, my elbow wasn't hurting but I only have myself to blame for my fretting fingertip pain- not playing very much at all for a week really softened them up.

Thank you all again and I will report back from time to time to let you know how it's going and if this Flexbar will continue to help me improve.


Thank you all again,
PJ

[jazzguy]

do you lean on that elbow in the car or at the computer? this can also contribute to pain.

[doublescale1]

get yourself a prescription for some Physical Therapy from your Primary Care Physician. I had that tendonitis severely from playing 36 holes of golf a day for 5 days straight (not smart, I know). the Therapy they used on me was 3 days a week for 8 weeks: ultrasonic massage to start the session, then a series of exercises - at first all I was to do was wrist curls (palm up then palm down) three sets of 15 with at first a tunafish can, then after a week a full chicken noodle soup can at home - once I did those we started using a machine in the PT gym for the same wrist curls but with more resistance. They also added rotating the wrist from left to right with the curls, again with a machine that they gradually increased the resistance. I was also told do a good tendon stretch every time before playing golf to warm up the tendon, once we got the inflammation down. The elbow bands that have been suggested in previous threads are great and will work, but only relieve the symptom pain, the inflammation is still there... you need to work on relieving the inflammation in the tendon, get it back to normal to get over this painful results of repetitive motion. Go get the PT script and work with a qualified Physical Therapist, you can do more harm than good by doing the wrong stuff. Be well.

[Larry Pattis]

Thera-band video:

[DesertTwang]

I have been battling bouts of tennis elbow in both elbows (at different times), and I can honestly say that those absolutely came from guitar playing. The first time happened when I prepared for a wedding gig, meaning I practiced way more than I usually do. Other activities, like day-long computer work, which is what I do for a living, aggravate the issue. I've also noticed that frequent short bouts of heavy lifting trigger or aggravate the condition as well, in my case from suddenly having to lift a baby around many times a day.

I use the Flexbar (Tip: start with the red one first, and only later with the green one) and silicone finger stretchers to exercise, and I try to be better at warming up before practice. I never used to do that, but I realize I'm at an age (47) where I'm no longer as nimble as I used to be. I've also started to pay very close attention to my posture while playing, and I continuously check in with myself on how relaxed I am during practice.

I, too, recommend the Flexbar, but I don't see quite the dramatic improvements that others have mentioned. This could have to do with the fact that I have not been using it absolutely consistently, because my tennis elbow is so low-grade that I have to consciously remind myself to do the exercises.

[DesertTwang]

Originally Posted by OjaiAndrew

I disagree with the numerous posters that say guitar is not the culprit. It may well be even if it doesn’t hurt while playing.

This is absolutely correct. Not hurting during the activity is in fact one of the tell-tale symptoms of lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow) or medial epicondylitis (golfer's elbow).

As for guitar being a cause, the internet is chock-full of first-hand reports detailing just that fact. OP - Don't brush this off!

[CopyCat]

Rehashing an old thread to thank everyone for the information shared.

I’ve recently been dealing with elbow-related pain. I got the devices mentioned here and have watched the relevant videos. A few days in, I’m not cured but am hopeful this path will help get me out of the woods.

Threads like this make me grateful for the guitar forum. Goodness knows I can waste time obsessing on gear, but the tips and shared knowledge here have been a heart-and-mind saver.

Has anyone maintained long-term success after a bad elbow problem?