Up thread, I’ve commented extensively about my successful self treatment of tennis elbow with Trigger Point Therapy.
One of the advantages is you can keep practicing while doing treatment - as long as you do the massage before and after practicing.
Taking a long break is very commonly suggested, but in my experience it was ineffective. I took a 2 week break, but the symptoms came back the very same day I started playing again.
Same happened to me, unfortunately. That’s how I understood playing was the trigger. I asked my doctor about PRP therapy. Waiting to see if that’s feasible.
I was a physical therapist and am on the Blues board and someone asked me about their tennis elbow. They recommended I post it here. Here is my very long reply
Tennis elbow. First and foremost it is a lot easier to prevent an inflamed tendon than get rid of one. The inflammation starts because 1) the muscle is being overused from repetitive activity - tennis, guitar, keyboard/mouse work etc… 2) there is tightness in the muscle and the sheath or fascia that surrounds the muscle, 3) add the two together and it will break down at its weakest point where the muscle and tendon meet right on the outside of the elbow. Treatment at the painful site of tennis elbow only works well if you treat the knots in the muscle/fascia as well. Some good advice was given on exercising the muscle and should be done, but stretching and massage are key as well. I will add a couple pictures of my favorite stretches when I get a moment. Also please go back to Justin’s warm up exercises video and do those every time you play. So that is the stretching part. As for the area where the muscles and fascia are knotted up, deep tissue massage can be the forgotten element. I can assure you if you have tennis elbow or even if you excessively play guitar and don’t stretch like you should, I can find knots inches (centimeters) down your forearm that would make you call me awful things. These are the true sources of tennis elbow. Massaging these out is not comfortable but you must get rid of these knots. Get a professional to do it, a loved one, a liked one, or figure out how to do it yourself. If you do it yourself, it is easier if you use a small massage tool or even make something yourself. It needs to have a rounded tip maybe 2cm wide you can use to dig into the muscle. Also the knots can be found easier if you stretch the muscle taut and massage around. These are the things you do to prevent tennis elbow as well as treat it. If you already have tennis elbow, do all the above and also hold an ice cube with a rag to protect your fingers and slowly rub the ice around on the small tender area by your elbow for 10 minutes, 2-4 times a day. Also If it’s really bad you can use an anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen or whatever it’s called in your area. DO NOT use these for more than a couple days and then when really needed, like that gig with Joe Bonamassa. Make sure you do not take a medicine or have a condition that is contraindicated with the anti-inflammatory. Sorry for the long text. Happy plucking!
Here are the two stretches in addition to what Justin recommends
Hold arm out, close fist but not real tight, bend wrist towards forearm, rotate wrist so thumb is between hand and chest, bend elbow to 90 degrees, then rotate forearm/fist down, move shoulderand arm back
Hold arm out, straighten fingers, bend wrist up, rotate forearm so thumb is away from body, keep elbow straight, move shoulder back, tip head away from shoulder you are stretching.
Hi John ,
Maybe it is better not to give this kind of advise online and send them to a real doctor,
Many people are not very good at assessing this type of advice and there are risks associated with it, so if you suspect tennis elbow, go to your doctor.
Anti-inflammatories/painkillers such as ibuprofen may be associated with a small increased risk of heart attack or stroke,
Of course you mean well, but there is a risk and it is better to avoid that, is normally the advice given here…
Greetings and all the best ,Rogier
As I stated in my original text and a real doctor ~Roger_Holland emphasized
“ Make sure you do not take a medicine or have a condition that is contraindicated with the anti-inflammatory.”
Please make sure you follow this advice
Thanks John @Plectrumplucker for the detailed advice, I have shown it to my wife who has struggled with this for a while, not due to guitar.
I know a lot about this, but, like my daughter, she doesn’t listen if it comes from me🙄
Another caution, and I think my wife suffered this, is to work the trigger points even if uncomfortable, but the pain shouldn’t have to be too severe and there shouldn’t be more than minor residual soreness after. She worked on it until it hurt more, and then stopped.
And like I said, people read poorly…I read it that you advise that people who experience tennis arm (and more and more people like to self-diagnose) should/could take ibiprofen for a period of time. I wanted to add why people always have to go to their doctor first and then be told whether they are going to take medication is because in 2017 my physiotherapist diagnosed me with periosteum, I have seen him twice a week for years. in my house for many years…After a long time it turned out to be vascular necrosis and then my hip was gone…
Greetings
My tennis elbow chronology: 16 weeks without fretting hand activity, last 12 of those 16 weeks of intensive physical therapy, after that gradual reintroduction of fretting hand practice, 1st week 10 mins, 2nd week 20 mins etc. reaching full hour after several more weeks. Switched to lighter gauge strings, more intensive fretting hand work at the end and not the beginning of practice session, I never start practice unles I warm up (without guitar) for at least 5 mins, if i get a feeling something is moving from uncomfortable to pain while practicing i stop it right away, during practice I shake my hands to relax them every 15 mins or when i feel the need… So far so good. I took 3 month rest very seriously. Never want to go through that again and be away from guitar for so long.
Yeah, I made that mistake a couple times. A little massage provides some immediate relief, so you double down and overdo it.
I found that starting with about 5 strokes of the massage tool to start, and working up to 10 - 15 strokes over a few days solved this problem.
Physical therapy itself consisted of:
