Golfers elbow and Rope Climb training

Hi guys, I am having trouble with my medial epicondylitis and training with RC/PE1. I sustained it from doing too much pull up training and not enough conditioning of the tendons before I started F1.

I can do 5 x 15 of RC/PE1 but then the rest of the day my right inner elbow tendon will be sore.

Does anyone know a good fix for this or an alternative exercise that still produces the necessary strength but doesn't stress the tendon too much? Everything else is great except for this niggly area. I've tried stretching and doing wrist/forearm strengthening with heavy bar turns etc but it's still there.

I hope someone can help?

Thanks a lot in advance

Rob

Tendonitis takes a long time to heal.  REST, ice, and anti-inflammatories are a good start.  Take a month off from using that tendon.  Then start RC/PE1 at week 1 and take the full 3 months to develop to 5x15.

Yee Lai Chan said:

Hi guys, I am having trouble with my medial epicondylitis and training with RC/PE1. I sustained it from doing too much pull up training and not enough conditioning of the tendons before I started F1.

I can do 5 x 15 of RC/PE1 but then the rest of the day my right inner elbow tendon will be sore.

Does anyone know a good fix for this or an alternative exercise that still produces the necessary strength but doesn't stress the tendon too much? Everything else is great except for this niggly area. I've tried stretching and doing wrist/forearm strengthening with heavy bar turns etc but it's still there.

I hope someone can help?

Thanks a lot in advance

Rob

As the pain you have only lasts less than 24 hours do not stress too much. I would keep doing 5x15 until the connective tissue adapts and you feel no pain. Remember Foundation is as much about connective tissue adaptation as muscle strength.

Usually isometrics work well on tendons for pain relief. I usually get my patients to do 3-5x60 sec holds of wrist curls at moderate intensity. This can be done several times a day.

Tendons are very slow to adapt so you are looking at least 6 months recovery time if you manage this well. If not managed well and you push too hard you are looking at years to life.

Speaking from experience with a bad case of golfers elbow, I would personally follow Tex's advice. Tough, but it'll be worth it in the long run. For rehab purposes it is OK, even necessary, to experience some soreness, as it is an indicator of inflammation - this is good, as it means that the repair processes in the body are being triggered. However, DO NOT subject yourself to a perceived pain of more than 1-2 on a scale of 10. This is CRUCIAL. Otherwise you're doing damage at a rate greater than the body can repair it.

The wrist conditioning in H1 totally fixed my golfer's elbow in about 6 months. My elbows were sore for probably 18months prior to starting F1/H1. Stoked.

Thank you guy's, I will adhere to this!! I have noticed that if I do a much lighter set of pulling as I did yesterday (elastic cable pulls in replace of RC/PE1) I can almost avoid the elbow pain, it may hurt a little after but not annoy my life as much.

It's just annoying as I have the strength to go beyond PE1 but clearly the strength has a weakness at it's attachment to my elbow

Ravn said:

Speaking from experience with a bad case of golfers elbow, I would personally follow Tex's advice. Tough, but it'll be worth it in the long run. For rehab purposes it is OK, even necessary, to experience some soreness, as it is an indicator of inflammation - this is good, as it means that the repair processes in the body are being triggered. However, DO NOT subject yourself to a perceived pain of more than 1-2 on a scale of 10. This is CRUCIAL. Otherwise you're doing damage at a rate greater than the body can repair it.

It is my understanding that with chronic/longstanding issues with connective tissue that you almost have to re-aggravate the injury again to kickstart the healing process. On a recent CPD course the lecturer alluded to this mechanism in an off-topic comment about Graston technique.

I also found in the past that putting a smallish firm ball on a desk and doing some 'foam rolling' using your other arm for pressure will help with this. You can also tack-and-stretch by letting off pressure, closing your fist and flexing the wrist, then pressing down on the ball while you slowly open the fist and extend wrist. Let off the pressure, move to another spot, and repeat.

George Launchbury said:

It is my understanding that with chronic/longstanding issues with connective tissue that you almost have to re-aggravate the injury again to kickstart the healing process. 

This is exactly my experience. Acute injuries need rest, chronic injuries need to be worked, albeit at a very low, controlled level, and then gradually and very cautiously progressed upwards in intensity.

I had a mild case of golfers elbow from doing too many rope climbs one week. I took two weeks off rope climbs, iced it, and now I am back in the game. I am spreading out my rope climbs now so I do not overdo it. I also went to the physio who put electrical pads on my inner elbow which seemed to help the tendon pain.   

Thanks a million guys, I really appreciate your support and answers. I have been using some of the advice and have managed a strength get around by using strong elastic cables and linking one side around my relaxed right wrist so it doesn't trigger my wrist flexors and or grip. This enables me to still aquire much of the strength necessary but not firing up that painful tendon. I also incorporate wrist strengthening with a heavy bar straight after my handstand workout. So far so good Thanks again everyone

Rob

For what it's worth I found that using a rice bucket and doing the wrist prep stretches from H1 has effectively removed my golfers and tennis elbow. I'm still nowhere near mastery of RC1 but at least I don't have pain anymore.

Cheers

Ben