"tennis" elbow ...
 

as a right-handed person who has recently got a painful right elbow I figure I have somehow managed to give myself tennis elbow! Can't put finger on any situation that might have caused this but .... any ideas on how to "fix" this as quickly as possible? and if no fixes then what steps can I take in my normal day to help the elbow stop hurting!

All suggestions will be gratefully received - as a temp. contractor I can't afford to not work cos "no work = no pay"!!


:D

If indeed it is tennis elbow, the quickest, most efficient fix is a steroid injection. Just as effective, and with no risk of side-effects at all, is physiotherapy and stretching exercises, but it'll take a lot longer.

The choice, as they say, is yours.

QDM

QDM thanks for the advice ... I will probably find a physio as I have had cortisone shots in the past and dread them.. in fact having spent a very long time in hospital/rehab after a back injury moons ago I dread all Drs and hospitals and "med stuff"!!!

:D

Concerning your worries over whether you might have tennis elbow and obtaining the most effective treatment, I would suggest that the best method of finding out what to do is to go to your doctor, firstly, to ensure that you have the correct diagnosis and, secondly, they will be in a better postion to suggest appropriate courses of treatment.

It is rather difficult to diagnose and treat conditions online without examining the patient (and incidently is poor practice of medicine).

Hope you sort things out.:)

Do not under any circumstances have steroid injections.

A simple dose or two of deep ultraheat applied by a state registered physio will correct the problem.

In the meantime don't use the painful arm for carrying your flight bag, pouring wine, or any other strenuous tasks until you have cured the problem.

An ex sufferer.

Several years ago I had a bad case of tennis elbow that I got from my computer job, a coworker came down with it also. She took time off from work and had to go through painful physical therapy (at her own expense!).
I took a different route. At a local bar, I knew that one of the barmaids was learning how to become a massage therapist. I asked here to help me and she said OK, but she stated that she had never been trained at that point to do elbows. She had me extend my right arm, she placed one hand above the elbow and the other below the elbow, she moved her hands in opposite directions with a semi-firm grip. This lasted for less than a minute. While driving home I thought my elbow felt better but I said to myself that it's all in my head. The next moring when I arose it was 95% better!!! Several weeks later all of the pain was gone all for the price of a beer and a tip.
So have your girl friend, spouse, or the chief pilot give you the treatment.;)

Tennis elbow more commonly occurs from non-tennis activities than not.
It is associated with excess use of the wrist extensors ( those muscles which pull the hand backwards)
These are attached to the lateral(outside ) epicondyle(bump) on the elbow, and thus excess atrain is felt as pain in this region.
Quite commonly it occurs in mechanics who have been using spanners a lot or when someone does a lot of screw-driving activity ( said carefully)
Rest is the most important treatment ( ie avoidance of the activity which caused it).
Physio may help as may anti-inflammatories or a steroid injection.
So called support straps are useless.
See a doctor and make sure you do not have any form of arthritis , eg gout.
Yes gout can and does occur in the elbow.

Cirrus

I appreciate all the public and private responses on this - I used a couple of small medical magnet with tubi-grip and this appears to have helped the inflammation and..I am being careful about using my right hand/arm as little as possible! The first Drs appt I could get was for this week and as I now have a steenkin cold I don't want to go an appear a total hypochondriac :D :D

Self-diagnosis is not to be recommended. Nor is diagnosis over the internet.

First and only "best" advice for anything like this is to go and see the quack. Forget about "appearing hypochondriac". They are intelligent enough (for the most part :D ) to be able to work that out for themselves.

They are the professionals in their field. Don't try to guess their jobs, and we can only hope they won't try to do ours! :)

Though it is not yet certain, we hope to have a retired doctor/AME on this forum to both advise and to moderate - hopefully at the beginning of October.

He will provide expert opinions, which will finally alleviate false help.

Watch this space as they say.

PPP

This is complete garbage. Like any medical treatment, they have their pros and cons and in certain circumstances are extremely useful. I have personally cured many a tennis elbow with them and a number of other conditions.

QDM

To a limited extent, this is true. However, I'd advise anyone to question, question, question and get a second (or third) opinion where necessary. There's much more subjective variation in medicine than in flying.

QDM

I only comment on this forum because I AM a qualified consultant physician.
Cirrus

In view of the obvious skills we have here from at least THREE physcians, perhaps bluskis might care to say why steroid injections are a no no.

I had them for tennis elbow. Didn't do much for my tennis but I knocked 4 off my golf handicap! :)

pprunepop.
I concur.
Congratulations.
Cirrus

i agree with QDM- local steriods is the best option. (i.e. dont import them!)

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