TENNIS ELBOW/TENDONITIS

aljakel started this discussion · 11/23/2011

Hi all this is my first post on here (I have been lurker for a long time). I was wanting to know if any of you girls suffer or have suffered from tennis elbow from poling. I have pole danced and done aerial silks, trapeze and lyra for the last 6 years and have never suffered anything remotely like it. I have just opened my own studio and teach 11 classes a week and I am now suffering quite badly with it. It makes boomerangs and TG lifts etc rather painful and hard to do. Any suggestions on healing or possibly what may have all of a sudden caused it ?? Cheers Kellie

14 replies

Lyme Lyte · 11/23/2011
I had this a few years ago from racquet ball. I didn't get it looked at right away and even though I quite playing the pain got worse. I wasn't even able to move my arm in the morning! There is a velcro type strap/brace that you wear above your elbow and will help. You can get at Walmart or drug stores. But it took me WEEKS of Physical therapy for it to heal completely. The sooner you intervene with this, the better!
trickivix · 11/24/2011
I had golfer's elbow where the pain is felt under the edge of the bone as opposed to above the bone which is tennis elbow. I got it from over practising the split grip cartwheel mount and not stopping when it started hurting. For treatment I followed RICE - I stopped split grip cartwheels, any time I used my arm I would ice it straight after, I wore one of those sleeve bandages... Actually I didn't do the 'E' now that I think about it. On top of that I massaged the tendon and the muscles in the arm to help blood circulation and applied heat on my rest days. Tendinitis takes ages to heal, especially if it becomes chronic. Just have to listen to your body and if something is painful, you either have to change your method or build the muscles around it a different way... I now start my cartwheel with both hands on the pole instead of grabbing with the lower one after my leg has already started moving.
PaulettePoles · 11/24/2011
Repetitive movements cause tennis elbow form overuse of the forearm extensor muscles form moves moves like handsprings and twisted grips. I dont know any treatments for it other than RICE until it is healed, then strengthening the muscles of the forearm before going back to those moves. Is it posible that you may have been hyperextending your elbow in those moves as well? That could also contribute. Once you heal, just try not to repeat these moves over and over-but limit yourself to just a few a day. Hope you heal fast and stay that way!! - Defnitely stay away form those moves until you are healed or it wil just get worse and really put a damper on your pole life!
Angel1201 · 11/25/2011
Hi Kellie, I feel your pain. I had the same issue and it was a long journey to heal. First I had a doc give cortisone shots. I had 2 shots about 6 months apart. When the second shot wore off a year later, I still had bad pain, especially in the morning. The same doc then sent me for an mri and we discovered I had a 50% tear, so surgery was recommended. I went to a different practice for a second opinion and the doc there (one of the top hand docs in Baltimore) said he would not recommend surgery since the healing time from surgery is about the same time it takes for tendonitis to heal. Instead, he gave me an 'autologous blood tranfer' which simply meant he drew my blood and immediately injected it into the injury. I did this 3 times about a month apart and now I'm totally healed!! I highly recommend it if you can find a doc to do it. My insurance covered it so it was free for me. It's closed related to PRP (platelet rich protein) injections that a lot of top athletes are doing. The difference was I didn't have my blood spun in a centrifuge to isolate the platelets. Plus PRP would have cost me $500 for each treatment since my insurance wouldn't cover it.
cringirl · 11/26/2011
I have this condition. I am a massage therapist, lots of repetitve movement. Additionally, I hyperextend my elbows. I find the best remedy is massage, massage, and rest. It hurts, a little to massage the area, but it relieves the pain after. Good luck!
heathalynne · 11/26/2011
I'm the most impatient person when it comes to tennis elbow... so I treat it within 2-4 days, no weeks or months here. My secret connoction: - Counterstretch frequently, every few hours. Stand up, right arm straight with inner wrist to wall, facing the left, twist your body back while stretching out your bicep/inner elbow. Hold for 1-2 minutes. Then switch sides. Repeat twice. - Lower bicep/massage once daily. - Rest!!! Avoid pole or any strenuous activity for 3-4 days. - Naproxen 550mg (or Advil) twice daily (also good for shoulder pain) - Robaxin (or flexeril) muscle relaxant at night (also good for shoulder pain) Once I also tried moxa heat therapy with an acupuncturist and it worked too! But in conjunction with everything else.
aljakel · 11/26/2011
Thank you all for your input. I am a toughie when it comes to injuring myself as I just push through it, this one however has got me it is definitely chronic. I think I may have initially hyperextended in TG lift and that was the start. So hard for me to rest it as I am a new studio and I am the only one to do the classes. I try to just demonstrate on the opposite arm where possible. I like the sound of acupuncture so might give that a try in conjunction with the exercises you girls have suggested. Do you think this is something I am always going to suffer now??
trickivix · 11/26/2011
No, not something you will live with forever, it will eventually heal. Tendons don't get much blood flow so it can take up to 3 months to heal properly (for the chronic ones). But that's only really if it's not aggravated. Considering your situation with your new studio, it might take a bit longer until it totally disappears. It's been about 5 months for me and I'm not quite fully healed. It was very close and I could use it with no drama as though I had never had it until I slacked off once and didn't engage my muscles properly and then I instantly felt some pain again (that was about a month ago). Just be careful for awhile even after the pain subsides. No pain doesn't mean it's fully healed. Good luck!
PaulettePoles · 11/27/2011
I have never heard of an autologous blood transferr! SInce it is the lack of blood flow to the tendon that cause it to take so much time to heal, I bet that is the BEST treatment option available to speed things up. Good to know there is something out there like that to help
gbugs77 · 11/28/2011
Hello, So sorry you're suffering for your art! I had a 13 year run with a chronic bad elbow. It was actually painful to touch at times. My dr. kept giving me motrin and rest treatments that only lessened the pain and never actually cured me. I also used the brace. I was trying a alternate treatment for something else at a accupuncture clinic and had just irritated the joint again. I asked about it and they cured me in just two treatments. Getting the blood flowing was the key, and it really worked. The pain started lessening about 2 days after the first treatment so I went back for a booster. That was all it took. Hope you feel better soon!
Lovelife · 1/3/2012
Hey, all of these are great suggestions. Mine is a little about recovery and more about possible prevention. I've never had "tennis elbow", but I came accross this thread and I might be able to help you. I am very much into health by way of nutrition and read up on it quite a bit. I think this may be able to apply in this instance as well as what the original posts are about. Omega 3. Either from fish oil/flax oil/krill oil/cod liver oil. The article's I'll link to are about Flax specifically, but that is only because they have a preference for it as it's about Omega 3. Some people have problems with one or more of those oils (ie, fishy burps) and prefer one over the other. I will say if you can handle any of the fish versions they will be better as our bodies need to convert ALA into DHA & EPA with the flax oil/seeds. Any of the fish ones will already be converted before consumption. As for dosing, I'd read the article and decide how much is best for you. It may take a tiny bit of experimenting, but overdosing is unlikely so don't worry about that. I know it sounds a little silly, but Omega 3's help drastically with our joints among many other things. Links: http://blog.sethroberts.net/2011/08/19/flaxseed-oil-reduces-healing-time/ http://blog.sethroberts.net/2011/09/20/arthritis-relief-from-flaxseed-oil/ *Also a helpful tip is that Omega 3's (flax or fish) heal gum disease. If you have bleeding gums take at least 2 tbls/day and it should go away pretty quickly. :) Here are a few excerpts: He re-injured his back pulling a small tree uphill. Usually, it takes at least a week for the pain to go away. I have trouble sitting, walking, and so forth. That day, because I read http://blog.sethroberts.net/2007/11/05/omega-3-and-sports-injuries/, I immediately upped my flaxseed oil to a total of 15 1000mg capsules. The next day, there was nearly no pain at all. I could bend over and touch my toes with only the slightest pain. The day after that, I was back to normal. Later he added some details: I took 15 capsules of flaxseed oil to see what would happen. There was no immediate benefit that I felt that day, but the next day it was great. Even sitting or the slightest bending can cause a lot of pain, but I was able to bend over and nearly touch my toes. I took another 10 capsules that day as well. The day after that, I was completely pain free. I took more flaxseed oil capsules even though I was experiencing no pain at all. I expected the pain to come back, but it didn’t. From then on, I would just take my normal two flaxseed oil capsules . I was spacing them out, 5 at a time in between meals.
ironmaiden · 10/24/2020
Hello! Any updates on your previous tennis elbow? I need to see enlightenment lol. I was just diagnosed with tennis elbow last week and would need to rest my arm and possibly go to therapy too. =( How long did your tennis elbow heal? I want to go back to pole soon! 😫
polegirl777 · 12/22/2024
Hi all,
I’ve been dealing with the same kind of pain since July (i injured my elbow trying to do an air walk) and was wondering if anyone has had success with PT or anything. I started a month ago but it’s been so slow it’s driving me crazy to see such slow healing progress and not being able to go back to pole:(
Veena · 12/22/2024
Hello! This is something that can be addressed by a PT. Also, I have many tutorials available to help rehab issues like this if you're interested, please let me know and I can provide links.
I have great tutorials to help you understand correct placement for split grip work like air walks too.