I went to my sports medicine doctor today to help me with a problem I've
been having with my elbow for about 6 months.

After examining me he proclaimed I had classic tennis elbow symptoms. So I
was explaining the situation where it would have come up, so that he could
suggest a way to continue without further damaging the joint and we decided
it was caused by my drywalling work.

Picking up sheets of drywall by the edge with one hand to lift them into
position, oddly enough he's seen cases where using a screwgun aggrevates it,
painting overhead, using a hammer incorrectly (using wrist action to pound
the nail, not my arm). So he suggested I start wearing a tennis elbow strap
and begin icing my elbow after doing any more DIY jobs. A couple 3 months
and I should be back in fighting form.

In retrospect I should have known unloading drywall by myself from my truck
would injure something, but I always wrote it off as a muscle pull (which it
is) but not something so extensive.

"Eigenvector" wrote in message
news
I went to my sports medicine doctor today to help me with a problem I've
been having with my elbow for about 6 months.

After examining me he proclaimed I had classic tennis elbow symptoms. So
I was explaining the situation where it would have come up, so that he
could suggest a way to continue without further damaging the joint and we
decided it was caused by my drywalling work.

Picking up sheets of drywall by the edge with one hand to lift them into
position, oddly enough he's seen cases where using a screwgun aggrevates
it, painting overhead, using a hammer incorrectly (using wrist action to
pound the nail, not my arm). So he suggested I start wearing a tennis
elbow strap and begin icing my elbow after doing any more DIY jobs. A
couple 3 months and I should be back in fighting form.

In retrospect I should have known unloading drywall by myself from my
truck would injure something, but I always wrote it off as a muscle pull
(which it is) but not something so extensive.

Once you got it, you got it. You don't get rid of it. There are things you
can do, but it's there. Some cortisone shots help, but they hurt like hell.
Wear that strap all the time. Ice it when it hurts a lot. Avoid things
that aggravate it like hammering and tennis. Suck it up and live with it.
It's an irreversible condition. I know. Been there, done that, got the T
shirt.

Steve

"Steve B" wrote in message
...

"Eigenvector" wrote in message
news
I went to my sports medicine doctor today to help me with a problem I've
been having with my elbow for about 6 months.

After examining me he proclaimed I had classic tennis elbow symptoms. So
I was explaining the situation where it would have come up, so that he
could suggest a way to continue without further damaging the joint and we
decided it was caused by my drywalling work.

Picking up sheets of drywall by the edge with one hand to lift them into
position, oddly enough he's seen cases where using a screwgun aggrevates
it, painting overhead, using a hammer incorrectly (using wrist action to
pound the nail, not my arm). So he suggested I start wearing a tennis
elbow strap and begin icing my elbow after doing any more DIY jobs. A
couple 3 months and I should be back in fighting form.

In retrospect I should have known unloading drywall by myself from my
truck would injure something, but I always wrote it off as a muscle pull
(which it is) but not something so extensive.

Once you got it, you got it. You don't get rid of it. There are things
you can do, but it's there. Some cortisone shots help, but they hurt like
hell. Wear that strap all the time. Ice it when it hurts a lot. Avoid
things that aggravate it like hammering and tennis. Suck it up and live
with it. It's an irreversible condition. I know. Been there, done that,
got the T shirt.

Steve
Well the sports medicine doctor was a little more promising. He's my GP and
so knows my history. I've torn my plantar tendon and suffered for a year,
he directed me to what would help and it took about 6 months but I
completely healed. Doesn't mean it won't come back, it has a couple times,
but now that I know what I'm looking for it isn't disabling like it was the
first time. We'll see, hopefully it'll eventually heal up.

Ice, ice baby. If you want my honest opinion, I don't think it was the
drywalling - I think my cat did it while I was asleep as punishment for not
paying more attention to him.

"Eigenvector" wrote

Ice, ice baby. If you want my honest opinion, I don't think it was the
drywalling - I think my cat did it while I was asleep as punishment for
not paying more attention to him.

I don't mean to be negative, but mine has just recurred again and again.
But then, I've retired recently, and those 24 hour work marathons are a
thing of the past. That will bring out any ache or pain you have.

I also think my sinister cat had something to do with it, too.

Steve

Steve B wrote:

Once you got it, you got it. You don't get rid of it. There are things you
can do, but it's there. Some cortisone shots help, but they hurt like hell.
Wear that strap all the time. Ice it when it hurts a lot. Avoid things
that aggravate it like hammering and tennis. Suck it up and live with it.
It's an irreversible condition. I know. Been there, done that, got the T
shirt.

I had it and got rid of it. It took about 20 years. the strap with the
bubble helps at first. you just gotta get it positioned properly. not
always in the same spot either. then when it doesn't hurt as much
rehab, rehab, rehab, with weights and yoga.

Picklesheimer wrote:

oh yeah. with me I found most of my problem was I was doing things
inefficiently with my elbow and that had put too much stress on it.
try to keep your elbow tucked in closer to your body when doing work,
don't let it fly out where it is doing most of the work without the
support of your body and shoulder. I had to relearn how to do many
tasks more efficiently.

On May 4, 10:37�pm, Picklesheimer wrote:
Picklesheimer wrote:

oh yeah. *with me I found most of my problem was I was doing things
inefficiently with my elbow and that had put too much stress on it.
try to keep your elbow tucked in closer to your body when doing work,
don't let it fly out where it is doing most of the work without the
support of your body and shoulder. *I had to relearn how to do many
tasks more efficiently.

welcome to old age, what would of been a minor ouch for a day or two
as a teenager is a permanent problem once you get older.

perhaps its not all age no doubt some is from doing things repetively
for a lifetime. I have carpal tunnel from fixing machines, a touchey
knee from a old fall and knee surgery, a sensitive back from a fall 30
years ago. oddly enough my back and knee injuries were both at the
exact same spot on my sidewalk both from ice...

that section of concrete must hate me.......

having just turned 50 its sucks getting old. although I decded to
ENJOY my birthday. My ife was stunned....

She asked I expected you to be miserable, why are you happy?

well its better than the alternative

On May 4, 8:23 pm, "Eigenvector" wrote:
I went to my sports medicine doctor today to help me with a problem I've
been having with my elbow for about 6 months.

After examining me he proclaimed I had classic tennis elbow symptoms. So I
was explaining the situation where it would have come up, so that he could
suggest a way to continue without further damaging the joint and we decided
it was caused by my drywalling work.

Picking up sheets of drywall by the edge with one hand to lift them into
position, oddly enough he's seen cases where using a screwgun aggrevates it,
painting overhead, using a hammer incorrectly (using wrist action to pound
the nail, not my arm). So he suggested I start wearing a tennis elbow strap
and begin icing my elbow after doing any more DIY jobs. A couple 3 months
and I should be back in fighting form.

I developed a case of "tennis elbow" in one day at my shooting club's
pistol range.
I was shooting through a chronograph off a sand bag with my elbow
resting on a piece of carpet. Doctor gave me a set of exercises and
it was nearly 3 months before all pain left. I was seeing doctor at
the time recovering from a pinched nerve in my neck. My two points
are that unusual stress can cause problems and getting old is a
bitch
Frank

In article , "Steve B" wrote:

Once you got it, you got it. You don't get rid of it. There are things you
can do, but it's there. Some cortisone shots help, but they hurt like hell.
Wear that strap all the time. Ice it when it hurts a lot. Avoid things
that aggravate it like hammering and tennis. Suck it up and live with it.
It's an irreversible condition. I know. Been there, done that, got the T
shirt.

Nonsense. It goes away -- as long as you quit doing whatever it was that
caused it. Obviously, you didn't. There isn't anything special about tennis
elbow. It's an inflammation of the tendon(s) in the elbow. Treat the
inflammation with rest, ice, and anti-inflammatories, avoid the actions that
produced it in the first place, and, like any inflammation, it goes away and
doesn't come back.Until you re-injure it, that is.

I've been there, done that, iced it down, had enough sense to wear the strap
when I needed to, and it went away and has stayed away.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

"Doug Miller" wrote in message
...
In article , "Steve B"
wrote:

Once you got it, you got it. You don't get rid of it. There are things
you
can do, but it's there. Some cortisone shots help, but they hurt like
hell.
Wear that strap all the time. Ice it when it hurts a lot. Avoid things
that aggravate it like hammering and tennis. Suck it up and live with it.
It's an irreversible condition. I know. Been there, done that, got the T
shirt.

Nonsense. It goes away -- as long as you quit doing whatever it was that
caused it. Obviously, you didn't. There isn't anything special about
tennis
elbow. It's an inflammation of the tendon(s) in the elbow. Treat the
inflammation with rest, ice, and anti-inflammatories, avoid the actions
that
produced it in the first place, and, like any inflammation, it goes away
and
doesn't come back.Until you re-injure it, that is.

I've been there, done that, iced it down, had enough sense to wear the
strap
when I needed to, and it went away and has stayed away.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

In his defence some of the literature out there suggests that for some
people it is a chronic lifetime issue. One of my co-workers has had surgery
to correct the length of the tendon that is affected by tennis elbow.

But I hope that properly treating the injury the first time and giving it
adequate rest will go a long way toward permanently healing it.

wrote in message
ups.com...
On May 4, 10:37�pm, Picklesheimer wrote:
Picklesheimer wrote:

oh yeah. �with me I found most of my problem was I was doing things
inefficiently with my elbow and that had put too much stress on it.
try to keep your elbow tucked in closer to your body when doing work,
don't let it fly out where it is doing most of the work without the
support of your body and shoulder. �I had to relearn how to do many
tasks more efficiently.

welcome to old age, what would of been a minor ouch for a day or two
as a teenager is a permanent problem once you get older.

perhaps its not all age no doubt some is from doing things repetively
for a lifetime. I have carpal tunnel from fixing machines, a touchey
knee from a old fall and knee surgery, a sensitive back from a fall 30
years ago. oddly enough my back and knee injuries were both at the
exact same spot on my sidewalk both from ice...

that section of concrete must hate me.......

having just turned 50 its sucks getting old. although I decded to
ENJOY my birthday. My ife was stunned....

She asked I expected you to be miserable, why are you happy?

well its better than the alternative
__________________________________________________ _____________

One thing I will say, I'm only 34, but I find that I do everything myself
due to my size and my girlfriend's small frame. But at what age did you
suddenly find yourself not being able to bounce back like you were when you
were *young*. For me it was about 25 to 26. It was weird, I found myself
getting injuries that wouldn't have phased me a year ago. I also found I
could no longer eat whatever I wanted, stay up all night, or have all of my
hair. Must be the hormones dropping off or something because at 30 all the
hair on my head slid down my back.

On May 4, 7:23 pm, "Eigenvector" wrote:
I went to my sports medicine doctor today to help me with a problem I've
been having with my elbow for about 6 months.

After examining me he proclaimed I had classic tennis elbow symptoms. So I
was explaining the situation where it would have come up, so that he could
suggest a way to continue without further damaging the joint and we decided
it was caused by my drywalling work.

Picking up sheets of drywall by the edge with one hand to lift them into
position, oddly enough he's seen cases where using a screwgun aggrevates it,
painting overhead, using a hammer incorrectly (using wrist action to pound
the nail, not my arm). So he suggested I start wearing a tennis elbow strap
and begin icing my elbow after doing any more DIY jobs. A couple 3 months
and I should be back in fighting form.

In retrospect I should have known unloading drywall by myself from my truck
would injure something, but I always wrote it off as a muscle pull (which it
is) but not something so extensive.

Yep, me too. My elbows have been hurting for years. I went to the
doctor at first but now I treat mine like everyone else, on my own.
I'm not surprised anymore after 46 years when my body hurts. That's
life. Get used to it.

I don't think they do much surgery on elbows at least I don't hear of
it except for pro atheletes. So long as you have your strength and
range of motion then a bit of pain is common enough.

When you say strap, do you mean an "Air Cast"? My doctor got me wearing
one, and it went away in about 4 weeks. My elbow does get sore from time to
time, though.

http://www.tenniscompany.com/accessory_aircast.html

"Buck Turgidson" wrote in message
...
When you say strap, do you mean an "Air Cast"? My doctor got me wearing
one, and it went away in about 4 weeks. My elbow does get sore from time
to time, though.

http://www.tenniscompany.com/accessory_aircast.html

Yeah, its not gel padded, but same thing.

Appearently it's advertised as "one size fits all" they should say "one size
fits most bony armed pre-pubescent boys" cause this thing sure it damn tight