Tennis elbow and archery???

[BMowatt]

I had to take a year off from the Hoyt and use a crossbow.

[Dudley]

I had it in my right elbow many years ago. Cortizone shots twice helped, but it eventually came back. Ended up having the surgery and hasn't bothered me again. But then I got it in my left elbow. Had the cortisone and it went away. Now, three years later I have it again. Got another shot in March and it helped but only about 50% better. Trying to avoid another surgery, so its lots of rest, using the arm band all day long, Aleve, TINS unit for electrical massage and massaging the area by rolling a tennis ball over it. I don't ice because I don't want to slow down blood flow. I want more blood flow to help healing. I sometime put a heating pad on it. I'm up to about 75% now and hope to be at full speed by the end of the summer.

[Stoof]

Strengthening my wrist and arms is what works for me. Avoid repetitive stress. Mine was caused by chainsaws and hand tools. It didn't get bad until I got a desk job. Rolling a mouse around is what flares mine up. Cortisone actually made it worse.
I think it's a little different for everybody.


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Violence never settles anything
-Genghis Kahn

[Matt_C]

Mouse caused mine. I switched to left hand, and went with a crossbow. I tried going back to my bow but as soon as I start shooting with bow, it flares up and hurts like the dickens...

[Dudley]

Typing hurts mine. I try to type one-handed now. Anything that causes your palm to be in a face-down position will put stress on that tendon. Ive learned to keep the palm up, especially when I lift something, and keep my elbow close to my side. Turning a doorknob, screwdriver, or a wrench is a no-no.

[akstigo01]

Cortisone shot does the trick for me. I have had them at the beginning of several summers and had no recurring issues the rest of the year.

[mills650]

I got it bad in 2010 in both elbows from hammering. It didn't affect me being able to draw a bow but it certainly limited a lot of other activities. I first went to a sports doctor who gave me braces and cortisone shots which made the pain go away - temporarily. A neighbor has it from tennis & sent me to his chiropractor - no luck.

Finally a guy in the Austin SCI club who's also a chiropractor noticed the braces and asked if I was having tennis elbow. He said they work on joint issues like that and to come by. Having nothing to loose, I did. First thing he said was quit doing whatever's aggravating it (should have been obvious!) He treated it with premod - basically running electricity through tendons. I sit in front of a computer running a mouse all day so I got an ergonomic mouse; your hand is rotated outwards when you grip it. Takes a little getting used to. I also iced them down whenever pain flared up, which could be a couple times a day. Wrap freeze packs in a towel and wrap them around your elbows.
It SLOWLY started getting better after a couple of months. I still go in for treatment once every 2 months just to keep it at bay. It's a chronic problem that can pop up again. However now I can hammer or run a chainsaw without the arm braces.

The chiropractor (and good friend) is Jerel Wottrich @ First Chiropractic in Austin.

[Meatatarian]

I actually play tennis twice a week and ice hockey twice a week. BOTH contribute to the tennis elbow. I now wear a brace which helps tremendously. I actually aggravated it badly before using a brace when trying to shoot my bow for practice. I pulled back my bow to about full draw and right before I met the threshold I lost strength and a quick involuntary letdown happened and my arm snapped back down firmly. I thought I tore something. It hurt so bad. Needless to say I will most likely need to drop down from 60 to around 53 pounds or so.

[Rando]

Too bad you weren't in San Marcos. I'd fix it for you and then show you how to keep it away