Treating tennis elbow
I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that either the doctor mis-diagnosed what was wrong with my elbow, or that millions of people are suffering when there is treatment that will help.
On reading the NHS site, I noticed that physiotherapy was one of the possible treatments.
So, I decided to run through all the exercises I do for my neck, shoulder and arms - which I realised I'd neglected for quite some time.
One of the exercises in my set is to dip a handweight down behind the back of the neck. Two sets of ten for each hand. I think it targets the triceps. Almost as soon as I'd finished, I noticed a distinct reduction in my pain levels.
I'm also working on massaging all muscles that lead to the elbow. Following them with my fingers, it isn't hard to find the ones that are sore and give them a good rub. This relaxes the muscles and stops them pulling so hard on the tendons - that's what actually causes the pain at the elbow, it's the tendons hurting.
After two days, pain levels are down by 50% and I'm using my arm a lot more instead of trying to let it hang by my side to avoid using it.
Playing the concertina is still painful, though not impossible.
I'm hoping that a full week of exercise and massage will cure the problem totally. I'll keep you posted...
This entry was originally posted on Dreamwidth where it has
comments.
On reading the NHS site, I noticed that physiotherapy was one of the possible treatments.
So, I decided to run through all the exercises I do for my neck, shoulder and arms - which I realised I'd neglected for quite some time.
One of the exercises in my set is to dip a handweight down behind the back of the neck. Two sets of ten for each hand. I think it targets the triceps. Almost as soon as I'd finished, I noticed a distinct reduction in my pain levels.
I'm also working on massaging all muscles that lead to the elbow. Following them with my fingers, it isn't hard to find the ones that are sore and give them a good rub. This relaxes the muscles and stops them pulling so hard on the tendons - that's what actually causes the pain at the elbow, it's the tendons hurting.
After two days, pain levels are down by 50% and I'm using my arm a lot more instead of trying to let it hang by my side to avoid using it.
Playing the concertina is still painful, though not impossible.
I'm hoping that a full week of exercise and massage will cure the problem totally. I'll keep you posted...
This entry was originally posted on Dreamwidth where it has
comments.