Tendenitis in casting arm

[Maggiesmaster]

I've been doing a lot of bass fishing (not catching!) recently, and my elbow has really started hurting after every trip.  Went yesterday for a couple of hours and the pain was severe last night.  I did an inernet search, and my symptoms sound like a version of 'tennis elbow'.  I'll probably go to my physician about this, but the main treatment  (from the 'net) is to rest the elbow; that ain't happening now!  Does anyone else have this problem, and how do you treat it?

[Darren.]

34 minutes ago, Maggiesmaster said:

I've been doing a lot of bass fishing (not catching!) recently, and my elbow has really started hurting after every trip.  Went yesterday for a couple of hours and the pain was severe last night.  I did an inernet search, and my symptoms sound like a version of 'tennis elbow'.  I'll probably go to my physician about this, but the main treatment  (from the 'net) is to rest the elbow; that ain't happening now!  Does anyone else have this problem, and how do you treat it?

I've had it in both elbows, a couple years back.

Couldn't lift my coffee mug without my arm
shaking like a leaf. 

If you do a search, there are a few threads on the
topic, with a lot of advice.

For me, I took 1 Ibuprofen and 1 Aleve to help with
the pain. But what actually worked for me was doing
pushups - not full, but with my knees on the ground
and then doing 10-20.

I could feel the warmth of the blood rush to my arms
and it actually helped heal the issue. If it is too severe
they can actually take your blood, do stuff to it, and
then inject it into the sore areas to bring fast healing.

A bass pro had that done. Don't have the links as I
Googled it years ago.

[Bass Turd]

Put an ice pack on them as soon as you can after the trip. Try this a couple of times and see if it helps.

[drc9805]

I had been dealing with this for a while and thought I had tennis elbow but, now, I believe that usually hurts more on the upper forearm a couple inches from the elbow. I went to a chiropractor for something else and asked him if he had a cure for tennis elbow. He felt around and found right where it was killing me... kind of on the outside of my elbow right on/near a bone. That's when he told me it wasn't tennis elbow per se. Anyway, he jerked and twisted my arm a couple different ways and it was instant relief and kept getting better throughout the day. It still creeps back after some fishing but before I wen't I couldn't flip or pitch at all... it hurt way too bad. I was truly amazed at how fast it got better. 

[TheBug]

I had it bad in my one elbow at the end of the season last year.  After waiting until about Jan. and it not going away I went to see the dr.  Ended up getting a brace to wear when I fish, which I really haven't had to use so far this year because I essentially got it to go away by doing the stretches and exercises I found on this website.  You can search google for tennis elbow exercises and get even more ideas.

http://www.hughston.com/hha/a.seven.htm

 

[blckshirt98]

I've had it in both elbows from gym stuff and for immedidate pain relief (i.e. have a tournament you need to fish) take whatever OTC meds work for you (for me it's Aleve - aspirin/ibuprofen/anything else are like sugar pills to me).  After you're done using your elbow, ice ice ice ice ice ice ice and more ice.  Ice is your best friend.  If it gets to the point where it's so bad that OTC meds and ice isn't helping, just go to an orthopedic surgeon and ask for a cortisone shot.  Don't be afraid of the shot, I got a shot in each elbow and both times they felt good as new. Right elbow I got a shot like 7 years ago, left elbow I got a shot like 6 years ago,  I recently got a second shot on my left elbow but this time it's not inflammation there's something structurally jacked up in it.  Right elbow still feels fine.   If you really want to fix it fast and easy and there's nothing structurally wrong with it, the Magic Needle is your friend!

[Scott F]

I had it a year ago. It took about 7 months to heal. There really are no quick cures. Check with your doctor. Mine suggested a cortisone shot. Even with insurance, the cost would have been about $300 with no guarantees.  The shots may work for a few weeks, a few months or not at all. 

[Tracker22]

Try Salonpas patches. It may give you some relief.

[frosty]

Cheap but effective relief is a tennis elbow band that you put around your upper forearm. After a lot of pounding nails I get the occasional flair up, and the band will relieve it enough to get through the day. 

[crazyjoeclemens]

I manage a small feedmill.  Its a pretty physical job, so I'm no stranger to aches and pains.  Tendonitis really sucks - it takes a long time to heal up.  If casting hurts, definitely don't put as much oomph into it as you normally do.  Constant irritation can significantly increase healing times.   As mentioned before, always ice it to reduce inflammation.  Heat might make it feel better temporarily, but it doesn't help the inflammation.  If you do talk to your doc about it, he might prescribe something like Meloxicam to help with the inflammation as well.  Unfortunately, there's no easy fix, just try to take it easy on that joint and let it heal up on its own.

[1simplemann]

Maggie, I have had it or have it in both elbows. At times it was excruciating! 2 years ago, after an AMAZING weekend of fishing for pike I couldn't hold a coffee cup the next day. To hold the rod I just cupped it and reeled. Couldn't hold the rod. Right elbow was killing me! I kept going because the fishing was on FIRE! So was my elbow. Rest was the best solution. Ice and heat helped. Also stretches help. I got a list of stretches from a physical therapist that I deliver to. Start by pulling down on your hand w/ your arm straight and out in front of you. You should feel your forearms to stretch. I usually pull down on each finger individually because the stretch is slightly different. Rest and blood flow is what heals it. So when whenever possible reduce the stress on your grip. I now have it in the other elbow. I'm a UPS driver. Holding the wheel all day and carrying pkgs all day doesn't help. It's not so bad now but last year I couldn't pull my bow back. In both cases what I found to be the best was rest. I've changed the way I hold the steering wheel and carry packages. Basically I try not to grip anything hard . I don'r carry anything over 30lbs. Anything heavier goes on the dolly. Push ups help as well. From your knees not your toes. You want lots of reps to increase the blood flow. 3 sets of 20 or 30 really get the arms pumped and seem to help w/ the pain. i never got the shot but thought about it. I've heard mixed things about the long term damage caused by cortisone injections. Some good, some not so good so the shot was my last option if nothing else worked. So far i haven't needed one. Hope the helps. 

[Bluebasser86]

I get some occasional, minor pain in my elbows. The tennis elbow band fixes mine up just fine. 

[burrows]

Ice your elbows as soon as you get home from a day on the water icing helps with pain and healing.

[blckshirt98]

A couple of other points:

- If you're on a computer where you use a mouse often, using the mouse will aggravate the elbow tendon, especially if you have a poor ergonomic setup where you arm is in a wonky position.  You might think you're resting the elbow sitting in a chair in front of a computer but this is actually horrible for your elbow tendinitis.  Just something to be aware of if you're on a computer a lot.

- The cortisone shot in the elbow - my orthopedic surgeon said the long term damage is caused by general practitioners that stab the tendon itself with the shot, which compromises the structure and over time with enough stabs to the tendon, will cause it to weaken.  My orthopedic surgeon placed the shot above/below/around the tendon so the cortisone still does it's thing, but without actually piercing the tendon with the needle, which he said is safer in the long run if you end up needing multiple shots as it doesn't damage the tendon.

[BassinLou]

On 6/21/2016 at 10:18 AM, Maggiesmaster said:

I've been doing a lot of bass fishing (not catching!) recently, and my elbow has really started hurting after every trip.  Went yesterday for a couple of hours and the pain was severe last night.  I did an inernet search, and my symptoms sound like a version of 'tennis elbow'.  I'll probably go to my physician about this, but the main treatment  (from the 'net) is to rest the elbow; that ain't happening now!  Does anyone else have this problem, and how do you treat it?

What you have is called "fisherman's elbow", aka lateral epicondilitis, which is equivalent to tennis elbow. I feel your pain. I had the the same problem a few years back. I had it very severe. My path was similar to the ones mentioned. Cortizone shots, ice, etc. I learned a lot during this process. I learned that cortizone shots are really good band aids in masking pain, but if you don't find the root cause, the pain will return in 6 weeks with a vengeance. After dealing with this issue for close to a year, I was introduced to a good physical therapist. I learned to properly strengthen the joint above and below the elbow, which in this case would be the shoulder and wrist. In conjunction with a series of specific stretches, and treatment, my issue was finally resolved. It took some time but I have had 0 problems since then. I will finish by saying, if you are in that much pain and discomfort, you will have to layoff fishing for a while and let the inflammation subside. In my case I just learned to fish with my other arm for a while. I wish you the best of luck, I remember how debilitating fisherman's elbow can be. 

[Advantage]

I have bursitis in both elbows now. 6yrs ago I only had it in my right elbow and got a cortisone shot, it helped for @ 4 months. Since I have it in both elbows now I'm considering the cortisone thing again but have been just dosing up on ibuprofen which works but the long term effects of using ibuprofen are not good.

[BassinLou]

44 minutes ago, Advantage said:

I have bursitis in both elbows now. 6yrs ago I only had it in my right elbow and got a cortisone shot, it helped for @ 4 months. Since I have it in both elbows now I'm considering the cortisone thing again but have been just dosing up on ibuprofen which works but the long term effects of using ibuprofen are not good.

During my elbow ordeal, I was told to take high dosages of Naproxen. Which is the medication found in Alleve. Long story short, I developed a Kidney stone because of it. Thats a whole other discussion there with that experience... LOL!! 

[Scarborough817]

On 6/21/2016 at 10:18 AM, Maggiesmaster said:

I've been doing a lot of bass fishing (not catching!) recently, and my elbow has really started hurting after every trip.  Went yesterday for a couple of hours and the pain was severe last night.  I did an inernet search, and my symptoms sound like a version of 'tennis elbow'.  I'll probably go to my physician about this, but the main treatment  (from the 'net) is to rest the elbow; that ain't happening now!  Does anyone else have this problem, and how do you treat it?

actually just talked to my doc about this she said get some voltaren emulgel and apply it to the source of pain

[cbass12]

I used 2 different bands, one was actually for tennis elbow. When it started to get better I started wearing one of the ACE compression elbow sleeves and that helped keep it from coming back. 

One thing that I did that (I think) really helped was forearm exercises. I did a lot of wrist curls and also did the one where you have a plate weight attached to a rope and a handle at the top. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wVvR8y5cdM

 

On 6/23/2016 at 7:02 AM, Advantage said:

I have bursitis in both elbows now. 6yrs ago I only had it in my right elbow and got a cortisone shot, it helped for @ 4 months. Since I have it in both elbows now I'm considering the cortisone thing again but have been just dosing up on ibuprofen which works but the long term effects of using ibuprofen are not good.

Try what I just posted Van ^^^^^^

[Paul Roberts]

Me too. I've had to fish lefty for up to a year at a time. I'm on my second go 'round. My doc's first case of "Basser's Elbow" as we call it.

[Ersteman]

Tendinitis of any kind sucks. Due to tendons healing slower than muscles, you have to give yourself plenty of rest to recover. I'm talking 3 weeks to 2 months of rest to fully recover. Tendons can trick you too. You'll feel good but they are not able to sustain casting, and you'll hurt the 2nd day after casting.  But once youre fully healed, you have to ease into muscle strengthening exercises on a regular basis; increasing the reps/weight as you feel stringer. Then once you're conditioned, you can ease back into it, continuing to rest and also muscle train. Only then will you fully recover. I've had tendonitis playing tennis, rock climbing, and fishing. When you get older you have to take more action. And it really sucks to put down the rod for a long period of time but sometimes it's the best thing to do.

[flyingmonkie]

I got tendonitis in both wrists after having kids (right wrist for first one, left wrist for second).  Apparently I hold babies wrong.

Osteo Bi-flex Tripple Strength!!!

I swear by it.  One in the morning, one at night, every day.  If I'm going to be gone overnight, I take them with me.  After 2 weeks of continuous use, you will notice a difference.  After a year, all of my symptoms are gone.  Also helps with knees.  I've tried cheaper Glucosamine/Chondroitin supplements, but always go back to the Osteo Bi-flex.  

Again.  I swear by it.

 

[BassinLou]

15 hours ago, Ersteman said:

Tendinitis of any kind sucks. Due to tendons healing slower than muscles, you have to give yourself plenty of rest to recover. I'm talking 3 weeks to 2 months of rest to fully recover. Tendons can trick you too. You'll feel good but they are not able to sustain casting, and you'll hurt the 2nd day after casting.  But once youre fully healed, you have to ease into muscle strengthening exercises on a regular basis; increasing the reps/weight as you feel stringer. Then once you're conditioned, you can ease back into it, continuing to rest and also muscle train. Only then will you fully recover. I've had tendonitis playing tennis, rock climbing, and fishing. When you get older you have to take more action. And it really sucks to put down the rod for a long period of time but sometimes it's the best thing to do.

^^ This pretty much sums it up ^^