Tennis elbow - can’t lift - how to not lose my progress

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designerdiscounts
designerdiscounts Posts: 517 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I’ve had tennis elbow since May. Played through it for too long and then finally got a cortisone shot that didn’t help at all. I started lifting weights 6 weeks ago and stopped playing Pickleball (the source of the injury) 2 weeks ago in the hopes that strengthening all the supporting muscles would help it heal. But I can feel it getting overworked. Maybe I need to give up lifting also? Any recommendations for exercise that I can do in the meantime so I don’t lose the progress of the last 6 weeks? Just cardio?

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  • TRIHARD36
    TRIHARD36 Posts: 79 Member
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    Swimming and spinning
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Sorry for your injury. It sounds like you’re self-diagnosing and self-treating. Have you worked with a physical therapist? They could give you the specific exercises needed for your situation.
  • cs4156
    cs4156 Posts: 27 Member
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    I lifted through mine, had the doc work on it weekly. Still took almost a year to go away...I loss some strength in my right but am getting it back slowly. I just couldnt stop.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Can't lift or painful when lifting? Not the same thing!

    As my current (for different injuries) hospital rehab Physio says "pain is just a feeling" - not all pain indicates you are damaging yourself.

    My previous Physio advised I could either give my elbow prolonged rest, which might or might not fix it but I'd definitely lose strength or keep lifting and it might or might not get better but I'd keep my strength.

    Carried on lifting but found elbow straps helpful as it takes some pressure off the tendon attachment point.
    I also seemed very sensitive to hand position (neutral grip better) and grip (more hooked the better).

    Eventually it got better but took many, many months. Suggest you consult with a Physio.
  • errollmaclean
    errollmaclean Posts: 562 Member
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    I tried EVERYTHING for mine, but what finally worked was a TheraBand FlexBar. It was like magic.
  • imfornd70
    imfornd70 Posts: 552 Member
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    I guess when you say progress I need to understand your goals and the progress you have made
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,669 Member
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    Sometimes getting a good elbow sleeve helps. Most of the time tennis elbow is from gripping so straps help so you don't have to grip so hard when lifting.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • imfornd70
    imfornd70 Posts: 552 Member
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    the hardest part for me was grip - especially doing lateral shoulders flys - I used a cable and slid my hands through the loop and and did those that way - same with rear lat raise
  • remysquishykins
    remysquishykins Posts: 4 Member
    edited January 2020
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    Try Pilates- a good instructor will work every muscle in the body (even the small ones) and keeping those active is your main goal (be sure to modify as needed). I have had many heavy lifters get DOMS from a 60 minute workout during recovery.

    Also do try Aqua HIIT. The use of water and weights while ensuring you dont do full extension on the injured arm will keep those fibers firing while adding a bit of cardio. Be sure nutritionally to get enough protein-
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
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    are you seeing a physical therapist?
  • designerdiscounts
    designerdiscounts Posts: 517 Member
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    Thanks for all the replies. I've seen an orthopedist and he gave me a list of exercises to do and also a cortisone shot. The pain was so intense before the cortisone shot, I was unable to do the exercises. After, I did the physical therapy exercises but to be honest, not consistently. I also continued playing pickleball, the cause of the tendinitis.

    Since then, I've ceased playing pickleball and took up weight lifting while "resting" my elbow. Still doing the physical therapy exercises intermittently. Was feeling great. So great that I increased my lifting days from 3 to 6 days a week. Yeah, I realize that wasn't a great idea now. I overdid it and my elbow felt like I was back at square one. I've rested it the last couple days and am back at the physical therapy exercises. They do help, if I do them. I'm also back to icing at night.

    I always wear an elbow brace, the "victory band" and it helps. But I'll look into elbow straps. I'd like to get back to lifting quickly and just take it very slow.

    In the 6 weeks since starting lifting, I've lost about 6 pounds and have been able to increase my weights lifted often. I feel (felt) really strong. Maybe I'll just do legs/abs every other day for a week and then see which upper body lifts I can add without pain.
  • designerdiscounts
    designerdiscounts Posts: 517 Member
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    In the last week, I've reached my goal weight. My goal now is to stay there (or maybe get 5 pounds lower) and to lower body fat percentage.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
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    so the problem is that cortisone is just an anti-inflamitory - it doesn't actually fix the cause of the issue; it just disguises it and for some people gives a false sense of healing

    you need to do the physical therpy exercises as prescribed in the amount and manner - set a timer to remind you or something - when i was doing it for my hip i had stuff to do every 3-4 hours that i needed to stick to
  • designerdiscounts
    designerdiscounts Posts: 517 Member
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    @deannalfisher Yes, I'm supposed to do 2 of the exercises twice a day and 4 of the exercises 3-5 times a day - all of them for at least 10 weeks. Setting a timer is a great idea, I do that for everything else :).

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