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Tennis Elbow Anyone?

29A

29A

Aug 25, 2014
181
156
Seattle, WA
#1
So I've playing almost daily for the last couple years or so, mostly without incident, but now I'm getting some pretty gnarly pain in my left elbow after playing.

Poked around here and elsewhere online, and got to wondering how common this is, and what do most people do about it.

I'm sure my technique isn't stellar. Since the little pains have started to show up, I've been increasingly mindful about my ergonomics, staying relaxed, and minimizing any death grip, but it seems to be getting worse.

I really don't want to stop playing for any length of time, and am not even convinced that would be a good long term approach anyway. I just want to be able to play without pain or threat of doing real damage.

Anyone got any experience or insights with this?
 
#2
Post a photo of your playing posture and I'm sure you'll get get 1,000 comments/suggestions! :)

One generalized tip is to keep your shoulder/arm/hand in constant motion by playing "up and down the neck" as opposed to keeping your hand fixed in one position playing "across the neck" (if that makes any sense).
 
#3
please note: i am not a doctor and don't play one on TV. i do, however, have issues with my right elbow. since there are a few things that can be causing your issue, it might be worth going to a doctor who's familiar with this kind of issue and finding out exactly what's wrong. you could be developing arthritis.

what i do is i alter playing position during each session - particularly so that my elbow won't always be at the same angle - and take breaks. if your elbow is bent when you play, among other things you're cutting off circulation, so i also massage my elbow where the pain is, not too hard, which does help. there's a brace you wear below your elbow for some kind of issues. it requires fairly precise placement.
 
#4
It's almost certainly not tennis elbow and if it is you didn't get it playing bass. Try this test: place a medium weight jar of something (mayo, spaghetti sauce etc) on a table and while seated pick it up by the lid with your fingertips, palm down. If you have tennis elbow you won't be able to do it-it'll hurt like hell. If you can, great, you don't have it and that's good because it often requires surgery to fix (been there). In any case, see a doctor.
 
#5
Sorry to hear about your problem. If you are using a right-handed guitar and the pain is in your left elbow (i.e., your fretting hand), and if the pain is on the "bottom" of your elbow (as opposed to the top when you put your arm out palm down), then it's called "golfer's elbow". Tennis elbow would be for the tendon on the top and I'd guess you'd experience that in your right elbow. I have both. It sucks. My elbow hurts just lathering a bar of soap in my hands.

There are a lot of things you can and should do, many of which have already been suggested. Go to an orthopedist and then get some PT to learn how to stretch before and after playing and whether you'd benefit from using a "bandit" type of device (goes around your forearm below the elbow (toward the hand) and costs about $10 or so. Ice before and after helps. I think bass playing exacerbates the problem but am not sure it's the cause. I also sit in front of a computer all day, which likely contribures. Regardless, my sense is that it can be a devilish problem to deal despite the name sounding not so serious, and PT I don't think has too great a track-record, which leaves surgery of some sort.

Oh, and I'm not a doctor, so take all of this accordingly. Good luck.
 
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#7
If you actually have tennis elbow there is a fix. I have used it and it works.

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What this does is stretch out the affected tissues. If you do it all the time you will strengthen them and it can prevent further cases. It is by far the most effective technique I have found.

Also, if anyone is dealing with this in their picking hand, check your string tension. I also noticed slight pains due to overexertion from using a 35 inch scale. Just something my right hand doesn't like - everyone is different there
 
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#9
Shameless plug alert, (but good advice too.) Acupuncture is one of the best things going for tendonitis conditions. Simply put, it stimulates your body's built in healing mechanisms, and can really speed up recovery with an issue like this. I know, because that's my day job (trust me, I'd never make it in the music business), and I got into it because it did such an impressive job treating my own tennis elbow years ago.

Figuring out what's wrong with your mechanics and giving yourself a reasonable amount of rest always help of course.
 
#10
After playing an early 50's P bass [and/ or other similar slabs] for many years I switched to an ASAT [no top horn] bass exclusively. The change in playing position created tennis elbow in my right arm. I came up with the ASAT strap extension so the ASAT would hang just like any conventional bass. Couldn't shake hands or use a hammer without lots of pain which eventually went away after about a year. In the interim I used an elastic, velcro adjustable strap just below the elbow. It helped.
YMMV.
 
#11
Philonius said:
Shameless plug alert, (but good advice too.) Acupuncture is one of the best things going for tendonitis conditions. Simply put, it stimulates your body's built in healing mechanisms, and can really speed up recovery with an issue like this. I know, because that's my day job (trust me, I'd never make it in the music business), and I got into it because it did such an impressive job treating my own tennis elbow years ago.

Figuring out what's wrong with your mechanics and giving yourself a reasonable amount of rest always help of course.
Click to expand...
Totally agree with you on this. I was a skeptic about acupuncture (for no good reason, just lack of experience). I had shoulder problems (rotator cuff) and after surgery, I had lingering problems with elbow and forearm pain due to overcompensating for so long due to the bad shoulder. My PT recommended acupuncture and after 3 or 4 treatments, all of the pain and soreness was gone. Worth a try for you? Only you can determine that, but it worked great for me.
 
#12
I had tennis elbow. Here are a couple of things I learned about it:

  1. It has nothing to do with tennis
  2. It is most common with musicians and computer programmers. (that's me and me!)
  3. It is not the result of inflammation, so cold packs do nothing
  4. Grasping it painful
  5. The flex-bar mentioned in the previous post works best in most circumstances according to NIH

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#16
Spoke to my doctor about this, just a general practitioner, and he said to take Indomethacin for the pain & just work the arm around through the range of motion.
I was a little surprised that he said playing through it while on the meds would not further aggravate it, because my experience with it tells me that's exactly what happens if you take meds & keep playing. The next day my arm is screaming at me all day!
 

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