Concept2 Forum

Several people in my erg group have problems with medial epicondylitis (golfer's elbow) as our intensity increases during winter training. Any ideas about technique that may be causing this. We have added additional stretching to try to prevent this.

This topic comes up frequently. If you do a search on sore elbow, you can find some previous discussions, such as<br /><br /><a href='http://concept2.ipbhost.com/index.php?s ... sore+elbow' target='_blank'>http://concept2.ipbhost.com/index.php?s ... bow</a><br /><br />Now that winter is here and I'm doing lots of indoor rowing, I'm also starting to feel it in my elbows even though I am very careful to use a light grip, keep the arms loose and relaxed during the drive, etc. It's about time to put on my homemade handle that lets me keep the hands rotated a little more to the vertical. That solves the problem for me. I wasn't the first one to use a homemade handle to deal with sore elbows. Bert also did something similar. Also, the wooden grips on my homemade handle help prevent blisters. They don't build up heat the way a rubber grip does. It's unpleasant to get a blister under a callus. <br /><br />Byron

<!--QuoteBegin-hirsmar+Nov 26 2005, 12:03 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(hirsmar @ Nov 26 2005, 12:03 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Several people in my erg group have problems with medial epicondylitis (golfer's elbow) as our intensity increases during winter training. Any ideas about technique that may be causing this. We have added additional stretching to try to prevent this. <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />Hello,<br /><br />After advice from doctors and physiotherapists I now wear a tennis elbow strap around my forearm - available from sports shops and chemists.<br /><br />Seems to help.<br /><br />See a doctor or a phyio for help - I found the physio more useful.<br /><br />Be careful - I was off the erg for 5 months due to tennis elbow in 2003.<br /><br />Also - don't grip the handle with very tight closed fists - hook your fingers over the handle - be able to wiggle fingers and "play imaginary piano"......... I try to keep thumbs loose rather than closing off a 360 degree tight fist grip.<br /><br />Elbows close to body rather than out wide on the end of the stroke - double elbow strike to people standing just behind you picking your pocket.<br /><br />Perhaps a more experienced rower/coach could comment on above recommendations ? <br /><br />Bill<br />

I have a recurring elbow problem too. I haven't been able to erg at a very high drag factor because of it. I use the elbow straps, which do help.<br /><br />I started using ErgMonitor this week and discovered that I have been 'favoring' my back by engaging my arms too early and minimizing the 'engage the back first' part of the stroke. Voila, I corrected that and my split dropped 2 seconds; so did my stroke rate, and my elbows felt a lot better at each stroke.<br /><br />Maybe you are trying to compensate for another injury in your legs, feet, or back, and putting too much strain on your arms instead.<br /><br />

I too have had problems with a tennis elbow over the last few years. Two cortisone injections and various other treatments did no more than provide temporary relief. The successful treatment was from a chiropracter and consisted of very intense (painful) deep tissue massage of the muscle near the tendon (plus some spinal manipulation, because that's what chiropracters do!). This was followed by icing to reduce inflammation, plus lots of stretching. Now I seem able to keep it under control by doing the massage and stretching after every rowing session. If it ever gets painful, then I go back to the ice-pack and take ibuprofen. Gripping the handle with thumbs on top also seems to help. This sort of approach may work for golfers elbow as well.<br /><br /><br />Andrew

Something i have tried that seems to work is CT Cream.<br /><br /><a href='http://www.tennis-elbow.net/about.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.tennis-elbow.net/about.htm</a><br /><br />As soon as i started to use it i notice more healing and less inflamation between intense elbow use. <br /><br />Also, reverse wrist curls seemed to help quite a bit and large ice packs twice a day. But the CT Cream is what really seemed to be the answer for me.....<br /><br />Edit:<br /><br />One thing i would like to add that helped me and that is DO NOT sleep on your elbow. I stopped doing this and it also seemed to help the helaing process.....

<!--QuoteBegin-Bill+Nov 28 2005, 02:45 AM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(Bill @ Nov 28 2005, 02:45 AM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin--><!--QuoteBegin-hirsmar+Nov 26 2005, 12:03 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><div class='genmed'><b>QUOTE(hirsmar @ Nov 26 2005, 12:03 PM)</b></div></td></tr><tr><td class='quote'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Several people in my erg group have problems with medial epicondylitis (golfer's elbow) as our intensity increases during winter training. Any ideas about technique that may be causing this. We have added additional stretching to try to prevent this. <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />Hello,<br /><br />After advice from doctors and physiotherapists I now wear a tennis elbow strap around my forearm - available from sports shops and chemists.<br /><br />Seems to help.<br /><br />See a doctor or a phyio for help - I found the physio more useful.<br /><br />Be careful - I was off the erg for 5 months due to tennis elbow in 2003.<br /><br />Also - don't grip the handle with very tight closed fists - hook your fingers over the handle - be able to wiggle fingers and "play imaginary piano"......... I try to keep thumbs loose rather than closing off a 360 degree tight fist grip.<br /><br />Elbows close to body rather than out wide on the end of the stroke - double elbow strike to people standing just behind you picking your pocket.<br /><br />Perhaps a more experienced rower/coach could comment on above recommendations ? <br /><br />Bill <br /> </td></tr></table><br /><br />Hey Bill, <br />I have tennis elbow and erg with a brace now but when i come into the finish the plastic which the strap goes through on my brace irritates my arm- any good brace you would suggest that doesn't interfere with erging?<br />~Emily

I had it soon after taking up squash. I really had little conditioning with raquet sports. I jumped in to the sport at a high intensity, unneccesarily gripping the raquet hard.,...little technique. I soon moved and did not have access to a court, so I did not play for a year, and pain disappeared 100%.<br /><br />I would stop using the C2, heavy briefcase, or anything that requires strong grip COMPLETELY...for several months. When pain stops I would strenghten your forearms with weights/stretching. When you resume C2 use do not grip hard and pull w/o thumb pressure. <br /><br />With little blood flow to tendons, healing takes a long time....