Tennis Elbow: Tendonosis vs Tendonitis Exercise Fix
July 25th, 2009
·
by Mike T Nelson · Filed Under: Mobility · Uncategorized · nutrition · pain
Thanks for all the comments on the post below
Tennis Elbow Pain: Tendinosis vs Tendonitis
I was hoping to get the answer back to you sooner, but I was holed up in the lab almost all of yesterday running data on the Monster Energy Drink Study so that I can graduate soon!
The good news is that I shot a video for you, so check it out if you want some options to get rid of that elbow pain.
Notes:
- I used a Kettlebell here for a weight, but any weight will work fine
- Make sure it is not too painful. Pick a lighter weight
- Ideally hit about 10-15 reps with a 5 sec eccentric (lowering) motion.
- You should see some change within about a week
- I’ve found that I needed to do it about as lo
ng after as it took to make the pain go away. So it cleared up pretty well for me in 12 days, so I did it for a total of 24 days. - You can do it every day if you need to
- The volume on the video is a bit soft since I was outside
Again, this is just an option to try. I had tennis elbows really bad in both elbows several years ago and this works wonders.
Long term, I recommend some mobility work (like Z-Health) to keep all your joints working well.
You wil also have to drop any movements/exercises that are creating pain in your training, yes even if that is the beloved KB swing. Try a 1 hand swing and see if that is better, if not, don’t do it until you get the pain under control.
Remember, if you are in pain, you will not have amazing athletic performance (and it just plain sucks)
Any comments, let me know!
Rock on
12 Responses to “Tennis Elbow: Tendonosis vs Tendonitis Exercise Fix”
Leave a Reply
Comments RSS 
mike why is this supposed to work?
mc
This is a great point Mike!
I agree that eccentric loading can have a profound effect on recovery from tendonosis. However, since tendonosis results in the production of randomly aligned type 3 collagen fibers, getting some massage done on the painful area can speed healing by accelerating the rate at which they can become parallel and mature type 1 fibers.
Hi there MC –see Mark’s comment now below and the previous posts I had on it. If you still have questions, drop me a line here and we will get you an answer
Rock on!
Mike T Nelson
Thanks for the comments Mark and you yes, you are correct.
I would argue that massage may accelerate it, but I would add that you would need some mechanical stress and new motor pattern usage for the massage work to HOLD. Again, I know many are in favor of heavy hands on work and even bruising that may result–I am NOT a fan of that type of work. I am not saying it can’t work in the short term, but long term putting someone in pain is not a good idea. I am trying to get OUT of pain, why should I have MORE pain?
Any hands on work that I’ve had done on myself is followed up (or done at the same time) with active mobility work. Remember, WHAT is holding muscle, fascia, tissue in that pattern? The brain and the nervous system, so this areas MUST be address for LONG TERM success.
All biomechanical only solutions can work, but they will eventually hit a ceiling and then the nervous system MUST be addressed to go past that point.
Hope that helps and thanks again for the comment!
Rock on
Mike T Nelson
I agree wholeheartedly. Doing massage without addressing the root cause is a band aid solution.
Thanks Mark! Cool that we are in agreement
Rock on
Mike T Nelson
Good stuff Mike.
I’d be interested to see a post on “Golfer’s Elbow”.
Sorry I missed your comment Scott.
Actually Golfer’s Elbow is Medial Epicondylitis; so it is virtually the same, except the location of the pain is in a different spot.
Try the info above and let me know how it goes for you!
Rock on
Mike T Nelson
Again, this is very interesting stuff. Do you have any thoughts on Achilles tendon issues? (Mine SEEMS to be tendonosis vs. itis in that there isn’t any swelling).
Another question: Can you speak to your experience w/orthotics? Have you worked w/people who wear them or similar shoe inserts? Have you seen Z-health help issues that are supposed to be fixed via such inserts?
Thanks.
Hi there Kyle!
Achilles tendon issues tend to follow the same generalizations, although in my experience with only a handful of people there seems to be a very wide tolerance of pain–meaning the pain levels tend to vary widely. Oddly enough, there is some literature on a possible connection to cardiovascular disease too
http://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Citation/2010/01000/Midportion_Achilles_Tendinopathy_A_Cardiovascular.27.aspx
So it may be worth having a physical also—just an option.
For orthotics, I am generally not a fan; although they can serve a purpose to keep people out of pain in the SHORT term
I like to have athletes work on foot/ankle and hand/wrist (opposite joint) mobility work to try to knock the pain down. Long term I like to see them wear mobile shoes and watch the foot return to a normal form/function.
Let me know if that helps ya!
rock on
Mike T Nelson
PS
I noticed you are in Denver, so you can see my buddy Jason Wood at http://howdoyoumove.blogspot.com/
Tell him I sent ya!
.., i am also one of those people who are experiencing tennis elbow pain… but because of my passion in tennis i still can’t seem to stop and i am on my way of searching different remedies… thanks to your post…
Keep us updated
Rock on
Mike T Nelson