Tennis elbow made worse from golf...steroid shot today

[me05501]

I've had chronic tennis elbow in my lead arm for years now. I've learned to use graphite iron shafts, to stretch before playing, and spent some time with a Theraband over the years. I've also learned to avoid certain exercises like chin-ups and barbell curls (hammer curls are fine). 

 

Over the last six months the arm has gotten so bad that it hurts almost all the time and even wakes me up at night. I saw a client today who is a good arm/hand surgeon and he recommended starting with a cortisone injection which he applied today. 

 

Has anyone had success with this therapy? Nothing else I've tried has worked. I absolutely wouldn't mind a surgical fix but the doc said the injection was the first step. 

 

 

[Wardonation]

Yes for about six months. Then the next one lasted about 4 months and so on. THe good news is everyone is different though. THat particular shot hurt like a MOFO though...

[nezander]

Had it on and off in both elbows for a few years now from too many pull ups and not being a spring chicken anymore.  Have had a few cortisone shots over that span, yeah they hurt but they do provide almost immediate relief.  It was always temporary for me though.  I've been advised that resting it might seem logical but that training through the pain with proper form is the only way forward, so I try and be smart and deliberate when lifting and grit my teeth a lot while playing golf.  It's better now than it's been in 3-4 years.  Sucks to get old..

[miamistomp]

 So you talked to a Dr and use still asked us idiots ??

 

OK , as others have said, the shot hurts  but does provide quick relief

 

The fix may only be temporary if there is already extensive damage to the joint and repeated use can weaken tendons

 

Ideally , you would start with the shot and then have exercise therapy to increase blood flow and strengthen the area

 

I had good results from CBD rollons, heat and therabar routine ymmv

[Hawkeye77]

Do what the doctor says.  My experience was cortisone shots, eventual surgery, I can play golf without pain, elbow probably 95%, residual numbness I have to live with in thumb and a couple fingers on my left hand because surgeon was incompetent and nicked a nerve, but after almost two years I don't really notice that issue much any more in terms of activities but it's always there but doesn't affect my golf, which is what matters, lol.  But that's my experience and honestly of no value to you at all.  

Edited January 15, 2022 by Hawkeye77

[mizuno player]

 Therapy, rest and shots worked short-term. Ended up under the knife.

 

Not sure how bad you are right now. I got to where I could not turn a door knob. Pull sheets up while sleeping. Basically the smallest tasks were impossible without shooting pain. 

 

Recovery wasn't fun but it did take care of the pain. However, I feel it coming back from time to time. I rest now as soon as I feel it flair up. 

[rxk9fan]

After compound fractures to both arms and one elbow splattered (motorcycle over car and me over both 90 feet- not my fault) with lots of little pieces, I ended with elbows that killed me when hitting balls.  I guess I was lucky in graphite shafts (Recoil, Steelfiber, now Accra) stopped it all.  I can hit 15 balls with steel shafts and will regret it the next day.  FWIW long acting corticosteroids did zero good.

Elbows are decent now…as I hit putts on my mat 10 days post op total knee. I know I will be on the course soon and my buddies send me reports of their rounds daily to keep me in the game :-).

Bad elbows can take a lot of joy out of the game.  I hope you find your answer soon!!

[phizzy30]

I've had several cortisone shots in hand when I broke one of the metacarpal bones and once in my back.  They hurt pretty bad like a burning sensation.  Lasted a few months but my hand eventually healed.  It works but it's temporary.  It compromises the structural integrity of the soft tissue so keep that in mind and try not to receive too many. 

[glk]

 

[snagy2000]

6 hours ago, me05501 said:

I've had chronic tennis elbow in my lead arm for years now. I've learned to use graphite iron shafts, to stretch before playing, and spent some time with a Theraband over the years. I've also learned to avoid certain exercises like chin-ups and barbell curls (hammer curls are fine). 

 

Over the last six months the arm has gotten so bad that it hurts almost all the time and even wakes me up at night. I saw a client today who is a good arm/hand surgeon and he recommended starting with a cortisone injection which he applied today. 

 

Has anyone had success with this therapy? Nothing else I've tried has worked. I absolutely wouldn't mind a surgical fix but the doc said the injection was the first step. 

 

 

Knocked it out with cortisone shot, rest, acupuncture and this 

 

Also put these in my shafts 

 

https://www.golfworks.com/prosoft-dampening-inserts/p/ps5004/?gclid=CjwKCAiA24SPBhB0EiwAjBgkhvuNlkIUNHoCNZYAVD4XiarVIqmAHLwKbpIR7c7TcWFF3hKzrZtY3BoC_uQQAvD_BwE

[skraly]

These two things-

https://www.theraband.com/theraband-flexbar-resistance-bar.html

and-

https://www.amazon.com/OTC-Band-Forearm-Compression-Strap/dp/B000JNRHFY/ref=sr_1_5?gclid=CjwKCAiA24SPBhB0EiwAjBgkhhLIustra0KgqjqZIcb30VpUcMKrIqHA1by0CiMMJvgpALFVst6-ZRoCXMwQAvD_BwE&hvadid=178105880132&hvdev=t&hvlocphy=9023247&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=14250076411250303988&hvtargid=kwd-3159857250&hydadcr=8283_9897593&keywords=bandit+elbow+brace&qid=1642214894&sr=8-5

If you haven’t tried these, I highly encourage you to do so.  Along with whatever treatment modalities your doctor has advised.  I also assume you are icing after activity.  That can’t be stressed too highly.

You didn’t mention if he had ordered structured rehab for you at a physical therapy  center.

 

 

Edited January 15, 2022 by skraly

[maigre]

A good physical therapist can be a big, big help and spare you of the need for more invasive measures.

 

Massaging the biceps and triceps areas right above my elbow can provide some relief, at least for me. There can be postural things in the neck area that affect this because there's a nerve that runs from there to the wrist. I've largely stopped doing pull ups/chin ups and push ups, as well. Too aggravating to my tennis elbow and occasional golfers elbow.

[golfarb1]

Has anyone had positive results using a percussion massage device ?

[snagy2000]

3 hours ago, golfarb1 said:

Has anyone had positive results using a percussion massage device ?

No, but a frozen golf ball works on this and plantar fasciitis...

[johnrobison]

I agree with all the others who said that cortisone works but only temporarily. It hopefully will reduce the inflammation and pain for a span of time that will allow you to get the most out of some aggressive PT. That was my experience. My issue was in my lead arm and never went away, even with lots of PT, so I eventually had denervation surgery and was back to hitting balls in 6 weeks. There's a discussion thread here somewhere about surgery where I chimed in with my own experience.

[TwistedSister]

Tennis elbow and golfers elbow are different.  Tennis elbow affects the outer tendon and Golfers elbow the inner tendon.

Edited January 15, 2022 by dhacker56

[Forged4life]

Get a theraband bar immediately. Super easy and I had tennis elbow so bad couldn’t lift a coffee cup. After a month or so the Theraband cured it and haven’t had a problem yet. My friend had same issue so I loaned it into him and fixed him too. Worth a try if you can avoid surgery 

[jtmagic]

9 minutes ago, Forged4life said:

Get a theraband bar immediately. Super easy and I had tennis elbow so bad couldn’t lift a coffee cup. After a month or so the Theraband cured it and haven’t had a problem yet. My friend had same issue so I loaned it into him and fixed him too. Worth a try if you can avoid surgery 

I’ve recently started the theraband exercises to help with this.  Did you follow a specific routine or set of exercises that helped most?

[Forged4life]

38 minutes ago, jtmagic said:

I’ve recently started the theraband exercises to help with this.  Did you follow a specific routine or set of exercises that helped most?

Just the ones that they prescribe, the twists. Pain was gone in a few weeks. This was over 3 years ago and have had zero relapsing. I even went to steel fiber shafts and insets etc to help with pain but now I’m back to my regular steel x stiff shafts no issues.  

Edited January 15, 2022 by Forged4life

[amace04]

16 hours ago, snagy2000 said:

Knocked it out with cortisone shot, rest, acupuncture and this 

 

Also put these in my shafts 

 

https://www.golfworks.com/prosoft-dampening-inserts/p/ps5004/?gclid=CjwKCAiA24SPBhB0EiwAjBgkhvuNlkIUNHoCNZYAVD4XiarVIqmAHLwKbpIR7c7TcWFF3hKzrZtY3BoC_uQQAvD_BwE

 

I used one of these last summer. They were ok, but the only problem is after a few holes in the sun, my arm gets sweaty and it won't stay in place.

[SteelieD]

Theraband and a brace. I had to to take little time off as well. Pretty much cleared it up. 
 

interesting to hear most say the shot is temporary. 

[LeftDaddy]

I had it really bad about 5 years ago. I went to the doctor eventually and they ordered PT. I spent a few months and several hundred $ on PT (even with insurance) and it didn’t help at all. I bought a theraband and found some video online where they recommended certain exercises. I did those religiously for a few months and the problem went away (and hasn’t come back…knock on wood). I think what caused it for me was hitting off of mats. I refuse to hit off mats now, except for some little half pitch shots or whatever. I also noticed that bad swing mechanics were a factor. I tried graphite shafts but couldn’t get used to them. Anyway, theraband and no mats seem to have made the difference. 
 

FWIW, my physical therapist was working on basically everything but my forearm. She said the shoulders and the wrist where what was causing the inflammation etc in that tendon. The PT never seemed to help, but I did incorporate some of her exercises into a routine I started a few years back…so maybe that helped too albeit slowly?  The exercises were some stretching of my shoulder joints and wrist, and some wrist rolling exercises.

Edited January 15, 2022 by LeftDaddy

[madaboutgolf]

had golfers elbow a few yrs ago and a friend said try a copper bracelet on my wrist on the same arm ? thought it was an old wives tale ? but it shifted mine and never had it since !! 

[johnrobison]

4 hours ago, Forged4life said:

Get a theraband bar immediately. Super easy and I had tennis elbow so bad couldn’t lift a coffee cup. After a month or so the Theraband cured it and haven’t had a problem yet. My friend had same issue so I loaned it into him and fixed him too. Worth a try if you can avoid surgery 

I agree with Forged4life. The FlexBar is great and I use one almost every day as a warmup. The only thing that I'd caution is to use the weight that doesn't exacerbate the problem. I generally use green now but prior to surgery, when my symptoms were at their worst, using just the red bar was counterproductive to therapy and healing. If it makes the pain worse, drop down to a lighter weight.

[me05501]

Thanks all. I own a green Theraband and will make a habit of using it daily. 
 

The steroid shot has given me some solid relief so far. I can ramp up my reps with the Theraband without pain. 
 

I’ll admit I did get a mat and net to use in my basement this winter, and I’ve mostly limited myself to less than 40

balls per day. Will have to be more cautious with that too. 

[Hawkeye77]

1 hour ago, me05501 said:

Thanks all. I own a green Theraband and will make a habit of using it daily. 
 

The steroid shot has given me some solid relief so far. I can ramp up my reps with the Theraband without pain. 
 

I’ll admit I did get a mat and net to use in my basement this winter, and I’ve mostly limited myself to less than 40

balls per day. Will have to be more cautious with that too. 

One of the knocks on cortisone is by alleviating the pain you may be doing things you shouldn't and not really know.  It definitely masked mine so I could do all sorts of things, whether it allows you to or you should work out more in any sense I have no idea.  It was nice not to have pain reaching for a bowl at the table or even holding my phone at work, or continuing to golf with the usual frequency, but when each shot wore off it was just as bad as before until it was worse.  But every case is unique.

[rxk9fan]

I think we can generalize discussions involving corticosteroid therapy too much.  Corticosteroids have their place in therapy, but up to your prescriber to correctly diagnose and prescribe/administer.  Corticosteroids are obviously not going to mend any kind of structural damage, but if your demon is just an inflammatory response, then corticosteroids can certainly help.

Painful elbows originate from multiple sources and treatment differ depending.

[cadman88]

https://www.golfwrx.com/134765/elbow-and-wrist-pain-how-to-get-rid-of-it/

 

I still believe in this method 100%..

 

During the golf season I have a standing appointment once a month.. definitely a game changer for me..

[michboomin]

Had a good friend and an uncle go through this, both had their ignorant docs shoot them with cortizone shots left and right, did nothing but make it worse. Both of them ended up doing stem cell and it worked. I live in Metro Detroit area so your healthcare could be different but that's my experience!

 

[bdcava]

Been battling this for a long time. Getting Accupuncture now but the OT in the same facility thinks my shoulder may be contributing to it so he’s working on that too.