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Tennis Elbow Fishing Related Injury


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Last year I was fortunate enough to double up the amount of hours on the water compared to previous years. At the end of a long season, steelhead fishing in BC I started to feel discomfort and pain in my right arm (casting arm)... After arriving back in Alberta I went to see my doctor and was diagnosed with tennis elbow due to the amount of casting! I was given three options number one medication, two injections, three physiotherapy. so over the winter season I had physiotherapy and it did seem to help. My elbow did not bother me the rest of the winter.

 

I have been out a handful of times this spring and still no issues. My question is has anyone experienced this? And if so what treatment did you decide and any precautions to prevent this from reoccurring? Once you have tennis elbow will this be something that returns? Looking for any input or advice...

 

Thank You

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Welcome to the club! Mine happened after fighting a 25 lb GT for an hour. Which eventually healed, but over compensating at work caused my left elbow to developed Tennis Elbow and now it's the one that's bothering me...

 

I'm 3 months into my 2nd injection! I find k-tape works (have your physio show you how to tape it) with a Tennis Elbow brace.

 

From what I've been told it can persist.

 

Good luck I empathize with you!!

 

Peter

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Last year I was fortunate enough to double up the amount of hours on the water compared to previous years. At the end of a long season, steelhead fishing in BC I started to feel discomfort and pain in my right arm (casting arm)... After arriving back in Alberta I went to see my doctor and was diagnosed with tennis elbow due to the amount of casting! I was given three options number one medication, two injections, three physiotherapy. so over the winter season I had physiotherapy and it did seem to help. My elbow did not bother me the rest of the winter.

 

I have been out a handful of times this spring and still no issues. My question is has anyone experienced this? And if so what treatment did you decide and any precautions to prevent this from reoccurring? Once you have tennis elbow will this be something that returns? Looking for any input or advice...

 

Thank You

 

I am fortunate enough not have tennis elbow, yet. I have experienced a fair number of repetitive strain injuries---bursitis, Achilles tendinitis, forearm tendinitis, and carpal tunnel. Over 6 years of competitive track and field, I saw many physiotherapists. Once you get a repetitive strain injury, you are more likely to experience it again.

 

Warming up your muscles adequately will prevent re-injury. Occasional breaks to rest/cool/ice the risk area will also help. At the first twinge of pain, you should stop the activity, go home, ice the area in for 20 minutes every 2 hours for 8 hours. However, if you are on the 4th hour of an 8 hour guided trip on the flats and there are tailing bonefish everywhere, aspirin or ibuprofen (or another NSAID) will get you through the day, then ice the area as quickly as possible. In addition to pain management, NSAIDs and aspirin (anti-inflammatory drugs) will help in short term, aiding recovery when used in combination with icing and stretching, but in the long-term, drugs will just mask any residual pain instead of helping you heal.

 

Physio is probably the best resolution to the problem because it will actively seek find the source of the injury. Sometimes injuries occur because the balancing muscle is weak or there is compensation for another injury. Deep muscle massage or Active Release Therapy directly targeting the inflamed area by stimulating blood flow. Both have been shown to work. But severe cases will require steroid injections to reduce the inflammation.

 

SOURCE: biomedical engineer/researcher. Dated a physiotherapist for 4 years. I still occasionally get achilles tendinitis.

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When I first started fly fishing I got tennis elbow from casting too. I referenced it here and one of the members recommended the Serola Gel Arc elbow brace for tennis elbow. You can find it here: http://www.serola.net/serola-gel-arc-elbow-brace

 

I was able to order it through Co Op Home Healthcare on MacLeod Trail S (Beside Sleep Country) and it was amazing. Using a gel, like deep cold, or Voltaren, and working it into the tendonitis area really helps too. Wear the brace while fishing, to prevent stress on the tendon, and use the gel in the morning and before bed.

 

It went away for me pretty quick, and haven't had to use the brace since.

 

*knocks on wood

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I had that happen to me one year and was lucky enough to get some counselling from and exercise physiotherapist who gave me some stretching and rehab exercises. Went away quickly after that and I also took my doctors advice. Me: Doc it hurts whenever I move my arm like this. What should I do? Dr: Don't move your arm like that!.

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I can't comment specifically on the injury, but can offer a couple suggestions for reducing impact. If you don't already use a Spey rod on the salmon and steelhead rivers, give one a try. Also, try using shorter single hand rods as they significantly reduce swing weight, resulting in being able to use a lighter reel (the rod ends up lighter too)

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When I first started fly fishing I got tennis elbow from casting too. I referenced it here and one of the members recommended the Serola Gel Arc elbow brace for tennis elbow. You can find it here: http://www.serola.net/serola-gel-arc-elbow-brace

 

I was able to order it through Co Op Home Healthcare on MacLeod Trail S (Beside Sleep Country) and it was amazing. Using a gel, like deep cold, or Voltaren, and working it into the tendonitis area really helps too. Wear the brace while fishing, to prevent stress on the tendon, and use the gel in the morning and before bed.

 

It went away for me pretty quick, and haven't had to use the brace since.

 

*knocks on wood

 

I was the poster that recommended the Serola Gel Arc elbow brace. Good to hear it worked for you. I've been using it for years and no problems since.

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Paul,

 

Unfortunately, A R T made it worse for me!!

 

There is a point of no-return with ART/massage in treating tendinitis-like injuries. If the inflammation is too high, ART will only serve as a further irritant. It sucks that you had to find out you were beyond the point of no-return the hard way.

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Laser Therapy Solutions..You"ll wonder where the pain went !!

Did it work for you? and what are the costs like (repeat visits ect.) I'm on my 4th round of cortisone for my shoulder and would love to try an alternative.

 

Picking up the spey rod was one of the best things I did for my tennis (chefs) elbow, on longer outings I don't have any pain at all, unlike using the singlehand rod where I can barely move my arm the next day.

 

Colin

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When I got my Tennis elbow 14 ago double hauling was out. Switched to a Spey rod for streamers on big water. Worked great for that aspect. my elbow healed and I stay away from that cast using a variety of Spey casts on other rods now, although it seems cured. It did take years to heal.

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I was the poster that recommended the Serola Gel Arc elbow brace. Good to hear it worked for you. I've been using it for years and no problems since.

 

Thanks for the advice! It worked like a charm! I don't use it on a regular basis now as I don't have issues, but it sure came in handy when it flared up for different reasons about a month ago.

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When I got it it was caused by flexing my wrist too much when casting forward. A bit of wrist flex adds an extra "snap" to add distance but the flex causes tennis elbow. When I don't flex the wrist, no probs. When it hurt I'd stick the elbow in the cold stream/river for a bit.

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  • 2 weeks later...

As a chiropractor I see and treat many people with wrist, elbow and shoulder problems and use different techniques like ART, Graston, and Kinesio taping. For the shoulder, a big aspect of those problems is due to weak posture. I utilize a posture shirt called IntelliSkin that helps cue proper posture in your back which makes a big difference in how you hold your shoulder, and people have reported awesome results and avoided shoulder surgery using it. You can check out this link to learn more about it. https://www.intelliskin.net

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