Hi folks, Got this Carpenters/Tennis elbow for about a month now, does anyone know how long it takes to heal? I have been doing all the recommended exercises online etc, also had quite a lot of rest as have just moved to a different location and am in the process of setting up my business afresh. Just wondering if its an age-related thing as am 55 now so not a spring chicken!
Also known as painters elbow.................takes weeks and suddenly it's gone, you have my sympathy I feel your pain! It helped wearing one of those sports bandages I think it was called Tubigrip!
I had a bump five years ago stripping a large garage door down, thought I'd released all the tension from the spring, took out the remaining bolt and the door scissored and chopped me at the joint on my right arm. Anger and agony was an understatement. Carried on working, arm turned black for a week or so, then went back to normal albeit with an angry twinge which gradually got worse and worse over the following year, to the point I went to the docs and received absolutely useless pointless advice such as "try not to use your hammer" and "do bicep curls sitting on a chair with a tin of beans" and other cobblers. It got to the point where it was agony to lift a pint glass that I knew I had to make a couple of changes(or use my left hand.) What ended up working for me was: I swapped my 30oz estwing for a long handled 15oz'er, you lose the extra weight but keep the torque, wish I'd done it years earlier, instantaneous relief on the joint. Bought an elbow support online for a tenner. Wore it for a good couple of months then stopped when the pain became infrequent. It got on my wick wearing it because it restricts your range of motion, which it's supposed to in order for your arm to heal, so it was a necessary evil. Before you start physical work, do a couple of arm stretches to limber up first, you wouldn't play a rugby match for 80mins without warming up but all of us to a man work 8 hours plus without considering it. Massage the joint and around it every day, only for a couple of minutes or so, when watching TV or whatever so you're doing it without wasting other time out of the day. I hope not for you but it may in your case be age related, I was 28 when I started having it off the back of the injury, had it for over a year at quite a painful level, once I started altering my way of working it lasted about four months after that, with the pain diminishing weekly. Do not have cortisone injections, the case studies show it does nothing to permanently eradicate the pain and in a lot of cases seem to enhance the pain eventually. Try sorting it yourself first before resorting to medical matters.
A good anti-inflammatory cream can help. You can have steroid injection(s), I wore a epicondylitis clasp for about six weeks, when I had it. it
Rub Voltarol on. It's the strongest cream there is. Ware a strap all your waking hours and wait for it to go but could take a year.
Many thanks folks, I appreciate all the help, I bought one of those strap clasp things, I just need to remember to wear it. I will keep doing the exercises and massage and keep my fingers crossed. I got it because I couldn't be bothered to lug my sliding bevel saw to a customers, and thought I would try cutting skirting with a small battery circular saw but because I wasn't used to cutting it that way I put my arm under too much stress. Lesson learned!
I’ve had it on and off for years . Finally went for physio last summer. He used heat lamp, tens machine,acupuncture & stuck a sports plaster on the elbow. I had 4 appointments and it probably improved 90% . I still have small amount of pain but I can cope .
Have tennis elbow now for about a year now. Have tried resting it, have had an injection which cured it instantly, but then the pain returned after 2 months. Now i just live with it and try to work in a way that doesn’t make it worse. Some days it’s really painful so i use some painkillers. I’m 40 so I need to find another way to earn money before my arm falls off lol.
I was told by a heart surgeon who's property I happened to work on, that there's a medical process where they take your blood, freeze it and the properties within become concentrated and stronger, they then inject that back into you at the problem area and apparently it works wonders. Unfortunately I don't know the name of the process having not looked it up, but it sounds about the best shot at controlling tendonitis.
My doc told me that unless i rest it for decent length of time (several months)or possibly even change job then it’s never going to get better. Any treatment is just temporary apart from surgery which isn’t an option until all other avenues have been taken. I’ve resined to the fact it ain’t going away and just manage best i can lol.