Re: "Tennis Elbow" For String Instrument Players
I just saw a doctor two days ago and was diagnosed with tennis elbow- he gave me a good simple explanation on how to tell, how to treat, etc. Here's what I was told;
1. Tennis elbow is tendonitis in the upper arm muscles that control the hand in motions/forces such as you would use in a backhand swing in tennis- muscles for this type of movement are only a fraction of the size of the primary muscles on the inside of the arm used for heavy lifting.
2, He told me that the minimal movement and force used in picking is not likely to cause this condition- he even told me I didn't need to stop playing during treatment (he's a picker too).
3. After listening to my activites, he said my case was likely due to lots of house painting Ive been doing lately- a backstroke with the paintbrush likely being the primary culprit.
4. Treatment: 2 Naproxin (over the counter no-brand), twice per day until the pain is gone. Aspercreme (has to have some chemical that ends in salycitate in it- look for on the label)- use every couple hours if it hurts
5. Most importantly, he says that rest is critical to healing-- need to stop any action or effort that even feels a little painful, and avoid using these muscles for probably a couple weeks after all the pain is gone. He said that most people think it's healed, go back to normal activity, and immediately lose any progress on healing.
He said that in more persistent cases, prescription drugs can help, but the regimen above works well for most everyone IF they are careful not to keep aggrivating it.
"If you hit a wrong note, then make it right by what you play afterwards." - Joe Pass
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