Tennis Elbow?

[simonb]

Ok here comes my past I was a ballet dancer for over ten years so I know first hand about pain building musle around the area is the best way to go. the stronger the musle the less strain on everthing else. This does not mean go out and pump up but to work the full lenght of the musle which is using the full range of movement this does not make you bigger . size does not mean power in most cases it the other way around remember bruce lee. But the most important thing is when you first hurt your self is ice and rest after 24h you can then massage but not before hope this was some help

[airbourne_oakie]

Tennis elbow from playing racket sport is usally attributed to either impact fatique from the vibrations constantly passing down the raquet into the muscle/joints or gripping the raquet to tightly. I suffered playing squash for some time, but I changed my game and it cleared up, until I kited heavily over the summer. I am sure its to do with how I tight I grip the bar, the looser the better.
Another point made by dwight is that shorter bars seem to be causing more problems, Im sure this is to do with the side to side bend in the wrist being aggerated by a tighter turning radius on the bar - unfortunelty there not much you can do about this.

[ptraykovski]

Guys with tennio elbows...

you may want to consider something like a s2 bar. It locks at any position. so really takes the strain off your arms. You may not like it for other reasons but it will tke the strain of your forearms while still allowing lots of bar motion. I have tried cab powerlock and of course a trim loop with a additional fixed loop and these produce much more strain becuae i'm not locked most of the time.

Just a thought..I don't know becuase i don't get tennis elbow, but do use a s2

-Peter.

[terminalveloce]

The ache I get from kiting is similar to what I get from climbing - has something to do with sustaining high loads on the joint while articulating it. Wrist rotation also plays a part. Anything you can do to reduce these factors helps, IMO.

The shoulder/elbow pain can also be contributed to by nerve impingement in the shoulder caused by muscular imbalance. Climbers typically develop an ape-like stance - our knuckles face forward when we stand with our arms hanging by our sides - due to over-development of the muscles used to "pull down". There are many exercises and stretches that effectively rectify the imbalance.

If you have similar problems I'd suggest seeing a medico who has some experience treating climbers.

[hello_world]

I agree completely with terminalveloce. I got the elbow problem after going to the climbing gym during the offseason. It's not tenis elbow. It's a different tendon in the elbow. I kited through my problem, but now I do have some scare tissue.
The best solution I found was to jump more on my weak tack. Do the tricks but practice on the tack you use less frequently. Without using a lock or harness there is only so many board-offs an elbow can take in a day.

[Spencer]

I use my own home made 28" bar because it's way more ergonomic for my elbows (also great to have a long bar for kiteloops). I often use my own home made power steering bridle on my 19m kite, since that big beast tends to really agrivate my elbow. It's really easy to make your own power steering bridle, and it makes the big kites really easy on the elbows -- twice as easy to sheet in and twice as easy to steer!

Spencer

[Pedro Marcos]

I also have the same problem, what i found weird is:

Its hurts more when im doing whip tricks like board offs and stuff (of the fixed loop) and less when im doing the unhooked stuff powered moves, kiteloops etc, which require a lot more strengh of your arms.

So i think the problem is making strengh with your arm articulated.

When i do big session i always have to get some painkiller pills because without them i cant sleep with the pain.

[ced1]

Been battling for 8 months with elbow pain (inside elbow)... seem to be seeing some light at the end of the tunnel thanks to acupuncture... Check it out if you can...

[Marizu]

ptraykovski, I also use the S2 lock-in bar. A couple of years ago, I had really bad elbow pains and thought I would have to stop kiting.
I switched to S2 and haven't had problems since.

Mari-zu

[Marizu]

I use the 65cm bar as it is about the same width as my shoulders. Shorter ones don't feel 'right' to me.
What is driving the change to smaller bars? is it just fashion?

M