Pain at the Elbow - Kiter's Elbow: Treatment & Prevention

[Ludmil]

Knotwindy's advice is spot on according to me. I know it from experience...
I have had the chance to meet amazing PT. He was the one who helped me with my physio after ACL surgery, and meanwhile fixed my elbow as well. Haha
I am doing lots of pull ups and kettle bell exercises now and I feel much stronger. There are some very surprised people who tried to give me firmer than appropriate hand shake. Much more cautious nowadays.
No issues kiting whatsoever.
L.

[alford]

I've had great success with Theraband and so have a couple others I know. Be sure to do the proper exercise for tennis elbow vs golfer's elbow and do with good form. Good luck.

[ThickAir]

I’ve had this on and off for past 8 years or so. Worst thing for mine is stand up paddling and chainsawing. But it flares up with kite sessions where there’s excessive working the kite – such as high winds, small kite, riding toeside (surfboard or foil), where the kite is blasting against one arm. A good long session of that, and I feel it. Kites with strong bar pressure immediately bring it on too.

I tried all the exercises and gizmos with limited success. I even bought a home ultrasound. I think what ultimately faded it was less stand up paddling.

Same here. I went a full summer of SUP every day I couldn't kite plus lap swimming 5 days per week and I had it bad - couldn't pick up a glass at times. Stopped the SUP in the fall but kept kiting and swimming. Used Theraband and Penetrex cream and Tennis Elbow was completely gone in about 2 months.

[Benicia Wind]

I had it terrible this year. I blame foiling. Being able to go kiting in 8 MPH means I kited allot more this year. Also, foiling for me, is usually with one hand on the bar, especially toe side. I think this put more stress on my elbows. Mine was hitting the ulnar nerve. At it's worst both of my pinky fingers were numb. Now that the winds have died all the pain is gone. I did find that changing my hand position so my thumb points towards the bar end helped ease the pain. Although it feels weird. What kite has the lowest bar pressure? I'm thinking of going to Maui clouds next year. I've never tried them but I have read they have low bar pressure and turn fast too

[pj sofine]

Funny how you can spot a true sufferer , I would unconsciously massage below the elbow in that sweet spot , even for months/years, after pain went away. People would ask me what I was doing ,ask if I was ok !

[plummet]

Get a kite with light bar pressure.

[sarc]

I’ve had this on and off for past 8 years or so. Worst thing for mine is stand up paddling and chainsawing. But it flares up with kite sessions where there’s excessive working the kite – such as high winds, small kite, riding toeside (surfboard or foil), where the kite is blasting against one arm. A good long session of that, and I feel it. Kites with strong bar pressure immediately bring it on too.

I tried all the exercises and gizmos with limited success. I even bought a home ultrasound. I think what ultimately faded it was less stand up paddling.

At risk of seeming like one of those miracle cure types, I was also taking Recovery at the same time it faded. I remain unsure if it was coincidence or if it actually helped. This supplement is mainly aimed at dogs and horses; it works well for old dogs with joint pain. [their website description: “decreases trauma from chronic lameness” …. Haha, that sounds like me!] http://recoverysa.com/what-is-recovery-sa
I would put this in the category of “can’t hurt / try everything”, to be done in concert with the exercises and massage therapy. Similarly, a friend got a cortisone shot, says it went away immediately.

Good luck!

STAND UP PADDLING AND CHAINSAWING is the most awesome sport in the history of the world. I need to get in on this. Now.

[bc-sf]

The problem, in my experience, yours may vary, comes from muscle imbalances in the arm causing misuse of the joint. Not so much overuse but inappropriate use. Sometimes the muscles themselves are the underlying problem, sometimes it is the facia, sometimes it is the nerves, sometimes it is the tendon attachment to the bone or the muscle tendon junction, sometimes it a very poor diet that doesn’t allow healing. find someone who can evaluate YOU and see what the problem actually is. Makes it much easier to fix.

+1 for the holistic approach.
I've had 'golfers elbow' related to kiting - pain on the inside bottom of the elbow which I attribute it to holding on while getting yanked a few times too many. After trying a bunch of specific elbow exercises and stretches for a few weeks to give brief relief, I learned that my arm/shoulder/neck muscle balance was out of whack. Doing a few more simple push ups and working my triceps a bit more helped improve/solve that pain quite quickly.
Same thing goes for knees - I tend to overwork my quads and knees start to hurt around the kneecap. A few exercises focusing on the hamstrings helps that quickly too. Balance! (learning to deal with getting old)

[piccio]

The book does not tells that elbow pain comes from the back,it shows connections of every body part.feet knees ankle and every articulation cartilage feel and suffer each other of tension.main nerves crossing (16) are on the upper back .it means that for example that knee problem are mainly affected from those points ,connections

[sergei Scotland]

I've had great success with Theraband and so have a couple others I know. Be sure to do the proper exercise for tennis elbow vs golfer's elbow and do with good form. Good luck.

Theraband Flexbar worked for me and a few tennis friends too. Make sure u lookup Tyler Twist exersize on YouTube - just twisting it does not work.
Also if you have it bad:
1)Start with ibuprofen and a couple of weeks or months rest
2).Start with red bar
3).Start with literally 15 degrees Tyler Twist and 5 reps 3 times a day. There shoub be no sharp pain doing this - or go to rest ibuprofen again. Pain when you stretch by straightening your arm and slowly untwisting the bar under load should be 1-2 out of 10.
4).NEXT day u will feel the elbow getting slightly worse. U may want to skip second day if this happens or continue with 15 degrees twist if it is very slight. May be with 2 reps 3 times a day.
5)After about 3 to 10 days of this u should discover that 15 degrees Tyler does not cause any pain any more! Your elbow is getting stronger!
Increase to the same 15 degrees (!) but 15 reps 3 times a day for a week or two. You should get 1-2 pain back with increase of reps.
6)when u can do 15x15x3 with no pain, start 30 degrees x5x3.
7)Then 30x15x3
Etc...
I found that red Flexbar which I second softest was enough for me and after I can twist it fully - 120-180 degrees it was enough for me to keep elbow healthy. I have a severe recurring elbow and had it for 10 years before I discovered Flexbar though. If yours is better you may want to switch to green eventually.
The main principle is avoid sharp pain at all cost. You are trying to get tendons to work without ripping them more. Blood will start circulating through your tendons no matter how lightly you exercise them and will start healing them. But rest alone did not work for me- even 2 years of rest.
Look up Tyler Twist on youtube
https://youtu.be/gsKGbqA9aNo
and
https://youtu.be/A2QQaVfeI4U
- although I do not agree with his one size fits all number of reps and use of the green Flexbar which is too stiff for people I spoken to. The above protocol I suggest should be much safer.