Have been back sailing around 10months. Just recently experiencing pain in tendon on left elbow. Is this common? How do i prevent or ease it? Stopping sailboarding is out of the question.

There are stretches you can do after sailing. Google physiology for elbow tendon pain. The best prevention is to keep your arms straight when sailing, I.e lengthen your harness lines

olskool said..
Have been back sailing around 10months. Just recently experiencing pain in tendon on left elbow. Is this common? How do i prevent or ease it? Stopping sailboarding is out of the question.

This is going to sound unhelpful but if you spend a fair bit of time on the phone, use the headset rather than holding your phone to your ear.

Bi-cep curls cured mine ...I have it a gain ..but doing the curls again almost gone .
Yes .stretch too.
bloody painful thing hey .

Boardsurfr, checked out the flexbar. Looks the goods from all reports.Grabbed a red one from an OT friend. First exercise set coming up. Will keep you guys posted of outcome. Thanks crew!

Tardy, does it help to do forearm curls? ie dumbell curled from palm of hand to fingertips n back? Bicep curls wise, preacher style to isolate better? Or just free standing ? Painfull, yes. But it only seems to bother me only on terra firma. On the water i dont feel it. Theres the solution.... JUST SAIL YA LIFE AWAY.

MikeyS said..
Once I started using longer harness lines, which made me use an overhand grip for my mast hand, I haven't had it recur.

+1
I had it on inside of elbow, golfers elbow I think, after going to shorter lines. I then went back to same length (26) as before and elbow came fairly good fairly quick, now I'm using 30's, still using underhand but all good now. I'm no doctor

I had this complaint for about two years in both elbows.
I just forgot about it and got on with the job-- windsurf!!

It disappeared completely with no special treatment. I did wear the elbow strap after sailing , that helped the niggling pain and recovery

Hope yours does the same

boardsurfr said..
I got elbow tendonitis a few years back. It bugged me for about a year until I found some specific exercises with a "Thera-Bar", then they were gone within a few days. I know several other windsurfers who had similar success. More details at boardsurfr.blogspot.com/2010/05/no-more-tennis-elbow.html

Fixed within a few days - using same exercise

choco said..
If it tennis elbow you can buy a strap which goes around your forearm this compresses the area and takes pressure off the tendon at the elbow.
https://clinicsuppliescanada.com/orliman-sport-epitec-tennis-elbow-brace

I have a couple of good friends that I sail with quite frequently, that both have been dealing with tennis elbow for several years. They both use those straps, or a facsimile of them, they both say they can't sail w/o them. Just the other day one of them couldn't find his strap so he just ran some tape around his forearm in the same place the strap would go, he said it worked great.

G30ff0 said..
.. After focusing on lightly gripping the boom to the level I needed, I was no longer getting tendinitis & my TOW each session increased dramatically as my forearms weren't getting fatigued.

Always a good idea, regardless of tendonitis! Longer harness lines can help a lot, too. I had an overpowered session on a 4.0 today where it took me quite a while before I stopped using my arms too much. In my defense, I get a 4.0 or 3.7 session maybe twice a year.

Interesting. I thought it would be common as I know a few good sailors who have had issues. My current shoulder inflammation gives me golfers and tennis in both arms plus jaw and neck issues.
I was medically retired with work related TE issues which took 10 years to settle but noted I was starting to get it again sailing..I ignored it .Lesson get in early with measures rather than ignoring..
Thanks bboardsurfer I'll get one of those..

I get it every summer.

Easy to cure for me. I just stop sailing and go skiing for a few months.

Now I have no elbow pain, but I have aching knees!

Imax, could well be. But physio did it to patient. Others recommend massaging firmly with stainless steel rod etc. Seems there are a few different methods.

WindsurfSystems said..

olskool said..
Imax, could well be. But physio did it to patient. Others recommend massaging firmly with stainless steel rod etc. Seems there are a few different methods.

I have golfers elbow, just like tennis except both sides of the elbow are in constant pain right down the arm to the smallest fingers - makes windsurfing difficult. The waiting list for surgery to relocate the ulnar nerve from the outside of the elbow to inside is 2 years. The best advice is, seek the right medical opinion first and thats not a physio, save your money and see a orthopaedic surgeon or wait until it heals 2mm per year.

I strongly disagree, you are much better off with a physio or chiro to start with. It's not a difficult diagnosis. If you are the few percent who don't get better with deep massage, friction massage (maybe using a tool, like in Graston technique) exercises, supports, dry needling, freeing up the neck (and hence nerve supply to the forearm) then go to an orthopaedic surgeon. Tennis elbow and golfers elbow are rarely operated on and surgery is an orthopaedic surgeons main tool in the tool box. They can help with diagnosis and also offer oral painkillers, antiinflammatory medication and cortisone injections.
When I get inflamed elbows I stretch them, pressure point massage them and stick some dry needles in them and they always get better quickly. I suppose some people leave them to fester for too long and they develop a lot of inflammation and maybe some scar tissue. They would then need to be persistent and patient with their treatment.

So nearly 12months down the track. Still have a slight issue with tendonitis. Tried many different 'cures'. Flexbar, ice n massage seems to work for me. Interestingly the pain 'line' can be felt from ring finger n middle finger (numbness)thru the elbow (pain) right up to between front n middle deltoids.(aches when massaged, but otherwise gives no pain.) All this started when i tried to seperate a totally stuck mast by twisting.