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Thread: Tennis Elbow

  1. #1
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    Default Tennis Elbow

    Has anyone gotten tennis elbow from stopping and honing too much? Stropping and honing have become a cheap therapy for me, particularly the stropping, and today my elbow feels like it's going to fall off. I think the main factor is shoveling some 2 feet of snow over the weekend, but I'm wondering if my stropping is helping. If anyone has expereinced this, did any technique twiques help?

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    Senior Member blabbermouth JimmyHAD's Avatar
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    Maybe, and maybe not. I have done a heck of a lot of honing and stropping and I do have what I suspect is tendinitis in my right elbow/arm. I also ride off road trails on a mountain bike (the kind you pedal) and go over obstacles, take hits and like that. I am not sure which is responsible. I hope we both get well soon.
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    I think a lot of things can contribute once the tendons get angry. For the next week I'mm not going to strop hone or use my brush (the twirling actually agitates it), I just going to hand lather and use DE. I'm also avoiding the little on keyboard mouse on my laptop. It can't just be honing/stropping because I've been doing that all year with no issues, so I think in my case shoveling set it off, but I'm going to avoid the aggravating stuff in the meantime.

    Hope you get better as well.

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    Senior Member blabbermouth JimmyHAD's Avatar
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    I'm going to strop 'till I drop & ride my mountain bike too.
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    It has more to do with how you're gripping things. We are creatures that have a great deal of strength to grip things. People who work with hammers, wrenches, screwdrivers, tennis rackets, etc., anyone who has to hold on to something tightly is at risk of this problem sometime in their life.

    Sounds like you accomplished gripping tightly, a very dangerous sharp object that required very close holding to a specific angle and position for a couple hours, then gripped a snow shovel. We all know how shovels will turn and drop their load sideways if you don't hold on tight.

    The cure is to learn how you are doing whatever you do to cause the problem and change that way to relieve the need to clamp down hard and tight on the object being held. Get the grip on your favorite tools adapted to your hands. Are you trying to grab a hammer handle that is smaller than it should be?, or too big? Are you wearing gloves that are too loose and allow the tool to move around, so your grip tightens as a result? Just examine the ergonomics of how you work.

    Razors are small compared to the size of most hands, and sharp and require a very close adherence to a specific angle. But, they do not require a death grip to hone. Practice relaxing all the muscles you don't need to use when doing (anything) and see if you abandon a lot more aches and pains. Your whole arm does not need to be tense holding a razor, or your neck or back.....

    An old blacksmith's trick I learned from Al Dippold is to take a sunday newspaper rubber band (not the little skinny ones, or double or tripled them up,) and wrap that around the outside of all five fingers. Then expand your fingers against the resistance of the rubber band. That will exercise the opposing muscles in your grip and reduce that little tendon from sliding back and forth inside the inflamed groove and balance all that movement internally. You can take a rubber band with you everywhere and exercise at any time. Think about it just a little. We grip nearly 100% of the time, e.g. we close our hands around things. We hardly ever exercise the muscles that open our hands. It's like going into a tug of war between sixth graders and the Olympic weight lifting team. Give the opposition a little advantage.

    Your mileage may vary.

    If the pain persists, see your Doctor. NSAIDs, ice or heat will help and rest, avoiding the annoying activity also are part of the treatment. Those funky forearm bands work too, but all they do is stop the muscles from gripping so hard, they don't change how you do things. Steroid injections work better than 90% of the time on the first try, and simple prescriptions will too without having to worry about technique, but you still have to correct the ergonomic problem or it will reoccur.
    “Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power.” R.G.Ingersoll

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    Senior Member blabbermouth JimmyHAD's Avatar
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    Thanks for the input Mike. If gripping tightly is the source then it has to be the mountain bike. When I am going over large roots i tend to grip the bars tightly or approaching log piles and the like I pull up on the bars to get the front tire up as far as I can to help me get over the obstacle. My hands and forearms definitely get stressed. OTOH, I hold the razor with a very light touch when honing/stropping.
    Be careful how you treat people on your way up, you may meet them again on your way back down.

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    Jimmy, I'm not a doctor, but I have been told that some tendon type issues can cause permanent damage if not resolved, so if you soldier through it and it doesn't get better, you might want to check with a doctor just to be sure you don't find yourself on a path you can't reverse.

    I'm pretty sure mine was the shoveling, aggravated by all the things mike was talking about, so I'm going cold turkey from the little muscle things that aggravate that region (where I've had tnedon issues since childhood from tennis and weight lifting too early with bad technique) for a while to let my arm heal from the shoveling but also going to do all the stuff Mike talked about. Maybe if I loosen my strop grip it will be better for the edge too. And that rubber band thing is genius - I've heard the same thing on leg muscless (if you get shin splints you are overworking one side) but never thought of it with the hand and that makes sense!

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    The one thing I find, especially when talking to other folks is that when you are doing a lot of honing or stropping and you feel the need to get it done quickly, then you stand a chance for putting more strain on yourself. This eventually could lead to carpal tunnel and a host of other ailments. Slow and steady is the key......

    I also try to use more large muscle movement in the arm vs. the wrist and elbow when I can.

    The one thing I can tell you from the thousands and thousands of razors I have honed and stropped, is that I now have a callous on the tip of my thumb that can do all the pin peening I need without a hammer.......

    Have fun,

    Lynn
    Last edited by Lynn; 12-28-2008 at 10:23 PM.

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    Senior Member blabbermouth JimmyHAD's Avatar
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    I do special exercises a friend showed me and I have been taking Glucosimine Sulfate for it. I usually only go to the doctor if I need stitches or a bone set and not even then if I can avoid it. But thanks for the advice.
    Be careful how you treat people on your way up, you may meet them again on your way back down.

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    Senior Member kelbro's Avatar
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    Do you have a Chinese 12K?? I used to get inflammation in the arm that held that big rock. Now I set it on my leg while polishing and have not had another problem.

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