Chronic tennis elbow

[KnottedYet]

Thanks for the advice - I'll try one of the exercises you mentioned ...probably the one in which the elbow is bent (because straightening the elbow is uncomfortable at this point).

They're not exercises, they're more like corrections.

And it could well hurt while you do it. In fact, if something is badly out of place and irritated it will hurt as you nudge it back to where it belongs. (just like if you dislocate your shoulder it hurts like heck, nearly kills you as the doctor relocates it, but feels better after)

What matters is how you feel after, and how you move after.

Sometimes the most painful direction is the one you need to go to settle things back where they belong.

Go ahead and try bending 15 times first. If you feel better after and move better after, go for it every couple hours. I'd say about 5% of tendonitis responds to bending. About 95% responds to straightening, which is why I suggest it first.

On the other hand, it may not be the elbow that needs to be settled. It could be the wrist or something else. In which case, elbow movements aren't going to make any difference.

When tendonitis is chronic, something is stuck off whack. You need to unstick it. Ice and pain meds and rest can make it feel better, but they won't unstick it. Just like ice and pain meds and rest could make a dislocated shoulder feel better, but the problem won't end until the doctor gets ahold of ya and pops it back into the socket.

The body is constantly going off whack and constantly correcting itself. It's amazing and elegant and efficient. We don't notice until something gets stuck and the body can't correct without a little concious help.