[haydn jones]

Was wondering what training you guys did if you've suffered from this debilitating injury!

Not looking for cures, just curious what you guys did to keep sane whilst you couldn't climb...

[r-man]

Any climbing that doesn't make it hurt.

Sounds obvious, but I found it really helped to drop the intensity to super easy, cut out any moves that I knew would aggravate, then work very very slowly back up to harder climbing.

Also, doing short sessions rather than long sessions seems to give the injury less chance to be aggravated.

[SEDur]

You were climbing like a beast this summer! How did you manage to get Golfers Elbow?

I know a few people who have managed to hurt themselves this way.
RICE is all well and good, but outside of the first few days its effects are very limited (there is academic evidence, google it).

If you haven't seen a physio, do it. They will give you rehab exercises.

[haydn jones]

You were climbing like a beast this summer! How did you manage to get Golfers Elbow?

I know a few people who have managed to hurt themselves this way.
RICE is all well and good, but outside of the first few days its effects are very limited (there is academic evidence, google it).

If you haven't seen a physio, do it. They will give you rehab exercises.

I've only been climbing 3 years, and this year was the first year i started adding weights whilst i trained, and then both elbows just went boom. (they didn't literally go boom no tendon snaps!) Was probably due to have at least one bad injury, already had to take 3 weeks of climbing so far and they still hurt! 

also my hatred of anything that isn't climbing probably didn't help (pushups dips ect)

[haydn jones]

Any climbing that doesn't make it hurt.

Sounds obvious, but I found it really helped to drop the intensity to super easy, cut out any moves that I knew would aggravate, then work very very slowly back up to harder climbing.

Also, doing short sessions rather than long sessions seems to give the injury less chance to be aggravated.

what frequency would you recommend per week?

[krymson]

I had this but i never quit climbing and it went away.  Not on its own of course.

On rest days I did pressups and a bit of tricep work with an elastic going all the way out to build strength through the entire ROM. I also started doing eccentric wrist curls

I didnt quit climbing but i did drop the intensity. Not as much as you would think though, the pain came when locking off so I adopted a much more momentum-based climbing style(think Dave Graham, not Fred Nicole)

Of course i dont think anyone denies some locking off is needed for harder climbing/bouldering, but while your elbow is on the mend, climbing as much as possible with momentum is a good way to climb reasonably hard without taxing the elbow much. If you don't know how to climb with momentum go check out Self Coached Climber.

[r-man]

Any climbing that doesn't make it hurt.

Sounds obvious, but I found it really helped to drop the intensity to super easy, cut out any moves that I knew would aggravate, then work very very slowly back up to harder climbing.

Also, doing short sessions rather than long sessions seems to give the injury less chance to be aggravated.

what frequency would you recommend per week?

See what works.  Everyone is different, i can only tell you what worked for me...

I had a mini campus board that I went up and down, keeping my feet on the ground. If that felt fine I moved my feet a little further back. First hint of discomfort and I stopped. At first this was only for 15/20minutes a day. I progressed very slowly to doing hangs, then easy moves on jugs. The good thing about this was that I could do lock-offs (the move that knackered my elbow) with an absolutely tiny amount of stress on the elbow (feet still on the ground), then increase the stress in small increments every day.

Prior to this, I did have a week off, and I did all those exercises that you'll find when you google. Perhaps they kick started recovery, or perhaps not. I gave them up after a week.

Pressups and other such things seem like a good idea. I bet you are already doing them though.

[mindfull]

Not been in the situation, but know some people who have. With most, pushups helped alot. And a physio of course.

[SA Chris]

I've managed to edit the wiki!

http://ukbouldering.com/wiki/index.php/Useful_Injury_and_Training_Articles

The dodgy elbows article in the link might be useful

[abarro81]

Any climbing that doesn't make it hurt..

+1

See what works.  Everyone is different, i can only tell you what worked for me...

+1 again. As a good example of this, r-man's routine would have been shit for me. (Hangs coming before easy moves on jugs) I was ok to climb at high intensity through pretty much the whole time I've had issues with golfer's, whilst hanging footless was a sure fire way to cause aggravation - for me going out and trying boulders at my limit all day was WAY less bad for them than even 20mins of deadhangs.

I found I needed to be much more slow and gradual warming up than I was used to if I wanted to minimise aggravation. I also found reversing moves very bad, and volume aggravated more than intensity in general, so I ditched all aerobic capacity and capillarisation work. I still find some holds tweak them - e.g. the beastmaker back 2 pockets due to the twist of the wrist that often goes on with them. As r-man said, you've just got to see what's bad for you and avoid that.

I'd advise seeing a physio to help work out which sort of eccentrics you should be doing.

[Steve R]

Reading and doing this (thanks again Tom) really made the difference for me in turning the corner having struggled with bad elbows for years. 

[blacky]

I suffered for years and then I read this:
http://www.tca-glasgow.com/glasgow-climbing-blog/2012/11/1/armaid-the-tca-story-by-paul-twomey.html
and started massaging my forearms (all over, not just the painful area). I didn't buy the armaid thing but I used thumbs, pencils and then bought a massager for 6 quid from amazon and started using that, very regularly at first but now hardly at all. My problem was chronic so, perhaps massage is of more use if it doesn't go away quickly? I was a tit and tried to climb hard when it was sore, so definitely climb but back off if it hurts as others have suggested!

[masonwoods101]

I was told to do shoulder rolls as its was a shoulder/ neck problem that could be causing my elbow problems... I stand on a Theraband and hold it at different lengths to change intensity and that seems to have helped sort elbow pain.... I stopped climbing originally but it seemed to get worse so I started back at a lower grade and avoided any lock offs and warmed up properly...

[mrjonathanr]

I developed this out of the blue in June, when I was fittest I'd been in years. I stopped climbing for 2 months and then started to build back up. Now it's a bit sore, but I've reduced my session length (1hr after warm up)  and frequency (2+ times a week instead of 3+). It's improving.

I've been doing eccentric exercises. I swear this kills soreness almost immediately but as they come in two varieties you'll need a physio to determine whehter it FCU or PT tendons that need rehab.

I do Tom Randall's locust exercises once a day.

Blacky is right about massage though. If it's sore after a session it's fine the next day after a good massage with this: http://www.med-fit.co.uk/massage/hand-held-massagers/the-original-index-knobberr-ii.html

Makes a big difference.

[saltbeef]

There you go! A different opinion from everyone! My elbow feels nigh on back to normal now but I think recovery is very individual. I took 2 and a bit weeks off climbing. It stopped hurting at rest. As Alex says I found down climbing really aggravating and so just did hour long sessions climbing 2as starting with gaps of 72 hours between sessions for a month. Anyway. I built back up slowly over the last 2 months and it now seems fine. I found eccentrics really shit and just took it back to square one.
So climb without pain, warm up slowly don't hang. In between this I've been running and doing core/antagonist weights. Lightish weights and reps of 20.i started to do bicep curls too about 2 months in and think this actually helped. Daren't cut loose or do a pull-up thogh!

[fatdoc]

Seriously consider what JR says.. Wise words IMO

[haydn jones]

cheers for all the helpful replies guys, will try to take everything on board. physio soon as i can i think, will try to scope out a good one for climbers in Milton Keynes (could be tricky!)

[SA Chris]

I've only been climbing 3 years, and this year was the first year i started adding weights whilst i trained, and then both elbows just went boom

This may be a root cause issue btw? I've climbed for on and off for 24 years and never felt the need to add weights (other than that which I have round my middle).

[a dense loner]

I've been walking for 39 yrs chris, some people think i could do it better 

when it comes to injury as a general rule someone young will say they climb through it while someone older will say rest is better, the longer they say to rest gives an indication of how much older they are

[SA Chris]

I've been walking for 39 yrs chris, some people think i could do it better 

If you keep your knuckles off the ground you will be able to move quicker!

[Johnny Brown]

I've been walking for 39 yrs chris, some people think i could do it better

Late starter eh?

[cowboyhat]

the longer they say to rest gives an indication of how much older they are

Is this why you never do any climbing?

[dave k]

Reading and doing this (thanks again Tom) really made the difference for me in turning the corner having struggled with bad elbows for years.

Be careful with this. I tried it and my elbows did not like it AT ALL.

If this is an initial onset, then you may well sort it out relatively easily. Priority is to visit a good physio though.

I did both elbows at same time about 2 years ago, having never had elbow issues (15 years of abusing them). One sorted itself within a few weeks, the other took a fair bit of rest, treatment, stretches. But I did not see a physio at first and tried to sort it myself with Internet advice. Wish I had got straight to a physio.