Elbow pain/injury

It is difficult to say exactly what the cause could be without seeing your stroke - and whether or not it is even from swimming or from something else. In terms of swimming, there are a few questions to ask. Did you start practicing the early vertical forearm technique recently, and how often have you been implementing it into your workouts? This type of pull can be stressful on the elbows if you are compensating for weaker muscles by placing more pressure on the elbow joint. Also, do you use flipturns or open turns? Open turns, if practiced forcefully and repetitively, can also place strain on the elbow. These are just a few possibilities. I would recommend getting your stroke analyzed above and under water by a specialized technique coach to see if swimming is causing the trouble - and if so, what you might be doing incorrectly.

Saw the sports medicine guy. Tennis & golfer's elbow (lateral and some medial epicondylitis). No swimming or weightlifting for at least 10 days, doing special wrist stretching exercises, and wearing an elbow strap. Biking OK. If pain gone after 10 days, I can go back in the pool. Perhaps I should abandon the bent elbow catch and pull (EVF). I'm sad to not be able to swim, but as long as I am smart about this, I should be able to avoid this becoming chronic, at least that is my hope. I can't run or walk long distances because of major foot surgery a few years ago, but I am planning on biking to and from work, 12 miles each way and can do some core and leg work-outs.

It is difficult to say exactly what the cause could be without seeing your stroke - and whether or not it is even from swimming or from something else. In terms of swimming, there are a few questions to ask. Did you start practicing the early vertical forearm technique recently, and how often have you been implementing it into your workouts? This type of pull can be stressful on the elbows if you are compensating for weaker muscles by placing more pressure on the elbow joint. Also, do you use flipturns or open turns? Open turns, if practiced forcefully and repetitively, can also place strain on the elbow. These are just a few possibilities. I would recommend getting your stroke analyzed above and under water by a specialized technique coach to see if swimming is causing the trouble - and if so, what you might be doing incorrectly. Thanks, swimspire. I've only recently started trying to focus on EVF, but I also jumped my continuous distance from 3 to 5 miles so I'm pretty sure swimming is the cause. I only do flip-turns. I haven't given up on EVF yet. I should probably be increasing distance more gradually and I will probably lay off of EVF at least for a while and try to become a more patient person.

Check this out-- www.drjuliansaunders.com/.../ Good article Craig. Over the past year I have experienced tendonosis of both the left elbow (medial) and shoulder. A shoulder MRI revealed "severe tendonosis". Did not get an elbow MRI. I had a great PT who had me do tons of eccentric work. No ice. No anti inflammatories. Both problems were fully resolved in about 6 weeks.

I'm happy to help! It's good that you're not completely abandoning the idea of working on the early vertical forearm. What you can do is try to work on that specific aspect of your stroke separately (in the form of a drill), so that you won't have to focus too much on it and put undue pressure on your joints during the fullstroke. Once you've honed the concept into your muscle memory, you will be able to incorporate it into the fullstroke more easily. This is a great drill for early vertical forearm. I have my swimmers alternate between fullstroke and this drill every 25 or so. https://vimeo.com/82897160

Check this out-- www.drjuliansaunders.com/.../

Thanks, everyone, this is all very helpful!

Gull, thanks for sharing the following valuable bit of info: www.drjuliansaunders.com/.../ My right biceps brachii, I think it is, tendon (whatever long head, lower tendon is) has been nagging me since last year. I couldn't curl, or even do lat exercises without sharp pain. Sometimes I even had trouble placing the manual transmission for my car in reverse. Anyway, it would get a little better then go bad again, and again. I read that article and decided to try. Four workouts later, which included specific eccentric (negative) arm curls for this at end of routine, the inflammation does not exist. In fact, I noticed improvement right after the first workout.

Stayed out of the pool for 10 days to let my epicondylitis (tennis & gold elbow) heal. Swam a very slow mile and a half and was starting to notice some tricep soreness. As it started moving more toward the elbow, I stopped and when I got out of the pool the lower tricep was red and warm. Never saw that before. Guess I'll be out of the pool for a while still. I will not let this become a chronic injury. But in the meantime, I've gone back to biking and the leg workout is a good complement to the swimming.

Sorry to hear about the continued soreness you are experiencing. However, you don't necessarily need to avoid the pool entirely. There is so much you can do without the use of your injured arm! I will often have swimmers experiencing injuries focus on kicking sets or single arm sets so that they are continuing to build up endurance and strength while allowing their injury to heal. While many swimmers feel that full stroke is the only way to go, that is actually quite far from the truth. If done properly and appropriately, drills can be just as much of a strength and technique-building exercise as regular swimming sets. The most important thing for you not to do is to fall into a cycle where you are out of the pool for days at a time, and return, only to have the problem flare up again and once more be forced to step away from the pool. Try to keep practicing in the pool without using your injured arm and then when you feel fully recovered, you can begin introducing fullstroke gradually. Good luck!