I have finally come to the conclusion (after 15 months) that perhaps I should actually stay out of the water for a while to allow my poor elbows to heal. I have had "golfers elbow" ever since Nov 4, 2009, when I very stupidly tried to race a highschooler during a sculling set. Not a day goes by that I am not in pain, despite two cortisone shots in each elbow (man, those hurt!) lots of stretching, and countless number of celebrex pills down the throat. I've tried Icy Hot, Bio Freeze, Accupuncture, etc. So for the question: if I take 3-4 weeks off to heal (assuming I actually do heal) and only do kicking during that time, how long do you think it will take me to be back to "normal" (or where I am now) again? Today, despite pain, I went 4200 LCM in about 75-80 minutes (check my flog if you want the workout) and I sincerely intend to compete at the LC nationals in August.
Parents
Former Member
Wow, interesting timing as I sit here with my right medial elbow packed in ice. After shoveling out of the Atlanta snow, I now have a good case of golfer's elbow. Been through this before with both elbows, medially and laterally (tennis elbow.)
I've swum and lifted through it each time, including once with a cortisone shot (the effect lasted three days.) At one point I had tennis elbow in one and golfers elbow in the other...
My approach was ice, special stretching exercises, and the Futuro Sport Tennis Elbow Support, which I wore in and out of the water.
My opinion is that this brace allowed me to minimize the pain (which would mostly go away after warm-up) and limit stress on the tendon so I could continue swimming without worsening the injury. Full recovery only came after several weeks of complete rest.
ymmv
Mark
From personal experience with my elbows (both ended up with surgical repairs) and since you've gone so long with the problem, I'd recommend not swimming a single stroke again until they heal. Kick, kick, and more kick is okay as long as you don't blow out your knees, but avoid pulling with your arms at all costs. You may already be too far gone to avoid the knife.
I stuck with kicking only for 4-5 months, then got the cortisone shot and swam again. Six months later was my first surgery. The surgeon said afterward that it was so far gone that there's no way it would have healed on its own. The tendon was barely attached at both 'ends' of the medial epicondyl, and everything in between was jelly-like.
That was all 9+ years ago. The worst of the two arms has been fine since recovering from the surgery. The other one still comes back to bother me a little on occasion (like now), but I don't think the surgeon did as extensive a repair on that one because it wasn't as bad. My freestyle has never recovered - my best 500 post-surgery is 20 seconds slower than what I did the year it went bad. I fear those subtle stroke changes to avoid the pain are permanent.
PM or email me for more details if you want.
Wow, interesting timing as I sit here with my right medial elbow packed in ice. After shoveling out of the Atlanta snow, I now have a good case of golfer's elbow. Been through this before with both elbows, medially and laterally (tennis elbow.)
I've swum and lifted through it each time, including once with a cortisone shot (the effect lasted three days.) At one point I had tennis elbow in one and golfers elbow in the other...
My approach was ice, special stretching exercises, and the Futuro Sport Tennis Elbow Support, which I wore in and out of the water.
My opinion is that this brace allowed me to minimize the pain (which would mostly go away after warm-up) and limit stress on the tendon so I could continue swimming without worsening the injury. Full recovery only came after several weeks of complete rest.
ymmv
Mark
From personal experience with my elbows (both ended up with surgical repairs) and since you've gone so long with the problem, I'd recommend not swimming a single stroke again until they heal. Kick, kick, and more kick is okay as long as you don't blow out your knees, but avoid pulling with your arms at all costs. You may already be too far gone to avoid the knife.
I stuck with kicking only for 4-5 months, then got the cortisone shot and swam again. Six months later was my first surgery. The surgeon said afterward that it was so far gone that there's no way it would have healed on its own. The tendon was barely attached at both 'ends' of the medial epicondyl, and everything in between was jelly-like.
That was all 9+ years ago. The worst of the two arms has been fine since recovering from the surgery. The other one still comes back to bother me a little on occasion (like now), but I don't think the surgeon did as extensive a repair on that one because it wasn't as bad. My freestyle has never recovered - my best 500 post-surgery is 20 seconds slower than what I did the year it went bad. I fear those subtle stroke changes to avoid the pain are permanent.
PM or email me for more details if you want.
