Re: Tennis Elbow

[Tim Mungenast <tmungenast@verizon.net>]

Luis, I wish you a quick recovery. And Rick, I thank you for sharing your 
wisdom. I have been wracked with chronic pain since my mid-teens and have 
gotten relief from many of the things you mention. Then there's the stuff 
I haven't tried yet, like acupuncture. NEXT STOP: ACUPUNCTURE! Again, 
thanks!


Tim Mungenast
Editor/Writer/Proofreader: www.linkedin.com/in/timmungenast
Guitarist/Composer/Vocalist: www.reverbnation.com/timmungenast


--- On Sun, 12/9/12, Rick Walker <looppool@cruzio.com> wrote:

> From: Rick Walker <looppool@cruzio.com>
> Subject: Re: Tennis Elbow
> To: "Luis Angulo" <louie.angulo@yahoo.com>, "LOOPERS DELIGHT (posting)" 
> <Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com>
> Date: Sunday, December 9, 2012, 7:10 AM
> Hi Luis,
> 
> Over Use Syndrome is very common with anyone who does
> anything over and over and over.  It can come from
> typing;  texting on a cell phone;  playing
> tennis;  playing guitar...........anything where
> thousands of motions occur
> daily.
> 
> From my knowledge of it (and I've professionally helped a
> half a dozen drummers with this problem
> to get back to equilibrium),   all muscles
> work in the same way:
> 
> Namely,  when you make a motion with your wrists,
> ankles, elbows, knees, et. al.    one muscle
> stretches on one side of the bone and a compensatory muscle
> contracts on the other side.
> 
> I'm a lay person and not a doctor, obviously,  but I've
> encountered these problems so many times
> that I've learned a lot about it................so take this
> with a grain of salt, but I promise, there is some wisdom
> in what I say.
> 
> What happens in Over Use Syndrome is that  one makes
> hundreds of movements in one direction;
> meaning that one muscle is always stretching while it's
> compensatory muscle is contracting but
> the same amount of motion is not happening in the opposite
> direction.
> 
> So,  when you are in a place where your muscles are
> inflamed chronically,  one has to do a few
> things:
> 
> 1)   Refrain from the motion that exacerbates
> the condition until the pain and the swelling go away.
> It may be efficacious to ice your inflammation (but be sure
> never to ice more than 20 minutes at a time because you can
> injure you muscles by freezing them just as surely as you
> can by overusing them.
> 
> This may take a long time.   It might mean
> not picking up glasses;   not playing guitar
> or anything
> that exacerbates the condition...........This one is tough,
> but you may just have to do it.
> 
> 2)   Your convalescence can be assisted with
> the use of anti-inflammatory drugs (as simple as
> Aspirin or Motrin) and/or Cortical Steroids.   
> Cortical Steroids can radically reduce inflammation but
> they also have a lot of potential side effects that are not
> great.    The last time I took them for an
> chronic
> infected sinus condition,  I started having bruising
> all over my body at the very  slightest of
> trauma.   Some people even believe that the
> constant use of Cortical Steroids can lead to
> Cancer...............others site what's called a 'rebound
> effect' which means that the inflamation goes away until the
> stoppage of the drug and then returns even greater. 
> Personally,  I avoid them like the plague, but they can
> save someone who has Lupus from death.
> 
> 3)  Go to an Acupuncturist.    Chinese
> medicine has a great track record with over use conditions
> compared to
> Western medicine which frequently only advocates ceasing any
> exacerbating motion or drugs.    This may take
> some time and some money, but the quicker you convalesce,
> the better.   As an alternative,  a
> really good Chiropractor may be able to assist you , as well
> as a good trained Physical Therapist who specializes in
> precisely what you suffer from.
> 
> 4)  Once you start to feel
> better,   look at the kinds of motions that
> are making your condition worse and see if you can figure
> out a set of exercises that will stretch your muscles in
> EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION than the motions that are
> causing your problems.   In the long
> run,  this is super important.  I can't more
> highly stress it.
> 
> Towards that end, with Hand and Finger
> pain,   the Chinese make little silver and
> enamel covered small balls which are designed, specifically,
> to be rotated inside of the palm.   Rotate
> them around each other inside of your palm in a clock wise
> direction for 20 times and then rotate them around each
> other inside of your palm in a counter-clockwise direction
> for another 20 times.   By doing this, 
> you are actually using every single set of major muscles in
> your hands, equally.
> 
> My wife had Over Use Syndrome,  playing too much
> guitar;  typing incessantly on a computer keyboard and
> finally, trying to lay some bass guitar licks on her
> album.    Her hands were in such pain that she
> could hardly do anything...........................She
> stopped all her activity and started using these Chinese
> balls and almost miraculously,  she came back to being
> able to play and type again without pain.
> 
> The trick is committing to using your muscles in exactly the
> opposite directions  than the directions used with
> whatever has caused you the most pain.
> 
> 5)   Lastly,  Western Medicine will
> advocate surgery.  With chronic wrist injuries they
> will advocate for
> Carpal Tunnel Syndrome surgery.    My
> acupuncturist has told me, "always make this the very last
> resort
> to such a problem."      I know a
> professional drummer who traveled all the way from Hawaii
> because he had heard that I was having good luck with
> re-training drummers in how to change their habits so that
> they were no longer having Over Use Syndrome.   
> He already had Carpal Tunnel surgery scheduled if working
> with me didn't work out.    I just sat down and
> watched him play and saw immediately where the physical
> dysfunction in his technique was.
> I got him to change the position of his left wrist so when
> he hit his brutal 'backbeats' that his hand was not bent at
> the wrist when he struck.    It took him two weeks
> of working with me and he cancelled his surgery and now hes'
> doing great without pain.
> 
> All I did was look at him, physically, and I could see what
> he was doing to hurt himself.
> 
> So, think about videoing yourself to see where you are
> making motions that are constantly going in one direction
> (with out a commensurate and exactly opposite movement to
> balance the motions out).
> 
> Pick up that cup of coffee and have your wife watch you do
> it. Figure out what the exact opposite movement would be and
> develop a series of stretching exercise to do both before
> and after any repetitive stress motions (specifically,
> playing guitar).
> 
> 6) By the way,  excessive consumption of Caffeine has
> been to joint pain and stiffness in the hands, so you might
> cut back on your consumption of
> it.   Additionally,  I've heard a lot of
> people have had good results in reducing inflamation of
> joints by consuming  Glucosamine and
> Chondroitin.   I've also heard that taking
> Cod Liver Oil or other fish oils can have a salutary
> effect.
> 
> 7) Lastly,   some motions are tied to
> tightness and lack of flexibility in other parts of your
> back.
> If you have issues with tension , as an example, in your
> neck, your shoulders,  the upper muscles of your back,
> they can have negative repercussions that will effect your
> arms, elbows, wrists and finally hands and fingers.
> 
> Again,  have somebody you know well watch you and
> notice where you tend to keep your tension
> held.   Figure out what muscles  you
> could stretch that go in the exact opposite direction of the
> muscles you use when you are  'uptight' physically or
> emotionally.
> 
> 8) Someone who's well trained in these things can talk to
> you for just a few minutes and then watch you pick things
> up;  play guitar, et. al. and tell  you what's up
> with your body.  Don't be cheap! 
>    Spend some money to get a handle on it and
> it might just save your career as a professional musician
> before Over Use Syndrome knocks you out.
> 
> 9) Lastly:        Years ago I had some
> really problems with my lower and upper back.  One
> morning I woke up unable to get out of
> bed.   I went and saw a really good
> chiropractor and he hipped me to the fact that we need to
> stretch our basic muscles in both directions to stay
> flexible and healthy.    He told me to go buy
> three meters of rubber surgical tubing (about 1/4" to 1/2"
> in diameter and very flexible).  He then showed me how
> you can roll it in each of your hands and then stretch it
> out by putting your hands in back of your head,  in
> front of your heads;   stretching in every
> single direction up and down and sideways in both in front
> and in back of your head.   By doing this,
> you are stretching all of those muscles in all
> directions.       I started doing
> it and it was almost miraculous.   My back
> pain went away and has rarely come back.  When it
> does,  it's usually because I've stopped doing those
> exercise.  It literally only takes 20 to 30 seconds a
> day and is a great way to wake up in the morning.
> 
> I hope some of this helps.   Again,  I'm
> not an expert, but I researched it a lot and these things
> seems to work.
> 
> Good luck,  buddy!!!!!   You are a
> wonderful musician and I hope this doesn't impede your
> artistry for too long.
> 
> Rick
> 
> 
> 
>