These may not look much like guitar accoutrements, but nevertheless they are on my list of necessities. Having alternately ignored, nursed, therapized (is that a word?) and even stopped playing in the hope of defeating tennis elbow, I had been prepared to consider anything! It turns out yet another benefit of classical guitar summer school was meeting with other amateur guitarists and swapping stories. One of those came from MC, who told me the incredible story of having cured a painful case of tennis elbow in 6 weeks by diligently exercising with these rubber tubes. I was somewhat skeptical, having been trying to conquer it (admittedly mostly while still playing the guitar) for the last 9 months, but as I said, as needs must, I'll try anything. Accordingly I purchased the 2 easiest tubes (yellow is the softest) and started to follow instructions, which involve gripping the tube so it is twisted then slowly releasing the twist with the affected arm. More instructions here.
One of my concerns was that when I first started to do the exercise, even though the tennis elbow had settled at lot, doing the exercise was painful, and in the aftermath my arm was definitely aggravated. And at the physical therapist I had been instructed to protect the arm - in fact, I was told not to reach out for things or put extra strain on it in any way. Yet here I was doing the exact motion that stressed that common extensor tendon. I checked with MC and with one of the professional guitarists at the summer school (how common is this injury, anyway?) and they both said - "yep, it hurts to start with, but persevere". So I did. It's now been 2 weeks, and surprisingly, things have started to improve. My arm is not yet healed - it is still stiff when I take it off the guitar after holding it in one position for a while, so I make sure I stop every 10 minutes or so and stretch it out (using active stretches, as instructed by the PT). But now I can grip and use my arm in ways I haven't done since before I damaged it with very little pain. And I've graduated from the yellow tube to the red tube. Yes it still hurts when I do the exercise (probably 2 or 3 on 10-point scale) but after stretching the soreness settles down quickly, and in fact it usually feels better after exercising.
Not that I'm just doing the exercise - it's a no-holds-barred effort to get totally healed before orchestra season starts again. In addition to doing the tube-twists, I make sure my arm is well warmed up before I start practicing the morning (literally- I either dunk it in the hot wax bath and wrap it or use a microwaveable heat pad while I eat breakfast), I take frequent breaks to do active stretches (dorsal and ventral flexion), I don't practice for more than 45 minutes at a stretch, and I ultrasound it with a cheap but effective unit before retiring for the night. So if all continues well, in another month or so....I'll be done. wish me luck!
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