I repeatedly get asked questions by athletes who have various injuries and whether or not they should continue training, or should they take a break. One common injury is tennis elbow. How do you minimize down time?
There are a couple of things worth trying. Several of us have had good-to-great success with Active Release Technique http://www.activerelease.com/about.asp This may be due to the skill of the practitioners we have used or the method itself. One of our climbers cured eight years of recurring tendonitis with it. Typically, the climbers get the golfers elbow (inside attachment) but the treatment should work the treatment should work the same way.
To increase circulation to the tendon, which does not have great blood low especially when irritated, ice it for five minutes every hour. To increase circulation to the tendon, which does not have great blood flow especially when irritated, ice it for five minutes every hour. Lightly rub ice directly on the elbow.
I have also used needling technique to stimulate circulation in cases when icing does not work. Needling is not really acupuncture. In needling, you want to use acupuncture needles to irritate the tendon and make it “bleed.” This will increase increasing circulation. Needling is a bit radical, but effective.
The cause is “overuse” but the issue may develop from a variety of factors, explosive hyperextension being one of them. Cleans and pull-ups, specifically falling onto a locked arm when tired can cause this issue. If this is the case, then some rest will indeed help, along with some other treatments. You can work on static holds on the rings for a while (top of the dip position, i.e. ring support, and the push-up position, feet same height as the hands) to maintain strength without moving through a range of motion and to develop musculature around the shoulder girdle which assist with most arm movements and when weak transfers stress to muscle and connective tissue further down the arm.
