Re: Tennis Elbow

[Rick Walker <looppool@cruzio.com>]

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