Fifty Plus (50+) - Enthesopathy of elbow

Greetings. As many of you know, I've been trying to sort out the Tennis Elbow since early this year. It developed while I was getting physiotherapy for rotator cuff tendinosis in the shoulder of the same arm.

Very long story short: A recent ultrasound done by a very experienced ultrasound tech revealed "Enthesopathy" where the tendon attaches to the bone at the elbow. I plan to consult with my surgeon (elbow/shoulder specialist) about a recent MRI of my elbow and ask him if he sees it in the MRI and what he advises. I've had some Prolotherapy treatments (including two PRP); sometimes I think I feel a tiny bit of improvement, and other days I think I don't. In early October I will retire which will enable me to rest and --- hopefully --- heal and recover.

Does anyone know what Enthesopathy implies for the future of my elbow? I'm still not able to ride my bike (squeezing the brake lever and shifters too painful). Preparing food, typing, everything aggravates it.

Exercises called hammer curls helped my severe case of tennis elbow very quickly. It imitates a motion like hammering a nail.Mine was so bad i started using a can of peas and it took care of it to the point where now i use 35lbs. dumbbells.Good luck

Jen - I so wish I could help you, and you are in my thoughts a lot. I miss your postings, and pray you will find a solution. There is a book, Pain Free 1-2-3 (Teitelbaum??)which has been a great help to Nora as she continues to battle her extremely painful post-herpetic-neuralgis. We are - finally after 7 years - having some success with gels compounded by a compounding pharmacy here in Colorado,which is mentioned in the book. It is the first relief she has had. I don't know if it might apply to you, but the theory is that the gels contain a variety of Rx's that go directly to the affected nerves under the skin, bypassing the need to go to your whole body - and thereby perhaps causing negative reactions and side-effects. Anyway, it is working for her, after we tried everything else possible recommended by pain docs, neurologists and the like. Of course, we found this ourselves, not from any of their recommendations.

Exercises called hammer curls helped my severe case of tennis elbow very quickly. It imitates a motion like hammering a nail.Mine was so bad i started using a can of peas and it took care of it to the point where now i use 35lbs. dumbbells.Good luck

So, by strengthening your biceps you cured your TE? I don't know if I could lift even a can of peas but I'll give this a try with a very light weight. Enthesopathy seems to be a stage or two beyond TE.

Hi Denver: That cream sounds effective for nerve pain (and I'm so glad it is helping Nora), and in the case of tendon issues I'm assuming it would work on the nerve that innervates the affected tissue, thereby reducing the pain. However if the source of my pain is degenerated tissue or tears, the gel might relieve my pain but not heal the tissue. I'll see if I can find the book at the library. I am wondering if I have an immune system issue that may be hindering my healing, given the chain of health issues I've had all year. BTW, our group is planning another event in GWS next summer!

Hi Denver: That cream sounds effective for nerve pain (and I'm so glad it is helping Nora), and in the case of tendon issues I'm assuming it would work on the nerve that innervates the affected tissue, thereby reducing the pain. However if the source of my pain is degenerated tissue or tears, the gel might relieve my pain but not heal the tissue. I'll see if I can find the book at the library. I am wondering if I have an immune system issue that may be hindering my healing, given the chain of health issues I've had all year. BTW, our group is planning another event in GWS next summer!

Nora has been working with a Nurse Practitioner to build up her immune system. She did some special tests that showed her cortisol levels to be extremely high, and is taking some things to correct that. The last 7 years, with the shingles, the PHN pain, the knee replacements, the sinus surgery, etc., has really pushed her immune system to the brink of non-functioning. She also found she was terribly low in vitamin D2 and D3, and it seems that Vitamin D has a whole lot more interactions than previously suspected. Her sinus unfections have almost stopped with the addition of Vitamin D supplements.

The human body is most complex.

Denver: So glad she is getting help and finding relief! Have you ever seen the show 'The Incurables'? We get it here on the Veria channel. It features people with chronic illness, everything from chronic back pain to metastatic cancer. Anyway many of the people featured on that show found relief (or were cured) through alternative medicine, sometimes alone or in addition to traditional medicine. In many cases, the relief or cure began after making radical dietary changes and adding certain nutritional supplements.

dunno about "Enthesopathy of elbow"

I did deal with the shooters equivalent of "tennis elbow - for years when I was a competitive pistol shooter shooting many rounds a year.

Basically, anything that will increase blood flow, will increase healing. Light vibration massager, along with alternating hot and cold packs.

Cold packs help pain, and reduce inflammation. Heat is normally not a good thing for inflammation. However, thirty minutes ice pack, 20 min heating pad, 30 minute ice pack - will reduce inflammation, and promote healing.

Gentle stretching of the muscle (epicondle?) three or four times a day helped also.

Big deal here " pain free is not healed"

Sounds like you're going to have a long row to hoe. But, keep up exercises and stretching even after you are pain free and almost healed.

Friend of mine told me 20 years ago "you never really heal" you think you do, but it will come back a lot quicker than you think.

He was right.

ETA - best stretch - extend your arm straight out in front of you. Palm horizontal, fingers down. Pull down on fingers with opposing hand while pulling up with extended arm. Slowly, steadily, don't overdo till you get more stretchability.

There are other exercises - but, best not to overdo - take your time -quit what is aggravating it,

Another big thing - I realized I was aggravating with my arm position while I slept.

No one thing will solve it - patience and care, increased blow flow will eventually do it.

FWIW, I fought it as long as I was shooting.

Exercises called hammer curls helped my severe case of tennis elbow very quickly. It imitates a motion like hammering a nail.Mine was so bad i started using a can of peas and it took care of it to the point where now i use 35lbs. dumbbells.Good luck

Are these the hammer curls you did? http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Brachioradialis/DBHammerCurl.html

I saw an article on TE and it was suggested that you take a hammer and hold it by the end of the handle and then slowly move your wrist like your were hammering. Don't move your arm just your wrist. I guess that this works the muscles involved and helps with the pain.

About 15 years ago, I had some kind of pain in my forearm muscles that would not allow me to lift over about 5 lbs of weight without being in pain. I never went to a doctor to see what my problem was. After about a year of this nonsense I decided that it was time to either fix this or to make it so bad that I would have to go and see a doctor. I had a bar bell that weighed around 30 pounds. I started doing reverse curls with this. When I first started I had tears in my eyes but after about 2 weeks of doing this each day my pain went away. I am not suggesting that you try this because like I said I don't know what my problem was.

Also about 4 years ago I got frozen shoulders. This is something that took me 3 years to get over. Again I just kept moving them as much as I could before the pain would make me stop. As soon as I got enough movement back that I could raise my arms to shoulder level I started doing yoga and now my shoulders are back to normal with great range of motion.

Some one mentioned that your sleeping position can affect your arms. This is very true. It is best to sleep with your arms beside you as opposed to being over your head.

We all want instant relief from problems. I have to wonder if we don't sometimes cause more damage with rushing for results. I do realize that sometimes our only options are surgery and other procedures.

I feel like everyone can benefit from yoga. So as soon as you get healed up give yoga a chance. All the stretching and strength moves just have to be good for us.

I am wishing you all the best for a fast recovery.

I can't offer any advice, but you have my best wishes for a good recovery and many happy miles in ther future. :)

I can't offer any advice, but you have my best wishes for a good recovery and many happy miles in ther future. :)

+1

Sorry to hear you haven't been able to get relief from this problem. Congratulations on the upcoming retirement:thumb:

Stretching will help. I used to live with tendonitis(being a baseball pitcher), until my pitching coach(very well-known professional baseball pitching coach....now) got me stretching the area. Goodbye tendonitis.
Stretch until it just barely hurts, increasing the range of motion in small increments over time.

Yes, those are the exact excercise i did, but with a very lite weight.I thought it was crazy when a guy at the gym told me about them.At the time my elbow hurt so much and after a few days it really started to feel better. I tryed other things also that did not work before the hammer curl suggestion.

I can't offer any advice, but you have my best wishes for a good recovery and many happy miles in ther future. :)
++1 . Praying you find an answer... Chronic injury or illness is a constant battle. My wife has chrons disease and we have been battling it for over thirty years. We have a good regiment of meds now and she is in remission with a high quality of life. We are blessed.

Thank you all so much for your good wishes and advice. I think I will try those hammer curls with some very light weights. We have 1, 2, 3, and 7 lbs hand weights, and I'll begin with the lightest ones that don't cause pain. If it hurts, I'll try a lighter weight or I'll stop. I understand that tendinitis is the early inflammatory response; if healing doesn't occur then it becomes a chronic injury (tendinosis). Enthesopathy is a disorder of the attachment to the bone.

I have an appt. next Tuesday to consult with my surgeon about this latest diagnosis. He also does Prolotherapy , so I don't think he'll roll his eyes when I tell him I've gone that route for a while.:rolleyes:

you are welcome,sure hope its helps...

Any luck with the hammer curls Yen?