Golfer's elbow
 

Hi all,

I developed soreness on the insides of both elbows while riding last year, which was diagnosed as golfer's elbow, aka bursitis. Has anyone else had to deal with this, and what is a treatment plan to get rid of it, and keep it form happening again.

Not bursitis, but arthritis. Real bad in my left elbow and moderately bad in my right elbow. I have lost full movement in both elbows, more in the left than the right. Neither arm comes any where close to opening straight any more. The left elbow is always swollen and hot to the touch a lot of the time.

With that said, the left one is the one that causes pain while riding. I have to take the left arm off the grip and rotate it around every couple of miles. I believe it is actually better since I started riding, rather than worse. My rheumatologist had cautioned me against too much physical work with the left elbow out of concern for making it worse. I could not just sit still and watch the elbow go downhill more without trying something.

I've developed Golfer's Elbow in spin class. It was never a problem on any of my bikes. I suggest you go to a reputable fitter for an evaluation.

And just google "golfer's elbow" and bicycle, it brings up a number of past responses from Bikeforums, info like this http://www.livestrong.com/article/39...m-bike-riding/ , and lot of other info.

Oh yeah. I stopped golfing (I'm right handed) due to severe tendonitis left elbow from catching a five iron on a hidden fairway rock. Then falling on the same elbow months later then catching it hard on the car door months after that. It was my weaker elbow but I made it worse. Time is slowly healing the damage three years later.

The only way I could combat it while riding it is to develop more core (stomach, back & abdomen) muscle strength and carry less weight on my arms, ride with them slightly bent on the hoods, less upright. It is very hard for me to ride with arms locked/extended as that irritates the tendon and it'll get so stiff I can barely unbend it. On longer rides 2 hours + I'll use anti-inflamatory meds and an ace bandage wrap. I'll flex my left arm several times per mile.

I actually get golfer's elbow - from golfing. Epicondylitis. But I think biking a lot makes me more susceptible to it. For golfing, I wear a brace on my forearm just below the elbow, called a "Band-It." I didn't think it would work, but it does. I think it just changes the geometry of the tendons in the elbow so there is less irritation. Haven't tried the "Band-It" biking, but it might be worth a try for $20. A lot of different companies make them, you might be able to find something cheaper, but this has held up for a lot of ball striking over 2 years.

I don't know if tennis elbow is similar to golfer's elbow, but, at the recommendation of my therapist, this cured my tennis elbow.


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...-L._SY450_.jpg

Per my understanding, golfer's elbow isn't bursitis - it's either tendonitis or tendonosis. (Google it ;)) The difference between golfer's and tennis elbow is simply which part of the elbow is affected. And the difference between tendonitis and tendonosis is that tendonitis is temporary, while tendonosis has the same symptoms but is potentially permanent. (I haven't Googled that recently, so I'm open to correction.)

I had a severe case of golfer's elbow, from overdoing it in my weightlifting routines.

I saw three separate specialists. They all put me in an arm brace and told me to take it easy for 6 weeks. Didn't work. I had to give up the weightlifting program, and it faded away after about a year.

The up-side - I couldn't do weightlifting any more, so I took up cycling instead! :D

I had this some years ago from badminton. Tried all sorts of "cures" including braces, ultrasound, and cortisone injections. The only thing that worked in the end was rest and time.

Cut out whatever is causing it for a while and it will go away. If you really must keep riding try to change the position and pressure of your grip to something more relaxed for a while.

Good luck :thumb:

Thanks all - and, I stand corrected, tendonitis not bursitis. I have been working on core strength, also need to work on having less of me. It seems worse when I am on the mountain bike, used mainly for gravel grinding on the Katy trail. So, seating, or more appropriately riding, geometry could be making it worse. Hate to give up the cause, because it only came about after I started back riding distance.

I also had a problem with Golfer's Elbow in my right elbow...probably came from lifting my 120 lb son into and out of his bed and wheelchair...used an arm brace on and off for about two years and did a lot of inverted elbow stretches. What eventually cured it was the rest that came after rotator cuff surgery on my right shoulder...although I wouldn't recommend this particular cure for anyone.

Rest and not using it to lift for several months was the real cure...we were fortunate to find help with our son while I was not able to lift him.

Jseis has some good advice. It is to do with your fit, and to a certain extent, your core muscles. Do you ride with straight arms and locked elbows? If so, that is likely the primary cause.

Have a look at your bar height in relation to seat height, whether your seat is level, how far forward or back your seat is on its rails, and if you ride a flat bar bike without bar extensions, think about fitting some.

I'm relatively new to serious road biking. I used to tour but just started "real" road biking three years ago. It is just this summer that I am able to use my core enough to unweight my hands reasonably well.
+1 to strengthening your core along with understanding the rotation of the pelvis because it's critical to reducing weight by changing the basic posture of the upper body. http://jonathanblyer.wordpress.com/2...cling-posture/

I'll elaborate further on the locked elbows things. The handlebars transmit a lot of vibration from the front wheel. If your elbows are locked so your arms are straight, the vibration goes right on up through your arms to your shoulders. The soft tissue controlling the elbows also are additionally stressed to combat the vibration.'

By keeping the elbows bent, and using your strengthened core muscles to support you more, the vibrations through the handlebars are better dampened by the arms. The ligaments and muscles that control your elbows aren't so stressed -- the move instead of trying to maintain one position.

Effectively, when in your normal riding position, you should have almost no pressure on your hands as they control the bars. Some people compensate by altering their position so they sit more upright -- they have to change saddles to accommodate the additional pressure on their butt flesh, and they raise their handlebars up much higher.

There is nothing necessarily wrong with this position, for rides up to around 10 miles. Beyond that, it becomes somewhat uncomfortable. It's also a low-speed position because the aerodynamics are somewhat compromised.

If you have a flat bar bike, some of the issue might be how the hands and wrists are cocked. Flat-bar bikes often are delivered with the brake levers horizontal, and that causes havoc with wrists and elbows. The first thing I do when I see this is get an allen key out and rotate the levers downward so they fall more naturally to the fingers; the angle may be between 30 and 45 degrees from horizontal.

Another issue with flat bars in keeping your hands in a position that isn't really natural that also stresses the tendons in the arm. Using bar extensions, or using the flats and hoods and drops on road bars helps alleviate these sorts of issues resulting from a static hand position.

Also, in addition to other remedies mentioned here, what has worked well for me is a cortisone shot. Most times that will knock out the pain in a few days. You will need to slack off on activities that have caused the problem. Sometimes another shot is needed a few months later, sometimes one does it.

16oz curls at the 19th hole? guitar players arm waving takes it's toll, as does seemingly mouse moving as i websurf.

I agree with the above. I sometimes ride the bike with very little pressure on the bars, just resting the weight of my hands and not supporting the upper body. The trick is to get the saddle position correct. Moving the saddle back ever so slightly will take weight off your hands. Think of balancing your weight on a teeter totter with the bottom bracket as the pivot. Moving the saddle moves your center of gravity back and takes weight off your hands. Move the saddle forward puts more weight on the hands.

Reasonable by not great core strength and flexibility are required to achieve, less weight on hands and a low position but it can be done. Get the saddle position correct and you can ride with as little or much weight on your hands as you like. There is a trade off with power output. Very little weight on the hands when soft pedaling may cause problems when you go hard. Very little weight on the hands when going hard means quite a bit of weight on the hands when soft pedaling.

Try it for yourself and see what you like. Just make small adjustments maybe an 1/8 inch back. If you don;t like it you can move the saddle back where you started.

I agree with the above. I sometimes ride the bike with very little pressure on the bars, just resting the weight of my hands on the bars and not using them to support my upper body. The trick is to get the saddle position correct. Moving the saddle back ever so slightly will take weight off your hands. Think of balancing your weight on a teeter totter with the bottom bracket as the pivot. Moving the saddle moves your center of gravity back and takes weight off your hands. Move the saddle forward puts more weight on the hands.

Reasonable but not great core strength and flexibility are required to achieve, less weight on hands and a low position but it can be done. Get the saddle position correct and you can ride with as little or much weight on your hands as you like. You can always keep your arms bent and relaxed.

There is a trade off with power output. Very little weight on the hands when soft pedaling may cause problems when you go hard. Very little weight on the hands when going hard means quite a bit of weight on the hands when soft pedaling.

Also consider if the nose of your saddle is too low causing you to slide downhill toward the bars. If this is the case you may need to raise the nose slightly. This will in effect move you back on the saddle so no rearward saddle adjustment may be needed.

Try it for yourself and see what you like. Just make small adjustments at a time. If you don't like it you can move the saddle back where you started.

I had golfer's elbow. I modified my activities. I brought my handlebars up on my 2 bicycles--I got rid of the drop bars on my Surly Long Haul Trucker. I rubbed my arm, stretched it, iced it. I took it very easy. Not lifting heavy things. It hurt like the devil even trying to dress myself. Finally after 8 months it started getting noticeably better. After about a year it disappeared.
The doctor said the tendon had degenerated which is common. Now, almost everyday I stretch my wrists and forearms to keep the muscles and tendons supple, and use a squeeze tool to strenghten hands.

FlyfisherBob. I got tendonitis in my elbow from….fly fishing. Have done it nearly my whole life for trout. No problems. But when I moved to the salt water, throwing heavy lines and flies, usual into wind, and bingo. Had it for several years, and it still flares occasionally. But I was able to help it by doing the stretching exercises recommended for tennis elbow, judicious use of anti-inflamatories and I now wear one of those Air Cast braces whenever I go out fishing. Seems to help.