Climbers Do You Have Elbow Tendinitis? Learn These Quick Tests and Keys to Treatment

Do you have elbow tendinitis and pain at your medial epicondyle or lateral epicondyle? This brief but thorough overview of elbow tendinitis background, tests and treatment can help you understand this injury and improve your recovery. We constantly use our elbows when rock climbing, golf, tennis and other sports, and the balance of breakdown/recovery can be thrown off with too much volume, intensity or changes to your program. Once started, the process of tissue breakdown can be hard to reverse without help.
There are many medical treatments but exercise and movement at the right dosage and frequency (the correct loading response) is by far the best and most effective strategy.
This video contains the following sections:
0:32 Intro
0:44 Key Concepts
5:38 The Elbow Tendinitis Tests
6:39 Keys to Treatment
7:14 Flexbar Exercises
8:18 Progressing to DeadHangs
Burke is a physical therapist and rock climber who works with adventure athletes to help them overcome the obstacles and challenges inherent in sports performance. Find out more about Burke and his team at focusptbend.com.
This video is for informational purposes only and is not intended to replace good quality medical diagnosis and care.

[@andresgduarte]

This is one of the best videos I have seen on youtube regarding explanations, tests and treatments of conditions.

[@aojiao3662]

Super helpful video! Was having this elbow problem 3 sessions ago and this is the exact video I'm looking for. Thank you so much, Berk!

[@markstoudt7769]

I never knew I was supposed to do exercises to help! I always tried resting my arm as much as possible. Thank you for having a video that is short, informative and to the point!!!!!

[@bagwon]

I'm a few days into following your advice and already the progress toward healing my tendonosis is very, very apparent. Thanks so much

[@Sandoz2]

This is the best video on this yet

[@Zero_Zero_Zero_Zero]

Thanks doc. Clear and concise. Much appreciated.

[@jefferylennerth9908]

Yes, started experiencing discomfort and pain after beginning pull ups regimen. I will follow your suggestions. Thank you

[@haard3036]

Thank you so much for this beautifully informative video, brother.

[@avashavash1594]

Very good explanation, thank you

[@evercuriousmichelle]

You're the first person to talk about how gripping can contribute to elbow tendonitis! I do lindy hop and the hand position for my connection hand is similar to that of a climbers. And our hands are the epicenter of all of the nice rubber band effect from the dance style. So I think my repetitive computer work set the stage, and a particularly rigorous dance class tipped me over the edge. Thank you for such enlightening videos!

[@dickreckard5026]

Thanks for this! My left elbow has been the limiter on my bouldering sesions since the start. I was worried that I might be damaging myself by trying too much too fast since I'm not naturally very athletic. The elbow pain starts up pretty quickly and can get fairly intense for a few hours after. (Deep electric nerve pain) but it's never persisted more than a day or so. Good to know it's just the 'pain' part of gains.

[@Lneuner]

Helpful video. Thank you!

[@MixedHustle]

Thanks bro, the information in this video was definitely helpful!

[@johndalton6929]

This was so educational thank you!

[@co2144]

this was very helpful, thank you.

[@dexterfurman9118]

Great video. Very informative. Thanks!

[@corn4life136]

I am excited to try this. I am not a climber but came here anyway. I think painting may have messed my elbow up unless computer mouse just all of a sudden irritated me. Than you for these solid exercises that I can do.

[@haaribo8662]

Had this problem for 5 months now, will try these

[@ewademail]

Needed this info. Thank you

[@albba13]

Super helpful, thank you!!

[@semanticscribe]

Very cool and useful video; thanks!!

[@jeancammas2134]

This was super helpful! you just got a new subscriber. Thanks a lot!

[@chadtuinman5743]

Great video, thank you very much

[@rickhorton9063]

Thanks for your video. Years ago I had tennis elbow from playing tennis but now I have it from playing guitar. I find your videos helpful. Thanks again.

[@r.amaurymorales-ponton1022]

Great video, thanks

[@francomartinez8713]

Thank's a lot! Pretty useful 💪

[@outdoorsxpedicion9725]

very helpful men thank you

[@GopiN123]

Very helpful in my case

[@Questiolllustro]

I started climbing this past year and have had tendon pain everywhere in my arms at one point or another. Finally someone that talks about my cases which are pain with no swelling. So glad to hear this is normal. I had to watch so many videos to get this very basic piece of information, thank you for being thorough!

[@HourRomanticist]

Tendon issues rarely have swelling, that more of a tissue or ligament injury thing

[@karambawilski8241]

I will test it out, starting from now :)

[@craigstewart5884]

Great job

[@margaretbailey1445]

Thank you.

[@LokeSenpai]

Thank you 🙏

[@sarahdiekmeyer8689]

great video! thank you for this

[@danielborges5694]

Super good!

[@i9avici7a5]

Thanks!!

[@MtbStoat]

Yes, climbing indoors & mtbing, I increased the indoor gym work over winter which caused it...

[@TG8.]

Thanks for this. I'm wondering how long I should wait to get back on the wall -- I only felt the pain with the last test, the palpation

[@philknights8579]

Great vid .just a quick question.can I still climb with bad arms during my recovery I only go once a week

[@w.b.k5636]

Both my elbows make a grinding feeling when I stretch them out and rotate my wrist. Can you tel me what that might mean? Been like this for some months now.

[@MtbStoat]

I have the epicondyle, above the knobbly bond end underneath, closest to the body...

[@420]

I have bilateral tendonitis issues, but mainly in my right arm more as it is my dominant. I'm feeling helpless suffering from pain for going on 2 years. None of these stretches are getting me any better and I think I'm just going to have to quit my desk job and avoid the repetitive motions that keep me in this misery. Celebrex is the only thing besides Advil that helps. Stretching and weights arent working, because I only have the weekends to recover. God, this is so frustrating!

[@8741slipknot]

Hello doctor Bench press caused so much pain in my elbows as i was doing heavy weights Is there a way to get back to do so with heavy weights

[@elibennerr]

I’m a baseball pitcher and I never new what was wrong but I think i have it thanks !

[@lukeriha6667]

Same bro

[@justaguy4860]

Same

[@alecc4137]

Tennis players get tennis elbow, Golfers get golfers elbow, Baseball pitcher get fucked up elbow

[@ckingbailey]

I love your philosophy that exercise should be part of the healing process. Can you do a video on distal biceps tendinitis? I’m a climber and I was training pull-ups waaay too hard and too often. I’m going to start doing eccentric hammer curls on the advice of Hooper’s Beta. Are there other exercises you would recommend for biceps tendinitis at the elbow?

[@focusrehab]

Thanks for watching and I will put something together to address the distal biceps!

[@adoginacowboyhat8196]

I had a week of just real hard days of climbing at the gym… had to go home because I had a shooting pain in my elbow.

[@CARLGLASSMAN]

For tendonosis, how many sets and repetitions do you suggest with the Flexbar per exercise session, and how many days per week? My problem is the result of weighted pull ups. Thanks!

[@focusrehab]

I would generally start with 2 sets of 15 every 3rd day, and ramp up to 3 sets of 20 every third day for a full 3 cycles. If that's going well, i would go up in resistance at the same frequency. If that's going well after 3 cycles (9 days) I would continue at that but introduce double hangs and progress with the body weight program but also every 3 days (3 times in 9 days). good luck!

[@bargesp]

Thank you so much for your video. Really helpful. Few doubts- 1. Should we do icing or heating during rehab ? 2. Should we do these activities once a day or twice? (Morning n evening both?) Please guide. Thank you in anticipation.

[@focusrehab]

thx for watching! ice/heat is generally recommended EARLY in the stage - first 3-6 weeks max, but is ok to use later as an analgesic; I like having my clients do exercises twice daily. Best of luck

[@Ottertones]

Thanks, very informative. I noted that there are different resistant levels of Flexbars. I am not a climber. Do you think a non climber would do fine with just exercising with the lowest resistance of Flexbar?

[@focusrehab]

Thx for watching! if you haven't had a chance yet, here's my video on the flexbar in much greater detail: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qIDJnXZ4mZlribc . The lowest is quite easy, so unless you really need to take care, I would go one step up to red at a minimum. Good luck!

[@m.swager5430]

So I actually study fysiotherapie and I have read and studied alot about this subject. And I feel like you/he did an amazing job explaining the injury. Note: for the People here who have these painfull symtoms around the elbow beware that if the symptoms look a like but the location is a bit different you might want to look out for your tricep ore biceps. Last note XD : I'm a boulderer and faced a few tennis elbows as well

[@focusrehab]

Thanks for your feedback and view! Good luck with your studies - it's a great profession.

[@galaloncke2356]

Thank you so much for your great videos. I just found you and it’s been very helpful for me. I’m a massage therapist who has been in practice for 17 years and last year I developed Tennis elbow for the first time! It’s been a long painful process and I’m finally really committing to really focusing on rehab. I was just hoping it would get better on its own, silly me and yes I know better. My question is, I feel pain when I do all the exercises although it has gotten a bit better with physical therapy, taping and mobilization of my elbow joint. Should I continue the Tyler twist, Self frictions and mobilization and through the pain (4-5/10) or should I be doing something else? I work 5 days a week as a deep tissue therapist as well but no pain during work. Thanks!

[@focusrehab]

thanks for watching! it can take some time for the tissue sensitivity to go down, so for that reason I recommend initially doing exercises every 3rd day and emphasizing mid-intensity longer isometric holds rather than the tyler's twist - 4x30 second holds at a 3-4/10 intensity, working up (over some weeks) to 7-8/10 on the holds. good luck!!

[@junk_bear]

I guess I over did my elbow. Am a beginner who’s a workout maniac so after I started getting into rock climbing I was too stubborn to quit. My left elbow was in pain and wow did it hurt. I couldn’t even stretch it. Right now am doing a 4 day recover with 3 day low small exercise hoping it work

[@timmyduong9451]

How did that go?

[@Uzztt123]

Can you tell us durations and frequency for these exercise thanks

[@Bellmanbror]

Super good video! I've been having these problems for about a month now, should I skip climbing entirely for the rehab time or is it fine to not climb for just 2-3 weeks and then ease back into it?

[@focusrehab]

thanks for watching! it's possible to resume SOME climbing before things are fully healed if the elbow isn't more sore over the next 24-36 hours. Usually that means about 20-45 of varied light intensity climbing rather than anything super tough

[@KyleRenzMusic]

Liked and subscribed. Very helpful. I've got pain above my elbow around lowest tricep muscle. Happens after 5-6 boulder routes. Next day I'm fine but can't even use my left arm to put on seat belt. Only happening on left arm. Thoughts? PS I'm a new climber.

[@focusrehab]

thanks for the sub! I wish I could be of more help but it could be a number of structures, you'll need someone to take a look at your elbow. Likely bursitis or tendinitis as a new climber but will need to be certain to get the right treatment. Good luck and happy climbing!

[@surreal6670]

At 1.75x speed it's a good video, thanks

[@chicago70x7]

Thank you so much for this helpful video. How come my doctor doesn’t know this? I had tendonosis for 2 months and it’s still sore, he prescribed me Naproxen. I got my elbow sore from lifting water bottles 40pcs from Costco, carrying lifting to deliver to my mom’s house.

[@MichaelCTruth]

Have you gotten better? What steps have you taken?

[@maxhutton228]

Doctors are a business if they can prescribe you something they will :) one talk with a coach at my climbing gym I learnt how you gotta work thru n actively recover tendon issues

[@tyv1383]

You really shouldn't take pain pills unless it's so painful you can't function. You should really see a Physical therapist instead

[@tyv1383]

@@maxhutton228 literally legal drug dealers lol

[@jjatmetube]

thanks for the video can you clarify the pass fail criteria for the tendenois, I saw the epicondle pain with palpation having the same pain when I press the tendon but it wasn't clear if this was the pass fail criteria for the rest of the testing

[@focusrehab]

Thanks for your question: generally speaking the tests are all 'pain provocation' tests, so you can do all of them for the widest data set and confirmation possible. If the mechanism of injury matches (repetitive forces, repeated max gripping etc) you can be fairly confident of a tendonosis if it's still with you after 4-6 weeks, and progress into the rehab from there. Good luck!

[@jjatmetube]

@@focusrehab Thank you for the clarification

[@Pepperoni10125]

I get tendon pain on the inside of my elbows after almost all my bouldering sessions but if I rest then it completely disappears after about 3 days. Its been like this for a couple months now, do you think i need to take an extended break from climbing?

[@ladeanna1]

thank you for showing us all on some physical therapy movements to help us heal our elbows

[@mckiziacherie2754]

I recently, like within the last couple of days pulled something in my inner elbow and am in excruciating pain. I can even bring my arm straight at all due to pain. What’s the first thing I should do? I’ve been holding my arm up as if in a sling it’s so painful

[@annahassler2985]

Hey there - how many times a day do you recommend doing each stage? 3 sets of 10 per day? Something like that?

[@focusrehab]

yes, 3 sets of 15, each rep taking 4 seconds, 30 seconds of rest between is a good goal but for anyone new to the exercise i'd recommend starting with 3 sets of 5 and ramping up over a few days to a week or more depending on your response. good luck!

[@hmood198525]

I am over one year still have it 😔

[@isabellefernandez9]

Didn't know about the wrist stabilizer. I have one and will use it while ditching the arm band. Also just got a gyro ball. What is your opinion on them? Tx.

[@focusrehab]

i have not used the gyro balls before but after a little investigating they seem to show some promise as a training tool in at least a couple of research articles. Now I want one!

[@isabellefernandez9]

@@focusrehab just started using it and it is feeling pretty good.

[@berglendurch]

Do you have any advice if the flexbar starts hurting the forearm. I've had tennis elbow for over a month, I started with the red flexbar and the top of my forearm muscle started swelling and hurting. Should I downgrade to a yellow bar or just do isometrics? My elbow doesn't hurt much in daily life but I don't want to make it worse

[@focusrehab]

thanks for watching! tissues take time to heal, so most patients would find a combo of approaches as you described works best and to stay consistent till 5 or more days of consistent good tolerance. Good luck!

[@lucasvanleeuwen4130]

bench press caused mine. it went away in a month a year ago but it came back now?

[@edwardnoelcastro9929]

As I’m boxing when I throw a right hook or straight, I begin to feel a sharp pain in my elbow. This pain eventually subsides. What could this be?

[@razvanon]

could be cartilage injury

[@strife2405]

can one use a resistance band if don't have a flex bar?

[@focusrehab]

A band can be used for sure, anchored with your other hand, your foot when sitting etc. good luck!

[@minners19]

Can you get it on both sides? 🤔

[@gustavel6333]

Doc I have tricep tendonitis. Hurts on my elbow but upper arm. Any suggestions?

[@focusrehab]

This is worth a separate video - stay tuned

[@Dawood4]

I have the same problem

[@NoBite2]

I have never used a flex bar and do not know what color (degree of stiffness) to get! I do have a strong history with isometric exercise, if that matters.

[@NoBite2]

I ordered a green Theraband brand. Need to start somewhere. Looking forward to this! Thank you for the informative video!!

[@focusrehab]

@@NoBite2 Thank you! Green sounds like a good starting point, especially for isometrics! I have plans to do a full flexbar routine so please stay tuned. Good luck!

[@user-zm4bb8zd6q]

Hi I was injured during weight training a week ago I felt pain in my inner elbow and also trained two days later until I saw that it did not pass..how many days of rest should I take? And can I go back to lifting weights gradually after a few days of rest? .. I am stressed and would be very happy if you answer me. yours Nadav

[@focusrehab]

Acute injuries need time and careful motion. In general I don't start weights right away for lifting injuries. Stay tuned for a future flexbar video with exercises appropriate for early stage recovery, and in the meantime see if any of these tips are helpful and good luck. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6mzmYeYapdsm7s

[@MichaelCTruth]

@@focusrehab Hi friend. I was using a mouse for work and developed tendonitis in elbow. The tendon running from elbow to wrist is killing me. Also my wrist is hurting. What steps should I take? Will continuing to use the mouse cause a worse injury? I was wondering if a wacom tablet would prevent further injury ? Will creams like advil in cream help? Supplements? Thanks for any advice yiu can give me.

[@pineappletime6553]

I have more a feeling of puffiness in my elbow and very mild pain and slight discomfort when climbing is thus tendinitis?

[@focusrehab]

thx for watching, puffiness/swelling, mild pain and discomfort with activity can be signs that healing is not keeping pace with tissue breakdown from climbing - yellow caution light, full blown tendinitis may not be too far away. I've added videos on flexbar and other management strategies you may find helpful. good luck!

[@rasmushjelt6022]

My elbow starts hurting once I start climbing, the pain can get pretty severe at the start of the session and then it subsides. An hour or so after the session my elbow feels completely normal again. What should I do?

[@KaleTornado]

Stretch

[@hatemostofyou574]

Anything special about ice or maybe something topical? how and in what ways should I massage it? I had to work with it a few days and since then I just cant get it to heal, I know i havent rested it enough, as in a sling, but im not really do anything that crazy to agitate it either basically Im asking, how do I know when I am even able to do PT?

[@focusrehab]

thx for the great question - If it's a repetitive injury rather than an acute tear or muscle strain, this is a problem that is super prone to sensitization that is out of proportion with the injury - basically those tissues and nerves get over agitated but can still tolerate the specific discrete force of a rehab exercise. I generally recommend treating the sensitivity as its *own problem* with hot/cold, topicals, self massage, you name it. Still progress into the exercises as a separate component as long as those forces are different from the repetitive cause. Good luck!

[@hatemostofyou574]

@@focusrehab thank you. I was picking up heavy objects and I guess I was too fast or something and it was just wearing out that tendon. Im using tiger balm, icing, and massaging the area. I dont have a flex bar but was trying to the exercise anyways. Sorry but i have one more question, when should I see a doctor? Id like to see about a steroid shot. Is there also a point where rehab and ice wont work and surgery is required or would I have already realized I needed surgery via pain/swelling/bruising?

[@focusrehab]

@@hatemostofyou574 it sounds like you'd benefit from coordinating your recovery with a doc or good PT - I'm biased but I'd start with the PT. They'll help you figure out the right mix of ingredients to progress, and patience with this is required - often the strain is developing over time before symptoms emerge, so you're not rehabing typically just from when symptoms start but from before some unknown time. Here's a good summary article. I do telehealth too if you're interested in working with me or my team. good luck! www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507001/#:~:text=Steroids%3A%20reduce%20the%20inflammation.,t%20receive%20any%20steroid%20injections.

[@Th3Anonim0us]

3 weeks??? I am not supposed to climb during this period?

[@333deejay333]

The pain point for me is really in the middle of the inside of my elbow (where the bicep tendons seem to attach). Do these kind of exercises still help for this case?

[@burkeselbst1776]

thx for the question - unfortunately not, these are specific to those forearm flexors, not your elbow muscles. I will put biceps tendinitis on my video plan list, so stay tuned and good luck!

[@nathanpeterson2]

Should one wait for all pain to subside before starting the stretching and restregthening exercises?

[@focusrehab]

In general, no as long as your elbow feels less stiff and painful as time goes on. I will do a session and then assess 12, 24 and 48 hrs later and make sure my elbow is either unchanged or better. Good luck!

[@cecilachavez5549]

I have bad arthritis

[@lightemup1023]

Have you tried turning it on and off again