The last time I played tennis was probably twenty years ago. But you don’t need to fire a gun to get trigger finger so I guess you don’t need to play tennis to get tennis elbow. They’ve been bothering me since September but I figured, like most things, it would just go away. I guess “it’ll just go away” applies less and less as one gets older. Something to remember.
It’s treatable but I was advised I needed to be diligent in my treatment because tennis elbow can last a long time. So, I’m on a regiment of 1200 mg ibuprofen daily, icing my elbows morning and night, a series of exercises, and I’m wearing velcro straps on each forearm just below my elbow joints. Coincidentally, I happened to get a new keyboard yesterday which allows me to rest my wrists slightly above my hands when typing. Just the straps and the keyboard were enough to make a difference.
The ice and ibuprofen treatment lasts for five days. Today is day three. I'm supposed to do the exercises and wear the elbow straps for four to six weeks. If that doesn't do it, I'll get referred to physical therapy and if you've ever been to physical therapy, you know you don't want to go back.
I'm being very diligent. The last time I went to physical therapy was for my back and while the pain they were trying to treat was far more intense, I left there on more than one occasion in tears and I'm not interested in doing that again.
If that's not bad enough, cortisone shots would be the next-in-line therapy with surgery being the ultimate remedy.
That's just from not playing tennis. Imagine if I had!
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