Elbow Injury

There are different braces that you could wear to help stop the tendonitis, which is what it sounds like. I get a similar problem from over use in my elbow. Tendons do not receive as much blood as muscles, which is why they are white, so it takes a lot longer to heal.

Move your feet forward. If you're putting enough weight on your bridge arm to make it sore, that means you don't have your feet underneath your center of gravity.

Stand away from the table, and get down into your stance without touching anything. As you bend at the waist, your hips move backward, so your center stays over your feet. Holding this position, step forward until your bridge hand reaches the rail, but still keep your bridge hand off the table, so you're still balanced totally on your feet.

Now, leave your cue in position (rest it on the rail and don't let it move), and stand back up straight without moving your feet. Look down, and find out how far back (using the cue to measure) you're standing from the table.

For me, if I put my right toe directly under the back of the wrap on my cue, then when I'm down in my stance at address, I'm balanced, with very little weight on my left arm. That distance will be different for each person's stance, but find yours and use it. You should not have enough weight on that arm to make it sore.

Not only will your arm feel better, but having less weight on that arm will increase your shooting endurance, and decrease overall body tension, which should help your precision in the long run. Also, knowing exactly where to place your feet, using your cue as a reference, will probably make your stance slightly more consistent from shot to shot, which will help develop your muscle memory and lead to faster improvement and better consistency.

-Andrew

I am an orthopedic physical therapist. I see elbow injuries quite frequently, but I need a little more info. Is the pain on the inside or outside bone when your palm is down? Does it hurt at all to make a strong fist? Does it hurt to bend your wrist (with your palm facing down) backward against resistance.

I would guess by your brief description that you have tennis elbow, also known as lateral epicondylitis. This occurs when you frequently do activities that require you to pull your wrist backwards. The muscles that do this go from the back of your fingers to a bump on the outside portion of your elbow called the lateral epicondyle. When these get over used, they tighten up and pull on the insertion point. If this is done in escess, the outside covering of the bone called the periostium becomes inflammed. The 2 points that usually hurt with this, are the common extensor tendon (where the muscles that pull the wrist back all start from), and the lateral epicondyle.

If this is actually what it is, you can do a few things. 1st, ice it. It is an inflammation injury, so anything that helps decrease the inflammation will help. Antiinflammatories may also help such as ibuprofen or naproxen (aleve). I would advise approval from your physician to make sure they don't interact with any other health issues or meds you are on. The problem is really an overly worked, overly taught muscle. This muscle needs to be stretched out to decrease its pull on the bone, and then strengthened to allow it to tolerate normal function again. http://www.nismat.org/ptcor/tennis_elbow/
This site has an excellent description of the injury, and a good basic rehab protocol with pictures of good stretches and ex's. It also shows the brace that I would recommend. It is a counter-force brace that pushes the tendon down so it can not pull on the bone so hard.

Pool is not something that should not cause this. That means that you either do something repetitively during the day that aggravates it, or your pool bridge is being done with too much active extension (pulling wrist backwards). Since the pain began when you started playing more, it is probably your bridge. I would consider adjusting it, or the problem will likely continue to resurface. Try relaxing your hand on the table as muc has you can while shooting. PM me or ask away with anymore questions or info.

mantis99 said:

I am an orthopedic physical therapist. I see elbow injuries quite frequently, but I need a little more info. Is the pain on the inside or outside bone when your palm is down? Does it hurt at all to make a strong fist? Does it hurt to bend your wrist (with your palm facing down) backward against resistance.

I would guess by your brief description that you have tennis elbow, also known as lateral epicondylitis. This occurs when you frequently do activities that require you to pull your wrist backwards. The muscles that do this go from the back of your fingers to a bump on the outside portion of your elbow called the lateral epicondyle. When these get over used, they tighten up and pull on the insertion point. If this is done in escess, the outside covering of the bone called the periostium becomes inflammed. The 2 points that usually hurt with this, are the common extensor tendon (where the muscles that pull the wrist back all start from), and the lateral epicondyle.

If this is actually what it is, you can do a few things. 1st, ice it. It is an inflammation injury, so anything that helps decrease the injury will help. Antiinflammatories may also help such as ibuprofen or naproxen (aleve). I would advise approval from your physician to make sure they don't interact with any other health issues or meds you are on. The problem is really an overly worked, overly taught muscle. This muscle needs to be stretched out to decrease its pull on the bone, and then strengthened to allow it to tolerate normal function again. http://www.nismat.org/ptcor/tennis_elbow/
This site has an excellent description of the injury, and a good basic rehab protocol with pictures of good stretches and ex's. It also shows the brace that I would recommend. It is a counter-force brace that pushes the tendon down so it can not pull on the bone so hard.

Pool is not something that should cause this. That means that you either do something repetitively during the day that aggravates it, or your pool bridge is being done with too much active extension (pulling wrist backwards). Since the pain began when you started playing more, it is probably your bridge. I would consider adjusting it, or the problem will likely continue to resurface. Try relaxing your hand on the table as muc has you can while shooting. PM me or ask away with anymore questions or info.

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Thanks for the info -- painful injury.

The good news is its your elbow, whitch isnt under constant load such as a knee, so it will heal, given time, Id suggest a slight bend in your elbow, while down on the ball, with your arm fully extended, there is more pressure on those soft tissues, whitch can become painful, if ths doesnt help you may need a cortizone shot, but for sure make sure you have a slight bend to fend off the presure.. HTH


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