Physical Therapy for elbow problem (possibly tendonitis)

@jenniferhunter You might have them check for partially torn or damaged tendons and we'll. When my elbow didn't respond to PT, the ortho did an ultrasound guided procedure to clean up the elbow tendon (Tenex) not covered by most insurance so it cost me about $1000, but I got rid of 90% of the pain. Now I do the arm PT to keep it strong.
Also, he has me wear a carpal tunnel wrist brace while sleeping. Keeping the wrist straight alleviates a lot of stress on the elbow. Most people tend to curl their wrists while sleeping.

My therapy exercises keep my pain and numbness at bay for the most part. My wrist splints help to an extent but not 100%. Since I continue to use my hands and arms each day it’s ongoing.

@sueinmn He did see an orthopedic surgeon who had an MRI done and he reviewed it with us. The tendons are intact but inflamed. The occupational therapy will be scraping along the tendons, so we'll see how that goes. It won't be exercising it, and the therapist will do all the work.

@jenniferhunter Ice too, especially after scraping when it will feel like it's on fire!

@barbaradh Physiatrists sometimes do shockwave. There are a number of physical therapistA who do it. There is some sort of licensing process, so ask about their training background. Experience administering shockwave would matter also. Ask questions. Best wishes. There are lots of studies on sonar shockwave online. It has been used for decades in Europe. It came to the US later. Now it is popular all over the country.

Hello. I did PT for golfer’s elbow, which means pain is on the inside of elbow vs tennis elbow which has pain on outer side of elbow. She did ultrasound to help with the healing but I also have osteoarthritis and swelling in that area. What also helped was she created this soft brace for me to use at night basically keeping my arm long so as not to curl up and sleep on elbow. It took a little adjustment time but help with morning pain and stiffness. Ultimately though, I had an MRI of my neck which showed nerve impingement. Once I addressed that with RFA my elbow pain decreased significantly. Yes -also to Voltaren and ice on the elbow. I did the recommended exercises suggested by PT when they didn’t increase pain too much. I can’t take NSAIDs but thinking that would’ve helped.