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Elbow pain from climbing typically occurs in one of three areas: Medial, Lateral or Deep. To determine where your pain is see the photo on right and then read the recommendations that follow. For a true diagnosis, see an orthopedic surgeon or physical therapist.
1) Lateral Epicondylitis or “tennis elbow”- Your pain occurs on the “outside” of the elbow and often happens while grasping objects, even something as trivial as a beer bottle. You also may experience pain while turning doorknobs.
2) Medial Epicondylitis- This is similar to Lateral epicondylitis, but it is on the “inside” aspect of your elbow. The treatment is the same, except the upper forearm strap does not generally help. Again, rest and decreasing inflammation is extremely important.
3) Deep elbow pain- This one is a little more unusual and I have so far only seen it in climbers. The pain is felt deep in the front of your elbow. 7-10 days of rest, ice massage (as described above) and strengthening the biceps by bicep curls after the rest period seem to alleviate the problem.
1 and 2) Lateral / Medial Epicondylitis - I know you don't want to hear this, but you need to rest. Depending on how bad it is you may need to take between 2-6 weeks off. Basically, once you can open doors and lift bottles without pain you can try climbing easy. If it hurts afterwards (that night or the next morning) you did not rest long enough. Reduce the inflammation and give it another week. To reduce inflammation in this area use ice massage. This involves placing a Dixie cup/small Styrofoam cup ¾ full of water in the freezer. Once frozen, peel off the rim until the ice is exposed. Rub the ice on the painful area until red and numb. Do this 3x/day until the pain has subsided.
Stretching- You can do these stretches right away, but keep out of the painful areas. Stretching discomfort is okay, pain is bad.
Stretching
a) Bend your wrist forward and backward as far as you can. Do 3 sets of 10 (do less if you have pain)b) Pronation and supination of the forearm: With your elbow bent 90°, turn your palm upward and hold for 5 seconds. Slowly turn your palm downward and hold for 5 seconds. Make sure you keep your elbow at your side and bent 90° throughout this exercise. Do 3 sets of 10 (stop if pain occurs).
c) Elbow stretch: Gently bring your palm up toward your shoulder and bend your elbow as far as you can. Then straighten your elbow as far as you can 10 times. Do 3 sets of 10.
When these stretches are not painful, you can begin these strengthening exercises:
Strengthening
a) Reverse wrist curls: Hold a soup can or small weight (2-5 lbs) in your hand with your palm facing down. Slowly bend your wrist upward. Slowly lower the weight down into the starting position. Do 3 sets of 15. If this is too easy, use more weight and progress to more reps.b) Wrist radial deviation: Put your wrist in the sideways position with your thumb up. Hold a light weight (2-5 lbs) and bend your wrist up, with the thumb reaching toward the ceiling. Slowly lower to the starting position. Do not move your forearm throughout this exercise. Do 3 sets of 15.
c) Forearm pronation and supination: Hold a light weight (2-5lbs) in your hand and bend your elbow 90°. Slowly rotate your hand with your palm upward and then palm down. Do 3 sets of 15.
Make sure to stop if any of these exercises cause you pain. Use a lighter weight or a soup can. If they hurt to do with a soup can, then it is too soon. Rest another week and try again. When you can do these exercises with at least 5 lbs without pain you can return to climbing. Many people find that upper forearm straps:
(http://thesportsmedicinestore.com/ChoPat_Tennis_Elbow_Support.htm ) help when they start climbing again. If you decide to use one, do so for the first 4-5 weeks and then attempt to wean yourself off of using it.