Hello
I've been playing and practicing Surf Guitar obsessively for a solid year. Now, apparently I've obsessed myself into one of the worst cases of lateral epicondylitis my Physical Therapist has ever seen. I can't hold a pick, pick up my guitar or shake hands without excruciating pain. Shaking hands I can do without...not playing for months(?) is a more bitter pill.
Any thoughts, advice, comeback experiences? 'Playing through the pain' is what got me here. How do I get back?

Are you holding the pick too tightly when you are double-picking?

probably

Also...

1.) are you strumming with your elbow or wrist? not sure
2.) sitting down or standing up? both
3.) How much do you play in a day? 1 to 4 hours-lately 5-10 minutes
4.) What do you do for a living/hobbies that could also be to blame? Graphic artist and teacher-10-12 hours of computer.
20 years of Martial arts, 35 years rock climbing, multiple surgeries breaks and arthritis via skateboarding and motorcycles in the past. My hands are pretty messed up depending on weather, which is why I kept playing through...

Last edited: Oct 12, 2013 17:52:16

And I would add... standing and having the guitar slung low, that might help you find out if you use your elbow to strum too much.

I am a lifetime tennis player with a ton of experience with all sorts of tendon/overuse issues - and also suffer from tendon issues in my fretting hand from playing guitar. I have plenty of personal experience to offer.

First, as you already know, you need to rest...and then do the physical therapy (sounds like you are, and its pretty straight forward for tennis elbow). Yoga, or a similar stretching/relaxation program can do wonders, too.

I hate to prescribe medicine in a web forum, but a standard recommendation for any type of tendon injury is 800mg of ibuprofen three times a day for a two weeks..taken with food and beware that this can be tough on your stomach (though I have never known anyone in person who has had that issue). This might help with swelling and will take the edge off the pain. Taking a dose here or there wont help much with reducing inflammation..it needs to be sustained over a period of days.

Icing 2-3 times a day, especially after your therapy sessions is also advised. Massaging the affected area with an ice cube is one of the best ways to ice. You might have some luck with a one of the many straps that are sold to tennis players with tennis elbow.

Second, rest means not doing what you were doing to injure yourself. It doesn't mean giving up music. There are many things you can do to have fun and keep learning:

1. Can you play fingerstyle or with your thumb?
2. Can you play lap steel or dobro? (For a couple of bucks, you can buy a nut extender for your standard guitar and then go to town).
3. How about uke or any other smaller scale guitar?
4. Experiment with reducing the string tension..
   -use a lighter gage string
   -detune a step
   -even detune a step, capo at 2nd fret, and tune to E
5. Play the bass...or the piano?
6. If you have to quit for a while, invest the time to beef up your music theory skills...buy a workbook and go to town. I did this for a several month period when injured, and it pays dividends everyday. Almost made the injury worthwhile.

Good luck!

Last edited: Oct 12, 2013 19:32:17

I had it for 3.5 years it was the worst pain ever ! I am a sculptor and illustrator by day and play drums and guitar for fun, it's a over use injury of the worst kind. REST it. Put heat on it , more rest! I had several injections of cortisone . The shots suck and can cause long term damaging but will work if you give it time to heal . I was very very close to going under the knife and bailed after doing research on the procedure. Read what you can ,and get therapy if you can. This can become a chronic problem if you do t address it . Get a wrist guard and take care of that ASAP ! Feel free to pm me for more info.

I'm a marine mechanic (whole lot of wrenching going on!) and I have fought with this issue a lot over the last three - four years. Having to leave a band and cut down on my playing. I usually begin to start playing now when the season is slowing down.

I've learned to enjoy not playing for a bit and returning. I get a fresh perspective on what I'm playing and how I'm playing it and find I get a flurry of writing done immediately . I was 6 when I started taking lessons and I'm 29 now so coming back I don't have to relearn or anything, it's like riding a bike. Don't over practice either. Four hours is excessive and will burn your arms, wrists and hands out. I mean a live set at 100% energy lasts tops an hour (too long for surf!) So focus on short but intense practice sessions. If your learning to double pick like Dick Dale play LOUD! You'll find yourself not working as hard to make it work.

I hope your on the mend and back at it soon!

formerly SvD, bots.... member since 2006. Same game different name!

HI all
happy to report that my tennis elbow was mis-diagnosed for over a year. New insurance and examination revealed an 80% detached brachial tendon which has since been reattached by the good folks at Stanford University.
Do you all have a recommendation for an excellent san francisco Bay Area Physical Therapist to assist with rehab return to surf music? Any recs or return to glory anecdotes appreciated. thanks.

Last edited: Jun 27, 2014 23:42:13