Hi all
does anyone suffer tennis elbow from kitting and how do you manage it?I foil and love it but the hole elbow issue is keeping me from staying out as long as I would like and it's frustrating

I had it from kiting a few years ago. It started flaring up after a session on a high bar pressure kite. Couldn't shake it for weeks. Only remedy is rest, perhaps a month maybe more, and then gentle ease back into it. If you haven't already, look at changes to your setup, maybe a sliding spreader to have variable depower distance relative to your arms, use on/off kites like duotone neo. Switch to shorts harness or vice versa or even get some coaching or physio advice. Good luck, I know what it's like.

Had this issue in my first 4 years of kitesurfing. What solved it for me was simply keeping my hands in the middle of the bar when I ride. You can also look at bridle and rear line adjustments on your kite that may help reduce the bar pressure. Also, some kites have much less bar pressure than others so it could be worth changing your kites for low bar pressure kites.

Hope this helps

Christian - KiteBud

I bet it is not a tennis elbow.

You have a golfers elbow. Only the ultrasould can confirm.

It has nothing to do with a bar pressure. Sorry Christian.

Or with a harness. It is a tendon. The pain goes up to the neck and shoulder. This is where you need to concentrate for a massage. Not the elbow, but neck and shoulder.

To get it solved buy the elbow brace with a pressure point. Sleep with it if u can.

Start doing elbow physio from YT, AND get a flexible piece of wood from Bunnings, 1.5-1.7m long.

Hold it in the middle, on a side, and start "shaking" it. That fixes elbow in no time. More u do, faster will go away. Youll feel it.
It will work 100%.

15 years kiting, got it last NY. Solved in 3-4 mnths. Could not comb my hair...

The best solution I have found for tennis/golfer elbow is this:

Called Tyler Twist and fixed my elbow in two weeks.

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dbabicwa said..
I bet it is not a tennis elbow.

You have a golfers elbow. Only the ultrasould can confirm.

It has nothing to do with a bar pressure. Sorry Christian.

Or with a harness. It is a tendon. The pain goes up to the neck and shoulder. This is where you need to concentrate for a massage. Not the elbow, but neck and shoulder.

To get it solved buy the elbow brace with a pressure point. Sleep with it if u can.

Start doing elbow physio from YT, AND get a flexible piece of wood from Bunnings, 1.5-1.7m long.

Hold it in the middle, on a side, and start "shaking" it. That fixes elbow in no time. More u do, faster will go away. Youll feel it.
It will work 100%.

15 years kiting, got it last NY. Solved in 3-4 mnths. Could not comb my hair...I have golfers elbow, can you explain how to shake it

dbabicwa said..
I bet it is not a tennis elbow.

You have a golfers elbow. Only the ultrasould can confirm.

It has nothing to do with a bar pressure. Sorry Christian.

Or with a harness. It is a tendon. The pain goes up to the neck and shoulder. This is where you need to concentrate for a massage. Not the elbow, but neck and shoulder.

To get it solved buy the elbow brace with a pressure point. Sleep with it if u can.

Start doing elbow physio from YT, AND get a flexible piece of wood from Bunnings, 1.5-1.7m long.

Hold it in the middle, on a side, and start "shaking" it. That fixes elbow in no time. More u do, faster will go away. Youll feel it.
It will work 100%.

15 years kiting, got it last NY. Solved in 3-4 mnths. Could not comb my hair...

Can you explain how to shake it, I have golfers elbow

Ive experienced this (elbow pain / grip weakness) aswell. I had one kite in particular that would trigger it consistently (2010 Slingy Octane 13m), I've found modern SLE & certainly foil kites (Peak, Soul etc) are more comfortable than the 2010 model mentioned. Am sure a physio would be able to help and maybe you can justify some sweet new kites for the upcoming summer.

I have been to the physio and done progressive loading for 9 months I still have pain, I fli Peak kites they are awesome

Soul 10m got me golfers elbow. Trust me, ultrasould can confirm. I ride foils 90%, 10% Airush Ultra.

It really does not matter, the kite, the harness, nothing matters.

What matters is YOU.

This is a pro item used:



Use it in any direction, youll feel it. Keep the hand straight. Shake it like no one watches you :)

What this does to your elbow is like no other physio.

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dbabicwa said..
Soul 10m got me golfers elbow. Trust me, ultrasould can confirm. I ride foils 90%, 10% Airush Ultra.

It really does not matter, the kite, the harness, nothing matters.

What matters is YOU.

This is a pro item used:



Use it in any direction, youll feel it. Keep the hand straight. Shake it like no one watches you :)

What this does to your elbow is like no other physio.

Not sure what you mean by shake

I have this issue normally through Winter when not kiting as much and going to Gym with weights and if kite a lot I just use arm Brace below the elbow This stops muscle pulling at the joint

Ice it with a cold beer when you get back to your car. Not sure it helped my elbow/forearm much however you get a cold beer.

Could be wankers cramp

Go for an ultrasound to confirm the issue.

RICE works and Voltaren Gel / 25 mg pills.
Cobra pose with palms down and facing rear wards, really helps.

But you need to address what is causing the problem. I always got it underpowered when the bar is too close too me. I shorten all 4 lines by about 2 inches to move the bar away from me, to straighten my arms a bit,Then move the trim cleat further up the mainline. This can reduce bar throw as some bars don't have a moveable trim cleat so beware in higher winds. There heaps of online info how toos about this. But this fixed the elbows. Or Maybe try another set of bar and lines and see if that helps. good luck man.

I get it when riding under powered also. I thought it was from hanging off the back lines more and over sheeting, however having the bar closer to the body makes more sense. I don't think it's wankers cramp otherwise id have in in both arms and would be crippled all year round.

Practice riding with your back hand upside down [palm up]. This uses different muscles and will give you no pain while riding and give your TE a chance to heal. It feels bit weird at first but after some time it feels quite natural. This with stretching before and after kiting fixed my TE.

I also have TB but from supping & swimming not kiting but i fly naish which have low bar pressure and i keep hands in centre of bar and mostly ride with one hand on bar alternating dependent on direction im going in.

Stretching and rest are the only things i've found to help.

I'd go with other posters suggestions and lower your bar pressure and adjust your hand location and grip.

Cauncy has the worst wankers cramp in WA

When I moved to QLD it stopped.

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Underoath said..
When I moved to QLD it stopped.

Wankers cramp or Tennis Elbow??? TB/WC must be due to pressure on bar

Elbow compressor during kiting is your friends

I've had it for 3 years, got that bad all my tendons calcified.

The hardest part is finding yourself a good physio (most are ****house) get them to needle and massage your tendons to relive the pain. Then strengthen your shoulders and chest, workout and stretch as much as you can. The pain will very slowly go away but do not stop training shoulders and the bit by bit start working out the arms.

Patience is key & take it serious or you will be ****ed for a long time.

If your on the Gold Coast, Energy in motion is the best physio, she also does Telehealth which she'll get you on the right track.

Thanks guys a lot helpful things to try.hopefully get rid of it enough to enjoy summer
happy kiting all ??

Watch this video.
Follow Tom Morrison. He really knows his stuff.
m.facebook.com/video.php/?video_id=678209720287580

It comes in various forms. And once combated it may return. Apart from good physio exercises (some mentioned above but there are more e.g. involving rubber bands etc), make sure you regularly stretch the underarm both ways also. And apart from mobilisation also do strength training i.e. similar exercises with some weight.

Bit of spikey ball massage and voltaren, ice. But that's quick fixes.

Agree playing with the bar G-point distance from your body can help. As well as different grip (palms up).

Try winging, bloody good workout which strengthens back and underarm muscles (or if unlucky induces more tennis or golfers elbow).

Injections did not help me. Bit of placebo possibly.

Ok, I've realised no-ones going to watch a video just coz I said so, so here's the general gist of it.
The elbow is a simple hinge joint whereas the shoulders and wrists a more complicated but when either is lacking in range of motion the elbow can pick up the slack and that will cause pain.
The video shows full range of motion exercises for each, flexion, rotation etc.etc.
Now watch it.

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psychojoe said..
Ok, I've realised no-ones going to watch a video just coz I said so, so here's the general gist of it.
The elbow is a simple hinge joint whereas the shoulders and wrists a more complicated but when either is lacking in range of motion the elbow can pick up the slack and that will cause pain.
The video shows full range of motion exercises for each, flexion, rotation etc.etc.
Now watch it.

Nah

I've got a cortisone shot tomorrow for tennis elbow, will let you know how I go.

Ok. Now watch it.

As a practitioner who works with a lot of sporting injuries. 9 times out of 10, it's not the elbow that causes the pain. quite often in kiteboarding, rock climbing, weight lifting. it's coming from the back or shoulder, in particularly lats, infra and terries. Could also be biceps or triceps depending on where the pain is. I would start with a foam roller on lats tho. good luck

Thanks for that kemp will give that a go. Cheers

Had golfers and tennis elbows in both arms for years. Tried every available treatment from Physios and Osteos. Acupuncture helped a little bit. Nothing stopped pain, except an ultrasound guided cortisone shot, to hit the spot exactly. Then rest, then exercise to build up strength again. Could barely pick up a toothbrush when it was bad, The Tyler Twist thing is good. The vibrating thing (cheap version of the Body Blade) in the video above may not be so good. Light bar pressure style kite really helps, so most kites designed for foiling are good. I did a survey of Wingers on a large wingers group on Facebook, before deciding to get in to winging, or learn to kite foil. Huge numbers of wingers have problems with golfers or tennis elbow - it either made an existing problem worse or created a problem where there had been no problem. So, I am learning to kite foil - no problems so far, except for me being a slow learner! (as a side benefit, it was a lot cheaper to get in to kite foiling)