Apparently have golfers elbow. Opposite side of the arm to tennis elbow. At the moment can only paddle in flat conditions and for anout 30mins. Is this going to get better?

Yes and yes. I had elbow problems for a few years and I found gentle exercise increasing the intensity as I went took care of it in around 6 months, get your self a squeeze ball and do what you can for as long as you can without straining your elbow muscles. If you feel burning slow down or stop and increase the time each day as much as possible. Paddling uses different muscle groups so you should be ok but if you feel it affecting your elbow put your hands in slightly different places and angles until it's more comfortable.

It it will improve but it will be slow and gradual, I have had no trouble for along time now, some limitations no pain when paddling!

Ice ice baby , I iced mine 3 times a day for a week and a half did the trick but eased back into full on paddling

hey hbeat. get a tennis ball and put it on a table - then roll your forearm muscles along the ball to give yourself a massage. Golfers elbow is a poor healing response in the common flexor tendons. don't stretch your forearm. When paddling, try to relax your grip when your sore arm is your bottom arm. Gentle squeeze ball holds for 30s might be helpful prior to paddling - but you'll need to keep your paddling load down 30% ish of what you normally do

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hbeat98 said..
Apparently have golfers elbow. Opposite side of the arm to tennis elbow. At the moment can only paddle in flat conditions and for anout 30mins. Is this going to get better?

G'day hbeat98 Try this Old School remedy for Tennis elbow (I highly recommend it) pump out as many Chin-Up's as you can on a daily basis. I guarantee that will fix your tennis elbow plus it's great fitness.

The Bar Of Torture For A Good Core Strength Workout. "Brutal"
eddiebaran.com/gymnastic-abs.html

I have had this for a while now very painfull to the point I can hardly pull my wetsuit off sometimes.
It has eased now but several weeks latter .
I ice after a session and stretch and my session times are getting longer.
But if I go out and get pain I just cancel my surf and save it for another day but it will subside and get better with more time
This would have to be one of the most debilitating pains known to sup .

Use to get it,brought a 7" blade from surfboard warehouse,best thing I ever did.I found it difficult to get use to now luv it.I use to get elbow and shoulder pain,a smaller paddle,can paddle for hours.Use it for surfing and on my 12'6" for distance,try the smaller blade you will be "a happier paddler"

Thanks guys. You have all given me some hope and I will be out early tomorrow for a lite paddle. Have taken everything onboard, except your suggestion iron Phil that facial expression does not say comfort to me!
But seriously I have been trying to get to 1 chin up for about 5 years now to no avail and much amusement for my kids.
Would love to get out on the Broady on sunday with the wind rising again but have just about resigned myself to watching from the sidelines again. Will try and take it slow.
Thanks again.

Hope your pain is getting better, I had massive pain yesterday first time in a while

3 hour session Friday another 3 hours Saturday and a flat water paddle 1 hour

Come Sunday half hour into surf the pain was bad very bad.
End of session 2 days compulsory rest and will be back to it
These pains seems to never want to go away but they will take longer and longer to come back
Very very frustrating but unfortunately it's a part of sup surfing
Keep in mind these tendons run from the elbow to the shoulder just in case you think you have a bad shoulder as well
It may not be the case as the tendons branch into two from the bicep to the shoulder.
I can put up with plenty of the pain from the shoulder end but when the bicep plays up it can make a grown man cry

I also think that heavy concentration needs to be put on making sure you use the push pull on the paddle not just pull if you just pull and not push from the paddle handle the pain will come on quickly.

Easier said than done I know especially when the waves are clean and cranking

Check your lower hand grip. I had this pretty bad during a time when I was paddling every morning and windsurfing almost every afternoon. I was actually gripping too loose, letting my fingers extend which I learned was bad for the golfer's elbow. Smaller paddle blades are awesome too like others have mentioned. The hard part is letting it heal, you have to fight the urge to get out on the water and really take the time. Ice is great, as well as a brace when you get back out there. Good luck!

Weird picture, sorry. Get a brace similar to this, you will be amazed. Pretty cheap versions at most drug stores.

Does it really work ? Pain in the back side to get your wetsuit over it

I guess it also depends if the tendons are being flared up from the shoulder end vs the bicep

What's a wetsuit? Just kidding. You could probably wear it over the suit, I think it just restricts certain motions. Not totally sure but I know that it really helped my pain.

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JKimbler said..
Weird picture, sorry. Get a brace similar to this, you will be amazed. Pretty cheap versions at most drug stores.

the idea of a counterforce brace is to essentially offload the bony insertion of the tenon that is irritated - to layman it, think of it like the tendon pulling from the brace instead of pulling from the bone that is sore.I do use these braces for patients - but not as a fix all - they are a step to treatment to allow paddlers to reduce the load on the irritated tendons but maintain some paddling as appropriate. Short term 'fix' but often if it's the only thing you change, your pain won't go!

Excellent explanation Carter, great points. I used mine basically as a "healing aid" while figuring out what was causing the pain. For me it was bad technique (grip) and too large of a paddle blade...along with some over use!

I have has both cubical tunnel syndrome (ie ulnar neuritis at elbow) and golfers elbow .
Paddling made me feel better . Just don't grip tight

I figured my pain starts when I paddle on the left side ..pain in right shoulder and elbow tendon

It seems to be from crossing the arm over to paddle fist get a little shoulder pain then the bicep starts off

Or vise versa

I used to have it badly and had to use the brace for a while to swim, SUP or surf. I think it was caused by tending to pull the paddle backwards from my bottom hand. When I started using my bottom hand as a pure pivot point, not for stroking it resolved.

Hbeat98 I had golfers elbow for 8 months and tried all the remedies on the internet until a physio told me to try a tens machine ( wife had one from being pregnant) and within one week the difference was remarkable, 3 weeks later and no pain at all ! It cost my wife £22 for the machine. Good luck

Get some massage too, from someone who knows what they are doing. They'll almost certainly find a whole bunch of sore spots around the muscles on each side of the elbow which need to be broken down and sorted out.