[Paddlewise] Tennis Elbow

	After some months of regular paddling I started to develop "tennis
elbow"--a sharp pain along the tendons on the outside of the joint.
Significantly, this only developed in the right elbow. 

	I began using a Wind Swift paddle, and there was some speculation that the
neoprene gloves I wear in the winter cause me to tighten my grip which
results in tennis elbow. At any rate, now the gloves are gone. 

	My doctor recommended a "tennis elbow" brace. This is an elastic band that
wraps just below the elbow, $4.00 at any pharmacy. 

	Now the sneaky part. . . My doc asks me how much time I spend on the
computer. Basically I spend most of the day writing and "mousing." I
suspect some paddlers in here spend a lot of time keyboarding and mousing
too. I'm unable to mouse with my left hand, but that's been suggested. I
wear the brace at the keyboard, when I play the flute, paddling, and any
other time I'm working with my hands. 

	Also, I do a bit of stretching and arm/wrist movement before paddling,
keyboarding, flute practice, even bought a one-pound dumbell to rotate in
the hand. 

	It's not just the paddling that's creating the elbow problems! The
computer is a big contributor. As a paddler who's also active in a paddling
listserver, I suspect there's other paddlers online who assume the sore
elbow is from paddling. The mouse and keyboard may be culprits too! 

	After a few months of wearing the brace (and I think not wearing neoprene
gloves), I'm able to pick up things in my right hand again without wincing. 

	Geo./Svenn

______________________________
George Bergeron, Secretary '99
Oswego Heritage Council
http://www.europa.com/~heritage/
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