Sore elbow

S

Scott

New member
Hello Everybody,

Has anyone ever gotten a sore elbow from pressure washing. I have a sore elbow and my middle finger is sore when I bend it. I am going to make an appointment with an Orthopedic specialist to see if I need physical therapy.

I have permanently tied my surface cleaner so that I do not need to squeeze the handle to turn it on. I have a ball value on/off that turns on the water flow. I also occasionally clamp the wand on (or use a tennis ball).The pain persists.

I am curious if this has been an issue with anyone else.

Thanks,
Scott
 
Just wondering, how long have you been in the business, and how much of the work do you do yourself?
 
Never had the finger thing.

Have been sore as heck after 4-5 straight hours.

Tylenol, Advil ect. usually work for me when I am done
 
Thank you for the replies,

Mike,
I do most of theworkmyself. I do this part time and have been doing it a little over a year. I employ a helper occasionally. I am trying to grow to full time.

Thanks,

Scott
 
I have occasionally had sore joints, and my knees are always sore. The hand thing is familiar as well, but I have never had that. The finger thing sounds like Carpal Tunnel syndrome. but remember, I am not a Doctor, just play one on the internet.
I had a sore elbow a couple of years ago, and just worked through it. I do switch hands a lot to give the joints a rest. I also make sure that I have guns that are a little ergonomically designed. The Suttner guns are good for this. That can help a lot with how the pressure is applied from the gun. If it persists, there is a Tennis Elbow brace taht you can buy at a decent drug store, that goes on your forearm, just below your elbow. It wraps around your arm pretty tight, and holds the bones there together. It worked for me.

Scott
 
scott,

if your pain is right on top of and just forward that little bone at your elbow, you have tennis elbow. the problem is the ligaments are torn or tearing away from the bone on the elbow. they will not grow back unless they are surgically attached.

i've got it and have had it for maybe ten years. squeezing that trigger hurts like hell, squeezing anything hurts like hell.

here is what i did.

1. took 600-800 mg of ibuprofen WITH food every 6 hours as needed. the elbow is inflamed and ibuprofen is one of the best over the counter meds for thta. Alieve is very good also but more expensive.

2. went to a good drug store and got one of those 2" velcro strap wraps with a plastic air bubble. wear this about 2"just below the bone. though it feels good on the bone, that will only damage the ligs even more. you need to surpress the lig before the damaged area. you will want to wear this all the time and you can with breaks as long as you can stand them. you can get one of those neoprene sleaves that are about 8" long that slide over the whole elbow. they feel great short term but you need something full term.

3. got cortizone shots. they work miracles for pain relief. i've had several, one will last 2-3 days, others will last weeks not sure why. this is not a cure but does offer immediate wonderful relief. a good dr will only give you 3-4 shots before they say no more. cortizone over time damages something which i can't be specific about because i don't know.

4. surgery. i asked for surgery and the dr wouldn't do it. i think he said surgery on the elbow like that had only about 30-40% positive results. not good enough for him unless your arm was useless.

5. i realize that i just can't do that stuff or anything that requires you to squeeze with your hand. this is what i try to do HAHA! i guess i'm lucky. i have a good fulltime office job and do this very much part time for top $$ believe me. after i had problems with my shoulder for 12-14 yrs, i had rotator cuff surgery which was a bitch but worth every minute of pain from the surgery. with the tennis elbow, it's not fixed, but if i do nothing i survive.

if you can???? being that you are part time, do as much work as you can for only top dollar provided your quality work is there. if you grow hire some help and you're still part time.

when i used to travel with my job for 2-3 weeks at a time, i used to joke with my boss and told him it was hotel elbow.

if i knew then what i know now..... id get a bubble velcro strap and a shot, not necessarily in that order BUT immediately.

the finger thing. is it just on one finger on one hand mostly? does it seem to get better at times? i have some arthritis in my fingers and when it flares up (rarely) only one finger will swell up and hurt. mostly my index or middle finger. hard to bend. short of cutting them off, ice packs and ibuprofen helps.

ahhh my disclaimer: I AM NOT A DOCTOR EITHER SO ANYTHING I HAVE SAID IS BASED ON MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND CANNOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYONES SUCCESS OR FAILURES!!

good luck,
roy
 
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WTF? WD-40? Ditto on the Velcro arm straps. I use the one by ACE and it is designed for above and below the elbow. I cut it in half, and have one for each arm. If you are buying these, might as well get the ones for the wrist. Their will come a time when you need it, and you will be prepared.
 
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Yes, WD40 is great for joint problems. I forget what's in it that works so well, but it works.

I too have had elbow problems, usually when I've been blowing roofs for 8 hours a day for several days in a row. It is the constant motion of the my arm from side to side, and the weight of the blower. A backpack blower helps a little, but the tradeoff is that I can ONLY use the arm that is sore.

You're on the right track with not squeezing your hand on the gun while you're washing. In my experience that compounds the problem.

Usually a day or two between blowing or using the wand a lot takes care of the problem. Whether the ligaments are tearing away or not, it is definitely an inflammation problem. I'd take Roy's suggestion as far as the straps/elbow supports.
 
WOW!!!

I have made an appointment with a doctor and will invent a remote control wand.

Thank you for the advice.

Scott
 
True, wd 40 does work great.
as for cortisone shots, my exp I would have to disagree. I had rotator cuff surgery and before the surgery I got the shots. felt great until it wore off then I was in agony. Maybe it works different for different people.
 
Michael,

you're right when the cortizone wears off the pain will come back. but when it hurts so bad you sometimes have to put your arm in a sling, any relief even for short periods of time is a blessing. at times i couldn't wait to go back.

i even had shots in my lower back which was another blessing.
but those hurt like heck when they shot me, but again it was well worth it to me. i wouldn't have to think twice about having another.

good luck again scott

roy
 
WD40 for joint pain? Are you guys serious? You actually put this stuff on your joints. Are we talking about the lubricant WD40 or is their another?
 
I've never heard of using it on yourself..............i can't imagine smelling like WD-40.........but hey, if it works............

I heard about a year ago that there is actually a WD-40 fan club.........at that time, they had over 50,000 members already..........who knows how many they're up to now. I never joined......

http://fanclub.wd40.com/login.cfm
 
First let me preamble a little bit..I am not a doctor but I am a Canadian Registered Massage Therapist (retired), former Clinical Director of a WCB/MVA Rehabilitation clinic, founder of the Canadian Sports Massage Therapy Association, Certified Athletic Trainer and a football coach with nearly 20 years experience.

ANY pain is your body's way of letting you know that you have done something it does not like.

Before any assessment can be complete you need to describe the quality of the pain; sharp, burning, dull, achey?

Exacerbating factors; what makes it hurt and what makes it stop?

With your hands at your sides and palms facing forward does the outside (farthest from your body) or inside (against your body) part of your elbow hurt? I would bet the inside...this is technically called medial epicondylitis or Golfer's elbow. This is an overuse strain problem that can, and often easily, be fixed by learning how to stretch and taking frequent stretch breaks for a minute or two.

Look for Bob Anderson's Stretching at almost any bookstore.

As to the fniger portion of your complaint that too is most likely overuse. Again stretching will help.

If you are sufferring from inflammation (pain, heat and swelling) then Over-the-Counter Non-Steroidal-Antiinflammatory-Drugs (OTC NSAID's) show to be very effective. Products like acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), ibuprofen and naprosen all have repotred success; follow the label directions.

You can also soak your hand and elbow in ice water for 10 minutes in- 10 minutes out, alternating for 30 minutes. Another thing you can do is to have two containers; one with ice water the other with the hotest water you can stand. Saok a towel in each one and wring out the excess water. Starting with the cold towel wrap it around your elbow for three minute while you put your hand in the water. Then do the same thing with the hot water for 1 minute. Alternate for 30 minutes; 3 minutes cold, 1 minute hot finishing with cold. This is an extremely powerful vascular pump which will reduce the pain and swelling.

Cortisone shots should only be a next to last resort. they should be administered with lidocane but be aware that this is a caustic combination to ligaments and tendons and may not work. All surgeries show a 18% effectiveness on average; is that good enough?

Chiropractic and osteopathy will be of benefit as well as supplementing with vitamin B6 according to some recent studies.

TENS and ultrasound do not have scientific validity to justify the cost in dollars and time.

In conclusion, try and modify your work to reduce the factors that create the pain, know what IS causing the pain and correct that as well. Use simple, cost effective treatments like stretching, OTC NSAID's, hydrotherapy and manipulations (if warranted). You can also try what horse trainers have known for years, Di-Methyl-Sulf-Oxone (DMSO). Technically only for sale as a cleaner it has been used with success by athletes for years.

Never settle for covering up the symptom without finding out what the cause is. The long term effects of that thinking leads to greater pain later in life. This means using elbow straps and their ilk.

PS: According to Dr. Mirkin (www.drmirkin.com) many if not all arthritides (arthritic triggers/causes) can be reduced and/or cured through proper anti-biotic treatment, so check out the meta-analysis of available literature for proof.

Hope this helps? Cheers.
 
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I had to resort to cortizone injection to the Rt. Elbow and now it is under control with 50mg of Vioxx once a day. The viox keeps away the injections and you get titrated on the viox in about 3 days. Something to ask your doctor about.

That elbow pain gets to the point I can't hold up a pitcher of beer. That's when it's time to get the shots!!!!!

Reed
 
there is also something out there but I can't remember the name. I used it when I was "juicing" and put it on my joints and it worked miracles. It makes you smell like garlic though. It is used for horses and if I can remember the name I will post it but it has been a while.
 
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