Elbow and Wrist Tendonitis

By now, there are tons of articles and rehab exercises out there addressing elbow and wrist tendonitis. The most commonly discussed are tennis elbow and golfer's elbow. Did you know that there are multiple names for these?

Tennis elbow, for climbers, is the most relevant. It is 'flexor tendonitis', 'medial epicondylitis', 'climbers' elbow' or just flat out intense pain on the inside of the elbow! Typically the pain doesn't bother you while climbing or gripping, but it's a deep, persistent ache right along the tendon on the ulnar/medial/inside of the elbow. The pain can also manifest in wrist tightness that makes push ups on open, flat hands very painful.

The flexor tendons all attach to the common flexor tendon on the inside of that elbow. They cross the elbow AND wrist on the palmar side. In order to treat tendonitis, you have to go to the source of the tension whether that means reducing volume/intensity of your climbing, decreasing weight while strength training, or massaging/ice/heat to the forearms after activity.

On the flip side (quite literally), you can also relieve tension by strengthening the wrist and elbow extensors. They all attach to the common extensor tendon on the outside of the elbow and are commonly weak compared to the flexors. Think about it--we are constantly gripping things, typing, and curling our fingers when sleeping, so of course our flexors are overactive!

Resolving elbow and wrist tendonitis is relatively simple: decrease stress on the flexors, strenghthen the extensors, and be smarter about your training.