Ok going into month 3 with tennis elbow and it’s better than when I first got it but it still is preventing me from doing things since it is my right arm. I’ve read that it can last up to a year…I hope not!
If any of you have had it what was the time frame until you were back to 100%?
I have had tennis elbow in both arms, at separate times and not from tennis. Sorry to disappoint, but both times it was 6-12 months until complete healing. Wearing a brace for tennis elbow, even at night, really helped - the kind with the extra pad that is placed over the tender area. I got my brace from the doctor, but they are sold at drug stores and on-line.
My husband has been dealing with tennis elbow in one arm for over a year now, but he is inconsistent about wearing the brace. Good luck.
I’ve also had it in both elbows (I do play) and nothing was helping so I got cortisone shots in both (at different times.) I’ve had to have a second shot in one elbow when I accidentally banged it. This was all a few years ago and I’ve been ok since.
I am heading into my third month with tennis elbow in my right (dominant) arm. A little more complicated because it’s compounded by arthritis in my neck and bursitis in my shoulder. A trifecta of itises. Also known as getting old. I personally find kinesiology tape more effective and comfortable than the elbow brace. (My physical therapist recommends Kinesio Tex Gold Wave.) The elbow is doing the best of the three, mostly changing how much stress I put on my elbow by using my left side more and adjusting ergonomics.
So for me, 100% means my elbow doesn’t hurt lifting a gallon of milk to the top shelf of the fridge or being able to repaint a bedroom wall. If you’re looking for when you’ll be back to your level 5 tennis ladder, I’m not your best advisor.
riverbirch, what things do you want to get back to doing? As we age, 100% becomes frustratingly illusive…
My car accident gave me tennis elbow. I did PT, the cortisone shot, etc. Two years later, I did surgery, the moderate variety. I can now open a water bottle and lift groceries. Lots of movements I still can’t do. I can exercise much better now, but flys, planks, elbow planks, push ups, are a challenge. i am much better now than a yer ago.
I still see my orthopedist. I’m much better than I was, but not anywhere near 100%. Don’t mean to be a downer, but I think it depends on how much damage was done.
I don’t even play tennis (my d does but has never had it) I got it from cleaning dining room walls that were going to be painted. I can now lift a gallon of milk to put it away, but then I’ll have a bad day and it will be very painful again.
I was going to sign up for a learning to row class but sounds like I should put that on hold until at least the fall. The brace has helped a lot but is annoying so might try the tape idea. I had shingles in my other arm(I think it was the other one) years ago so when this first started I was very worried that I was having a recurrence. That arm pain lasted 2 years and when I first got it I had a hard time turning the steering wheel on my car.
Cincy, having it in both arms is really bad luck…ouch!
To clarify, I did not have tennis elbow in both arms at the same time fortunately. The incidences were a number of years apart. I quickly recognized it the second time and started wearing the brace immediately. Despite the lengthy recovery, I have not had a recurrence in either arm.
I had tennis elbow (it was actually from tennis), and it took nearly a year to heal 
I had this with my right elbow after sustaining a work injury last September. Very frustrating to deal with workers comp plus deal with the frustration of not seeing much improvement. I was initially given a band to wear below the elbow (didn’t last for more than a week or two before giving this up) and given anti-inflammatory (ibuprofen), but neither of these seemed to do anything so I stopped with both within a couple of weeks. I was finally authorized for a total of 12 sessions of PT, seeing some slight improvement. Big strides seemed to come when I would back off of using the computer – couldn’t tell if the problem was the motion from typing on the keyboard or using the mouse (do NOT have your keyboard/mouse set up where you have your arm outstretched!). Over 4 months after my accident, I was prescribed to have an MRI done – surprise, it was a moderate tear! After the results were revealed, I was recommended to an orthopedic specialist. He wanted to try me on a different anti-inflammatory first, holding off on any injections and didn’t feel that surgery was warranted since I was improving (slowly but surely). I started taking this new anti-inflammatory in early February and have seen huge strides! I can now work out with light hand weights again (no pains or aches during or after exercising), I can lift and pour a full coffeepot with my right arm, I can squeeze water from a sponge without any aches at all. I don’t know what my outstretched grip strength is with my right hand (it was a ‘1’ when I first started at PT), but I am so much better.
It was frustrating to not be told along the way how long it might take before this was improving or how long it might take to get back to 100% (if at all). Looking back at the past 6 months, I wish that they would have prescribed the MRI from the start. Their explanation was they had to go through this other routine first to see if there was any improvement. I still don’t understand that as some things could have actually been worse with my tear.