I had bilateral tennis elbow for months. Did lots of PT, anti inflammatory meds, rest, etc. Finally saw a skilled Sports Med doc and had a ultrasonic guided steroid injection and was much better there after. Steroid use is vetted based on your health but I strongly recommend seeing a good Sports Med doc and looking at that option. Good luck!
Not sure if possible, but I've also got a rotator cuff issue. If tennis elbow crops up I'll notice I can still hit a backhand without much pain to either my elbow or shoulder. Maybe backcast....? Once the elbow clears up you'd have one helluva double haul.
I cured my tennis elbow with one of these Flexbar's in days. This was after a few months of PT. My therapist had never heard of it and YouTube is loaded with videos of how to do it yourself at home. Go figure. A buddy at work told me about it.... I ordered one and within days I could feel a huge improvement. Within a week I was pain free.I’ve had it off and on for the last 6-7 years. It generally flares up during beach coho season. This past season I got myself one of these and it helped tremendously. I highly recommend watching some YouTube videos for exercises that work for you.
THERABAND | FlexBar Resistance Bar
The THERABAND FlexBar improves grip strength and is a high-quality treatment for Tennis Elbow or Golfer's Elbow, research-proven to eliminate pain and increase strength and endurance.www.theraband.com
Also in my mid-40s and this was the 2nd time in the last 5 years that I've had tennis elbow really bad. Too much pickleball last summer caught up to me. I'm finally almost over it and for the 2nd time it was mostly just resting it that helped recovery. Sounds like I need to pick up a Flexbar to speed up the process. I'm just starting to return to focusing on strength instead of pain management.
I follow a retired MD's (gastro surgeon, not ortho) Tenkara fishing and gear review blog who has said casting 400cm+ tip heavy T-rods make his tennis elbow tendinitis flare up even though the overall weight is low. 400cm T-rods can easily have more swing weight than a 9' fly rod. As a result he has put a lot of emphasis on "rotational moment" aka "swing weight" in his rod reviews. Maybe y'all know this but casting mechanics aside, western rods have an advantage in this as they have a reel and line that acts as a counterweight. Even though a reel and fly line adds mass, a balanced rod, reel, and line reduces the perceived "swing weight" and reduces fatigue and its increased potential to cause injury. If your rig is tip heavy, balancing the rig by using a heavier reel could possibly help.
A slight word of caution about Voltaren to anyone concerned about chronic kidney disease. While only 2%-8% of the drug reaches the bloodstream, some studies have shown topical Arnica applied to intact skin can be comparable to Voltaren for pain relief with a lower risk to kidneys and skin irritation at the application site. Additionally, Arnica is an effective treatment for bruising.
