Lateral epicondylitis

also known as tennis elbow, lateral epicondylitis is very common among glass blowers.

it's symptoms are; pain/tenderness on the outer side of the elbow, pain when you straighten or raise your arm/hand, pain from making a fist/shaking hands/turning doorknobs.

it comes from overusing the muscles in your forearm which straighten and raise your hand and wrist. if you make your hand like you are rolling glass you will notice some rippling in the muscle at the top of your forearm by the elbow. when these muscles get taxed they tug on the tendons that attach there. this can cause repeated tiny tears in the tendon tissue.

it can be treated by using ice packs daily or massaging the area with ice. fill small dixie cups with water and freeze them and then tear away the paper and massage the sore spot until the ice is all gone. anti inflammatory medicine like advil can also help. you can also get a "tennis elbow strap" at a medical supply store, it's basically a strap that goes around the arm below the elbow that holds the tendons in place and reduces the pulling action of the muscles when you are blowing glass. time off can be helpful in serious cases (but who wants that). the last treatment is excercise focused on strengthening the muscles in this area in a more even manner than the excercise that you get from rolling glass.

some excercises that can help (2-3 times a day);

-bend your wrist forward and backward as far as you can (repeat 10X) using a light wieght.

-with your elbow at your side and bend 90 degrees bring your palm facing up and hold, then down and hold.

-bend your elbow so that you are touching your shoulder and hold, then straighten your arm and hold.

my doc assured me that this can go away with treatment and that proper care should allow me to continue to work while i heal. don't just deal with it though because it can get pretty bad if left untreated.

more info can be found here; http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/elbow/a/elbow2.htm

be well brothers and sisters.