Welders elbow

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I've heard of tennis elbow but has anyone here ever had welders elbow?  I had my elbow and forearm start giving me troubles last weekend and initially I thought I had slept on it funny or whacked it in my sleep against the night stand but after talking with my doctor it may have resulted from my grabbing a metal cable rack that I had been working on that shifted and started sliding off the block and jerked me along with it.  No pain the first day but the next morning i felt it and its being labeled as tendonitis and has resulted in a workers comp claim despite my not taking any time off from work.The pain is primarily in the top of the upper forearm and affects the muscles and tendons that are attached to the index through ring finger on the right hand making it difficult to lift anything straight up palm down and straighten my arm out fully.  Treatment is with naproxen and a tennis elbow strap but so far its not getting any better.  Anyone else have issues with tendonitis since they started welding?Welding Supervisor Department of Corrections.
Reply:I have been inflicted with Weldors elbow a few times 3 to be exact it's a beach to get rid of went for Acupuncture the last time worked awesome forget the pills the doc wants feed yaPaulAnother day in paradise You only have to be smarter than the metal".   WeldiniMaking an honest living is nothing more than stealing from someone who can afford it and everyone feels good when it's over .      Weldini
Reply:Not really "elbow" but hands, wrists and forearms here (working a big MIG gun for hours on end in school), took MONTHS in braces to heal. Careful, "mild" stress injury can be seriousXMT304 (school)SP125+ (home)HF 4x6 BandsawGood judgement comes from experience and much of that comes from bad judgement.
Reply:Welding is not a very good job health wise. I wish I would have taken better care of my self. My thing was to push my self to endure more. I am haveing troble with my right elbow and both hands. I got out of welding for 4years then 5 years ago I went back some days I didnt know if I was going to get my shirt unbuttened.1 year ago I Quit welding for a living. I like to weld and fab but I want to live a will longer. I know all welding jobs are not as bad as some I have had but I would advice young Guys Not to make it life long Job.
Reply:Some weld to live.Others live to weld.My buddys tell me i will die next to my rig, helmet down, engine drive idling.I laugh and tell them, i bet any of them they lift the helmet there will be a smile on my face.
Reply:It's called tennis elbow, the medical term is Lateral Epicondylitis.  It occurs from overuse or injury of the extensor muscles of the wrist.  The brace you need should limit the motion of your wrist, not elbow.  Heat and Naprosyn.  If its not better in a few weeks, you can get a steroid shot into the area.  The mechanism of injury was traumatic in nature.  You may have a partial tear and may need an MRI if no better.TA Arcmaster 300CM3XMT 304S22P12 suitcase feederX-Treme 12VSOptima pulserTA161SMaxstar 150STLHypertherm PM45OP setupStihl 020AVP, 039, 066 Magnum
Reply:tennis elbow can also be caused by stress.the brain does funny stuff at times.please note that this info did not come from willy mc.miller thunderbolt 250vlincoln square wave tig 175 prolincoln idealarc mig sp250everlast tig 210EXTeverlast power plasma 50chicago electric (hf) 130 tig/90 arcchicago electric 90 amp flux wire3 sets oxy/acet
Reply:Some of it is old age, and by old, I mean over about 21...You basically strained a muscle/ligament when it wasn't ready or was too cold.I'm sure the doctor told you it could take weeks to heal.Treating like a sports injury is not a bad idea.Might want to talk to your doctor about a specialist - usually 'sports medicine'.  Options you and your doctor (and insurance) should discuss include physical therapy, diet, excercise, and or a brace.  Sleep helps, but that also means if you need to manage the pain, talk to the doctor about that as well.As for the MRI.  Before you bother, consider this, having an MRI delays your treatment by at least 3 days.  As the doctor if there is anything that he expect that could be on the MRI that would change the treatment.  Make sure you start treating the injury before you go for the MRI and if the MRI shows something different, adjust the treatment then.  Doing a diagnostic test is only warranted if it might change the diagnosis and or treatment.Con Fuse!Miller Dynasty 350Millermatic 350P-Spoolmatic 30AMiller Multimatic 200Hypertherm PowerMax 1000G3Miller Maxstar 200DX
Reply:I had these same syptoms, forearms and elbows hurt so bad I would have to stop and message them to get feeling back in my hands and arms. Went to the chiropractor, no help. I tried the brace, no help. Didn't know what to do. Then I went in to see how my cholesterol medicine was working and the MD told me I needed to change to something differant and after about a month the pain in my arms and hands went away. At the time I was on Crestor, but I had been on Lipitor with the same problems. Now I am on Vytorin and no problems with my arms. So long story short if you are on a statin it may be your problem too.
Reply:I had a bout with a similar pain a while back. I used one of those tennis elbow braces, the kind with the air pillow in the strap. Seeemed to work well. The pain was gone in a few weeks.
Reply:A year ago I had surgery to repair this torn tendon up on the top of my elbow.  To test for this, hold your hand palm down, hold down on the top of your hand and try to lift your hand.  Mine felt like a knife sticking me in the top side of my elbow.  I was throwing fire wood from my splitter by picking up logs palm down and tossing them on the trailer.  One toss I lost my grip or tried hanging on to a log too long while throwing and I felt it tear.  I went to a sports doctor who sent me for an MRI. The first thing he told me was I am not 21 any more.  You could see the torn tendon that was hanging on by a thread and he said he could feel where it was detached.  He said it was bad enough it would never fix it's self.  They ended up drilling a hole in the bone, roughed up the area so the tendon would re-attach, stuffed the loose tendon end in the hole and screwed some kind of plug in to make it all stick together.  I had my arm in a cast for 3 weeks so I could not bend the elbow or rotate the wrist.  The next three weeks I had to wear a mechanical splint that would not let me rotate my wrist but move the elbow.  The doctor told me this was a one chance repair.  If I did something to screw it up I would be living with it for the rest of my life.  I have always considered my self a pretty tough guy but when I got the ok to take the last splint off, my right arm was a useless piece of dangling meat.  I had always thought that physical therapy was for sissies but I thought that guy was trying to kill me with what he had me do.  So a year later I would say I am back to 100%.  The worst pain I had was while doing the therapy and cramping in my fore are at night.  It would keep me awake for hours.I do weld right handed but am not bad left handed.  In my case the injury was not caused by welding just trying to save a few bucks burning wood instead of buying propane.Good luck with your elbow...Dan D.
Reply:I have pretty bad tendonitis in my forearms/elbows from lifting :-/  I can't curl with a flat or an EZ curl bar at all or I will have severe pains in bottom/inner side of my forearm.Fricken sucks because it affects everything else.There are some stretches and stuff that can help a little bit, but also strengthening those muscles(forearm/wrist) can help as well.  Acupuncture is something I have been thinking about recently, since I'm tired of lifting and then having to stop due to pain with out even lifting that much weight.  Most of the time now I just push through it.Also depending on the welding position I am in with the MIG gun, I will experience some more pain/numbness.  (YAY)JoeMiller 140 Autoset (2010)Miller Syncrowave 250 (1996)
Reply:Had it for a long time and wouldn't go away.....girlfriend talked me into acupuncture,  been fine for over a year now
Reply:I have had a case while I was welding on alot of 12.750" .750" wall piping and was leaning on the pipe all day with my elbow. I had bruised the tendon with the constant pressure. This effected two things....my shoulder was throbbing and my wrists were stiff. My fix for this was a forearm pad after a few weeks it all went away. First I thought I was having a stroke.......Last edited by Awelderiam; 12-28-2011 at 12:27 PM.A young green pipe welder asked an old salt one day...How can I make the weld on the bottom of the pipe look like the top.......The old salt replied....Screw up the top......
Reply:When I weld a batch of chicken ladders, it's basically like 1200, 1 inch welds. That equals 300 3/32" rods or 200 1/8" rods burned usually in one day. At the end, my shoulder would be throbbing in pain. To help, I bought the smallest 200A stinger I could find and attached 10 or 15 feet of #4 lead for the whip. Then I hang it from a three foot high pole on top of my table to help take every ounce of weight off that I can. It did help alot. Original stinger was a Tweco 250A with #1 lead for the whip."Where's Stick man????????" - 7A749"SHHHHHH!! I sent him over to snag that MIC-4 while tbone wasn't looking!" - duaneb55"I have bought a few of Tbone's things unlike Stick-Man who helps himself" - TozziWelding"Stick-man"
Reply:Rumor is that I'm getting old but my libido claims otherwise though my feet would say differently.The tennis elbow band just made it feel worse and not wearing it was a little better, I wrapped the forearm below the elbow and it helped some along with the naproxen and left with me a kankle for a wrist haha.Welding Supervisor Department of Corrections.
Reply:The symptoms you are explaining sounds much like something my dad has: Ulnar Nerve Entrapment also known as Cubital Tunnel Syndrom. He has been fighting it for a year now...Cubital tunnel syndrome can cause an aching pain on the inside of the elbow. Most of the symptoms, however, occur in your hand.
Reply:Originally Posted by TwoTonTexThe symptoms you are explaining sounds much like something my dad has: Ulnar Nerve Entrapment also known as Cubital Tunnel Syndrom. He has been fighting it for a year now...You mentioned it was the other fingers, but this might point you the right direction because it can spread to your forearm muscles and cause other issues in both arms. There are physical therapy exercises that can help remedy the problem.
Reply:the older i get, no matter what i do, seems something always hurts, i have had a bout of elbow pain, happened when i built my garage, had to wear a brace for a while & finally got better. every once in a while i will do something to aggrivate it. over the past year i have developed a new problem, one i wouldnt wish on any body, foot pain! real tough in the morning, once i get goin its tollerable, been to the doc, tried the excercisees, tried tthe ice, tried the orthotics, some days are worse than others but its always there. finally found a good pair of work shoes that give me some relief & comfort they are made by thoroughgood in case anybody is interested.                                              Bob
Reply:Originally Posted by TwoTonTexThe symptoms you are explaining sounds much like something my dad has: Ulnar Nerve Entrapment also known as Cubital Tunnel Syndrom. He has been fighting it for a year now...You mentioned it was the other fingers, but this might point you the right direction because it can spread to your forearm muscles and cause other issues in both arms. There are physical therapy exercises that can help remedy the problem.
Reply:Originally Posted by TwoTonTexThe symptoms you are explaining sounds much like something my dad has: Ulnar Nerve Entrapment also known as Cubital Tunnel Syndrom. He has been fighting it for a year now...You mentioned it was the other fingers, but this might point you the right direction because it can spread to your forearm muscles and cause other issues in both arms. There are physical therapy exercises that can help remedy the problem.
Reply:Originally Posted by TwoTonTexThe symptoms you are explaining sounds much like something my dad has: Ulnar Nerve Entrapment also known as Cubital Tunnel Syndrom. He has been fighting it for a year now...You mentioned it was the other fingers, but this might point you the right direction because it can spread to your forearm muscles and cause other issues in both arms. There are physical therapy exercises that can help remedy the problem.
Reply:I was on a job where all my welding was above my head holding a 15' whip for three weeks. I woke up in the night with my right hand twice it's size and x10 the pain of hitting your funny bone. This lasted for twelve hours before it started to diminish and about three days before it was tolerable.That was seven years ago and I can almost straighten the fingers on my right hand. I have shoulder; elbow and wrist pain still. I lost a lot of hand strength and live with knife like pain in my shoulder when I lift any weight.I hope you heal quickly. It's not fun.Leo
Reply:it seems despite the  detailed anatomical explanations it remains chronically  painful.. used to be called wanker's arm  and no-one paid much attention...
Reply:Wankers arm. LMFAO. Jeez, you have to switch hands every now and again, besides when you do it with your left hand it is kinda like someone else is doing it. Been welding for 25 andI have never had any problems. But I would never weld overhead for three weeks straight. I would tell the boss to trade people out every day or so. If not, I would split. Once though in a really hot summer I was working outside. Got up one morning and I could barely lift my arms or make a fist. I thought it was the beginning of the end. Went to the doctor and found out it was severe dehydration. Which was crazy cause I do drink water. But it wasn't enough in all of the heat. HE also told me that even mild dehydration can cause joint pain and weakness.Oh yeah, meant to say they put me on an IV and within an hour my problem was cleared up. It was a huge relief.Last edited by Capozzoli; 01-22-2012 at 01:12 PM.Welding everything, from the crack of dawn to a broken heart.But I would never weld overhead for three weeks straight. I would tell the boss to trade people out every day or so. If not, I would split.
Reply:Yeah, I know what you mean I like do do things myself too, and sometimes it is not so easy to realize you are hurting yourself. ...until it is to late.Kinda like being in business for yourself. Welding everything, from the crack of dawn to a broken heart.