Fishing elbow and repetitive stress injuries

I've been doing a lot of fishing from the kayak this summer, more to the point, I've started doing a lot of fly fishing. I'm right handed and recently I noticed that my casting elbow was beginning to ache. Yesterday it worsened to include pain and weakness to the point where I had trouble setting the hook while fishing with a rubber worm. So when I got home from my trip I googled fisherman's elbow and found that it's pretty much the same as tennis elbow, micro tears and inflammation in the ligaments around the joint. The only true cure is to rest it. Obviously, that presents a problem since I am not going to give up fishing for a few weeks. So I am going to try to make lemonade from this lemon and start fly fishing left handed. Now THAT should prove to be an interesting experiment. Below are a couple items I found that offer background on the injury and some ideas for recovering from and avoiding them.

http://www.working-well.org/articles/pdf/Fishing.pdf

http://www.fishingbuddy.com/fishing_elbow_is_a_pain_in_the_angler

16 oz curls are also a great exercise

Thanks for the tip. I have a Bowflex multigym that I use several times a week and curls are already part of my routine. I think my problem is mostly related to technique.

Bloomagoo the 16 oz. curl went over your head...LOL (this buds for you)

you can get a cortisone shot for the tendinitis in the elbow. it will only give you relief for a while if you keep aggravating it, rest is the only cure. I don't know your age but I can't see using a kayak as the primary vehicle when you fish as many days as you do. watched your video yesterday and said to myself "lot of work, is he in pain".

If you must fish why not use spinning gear with circle hooks? You can cast sidearm while keeping your elbow straight and the circle hook does not need to be driven home...

Bloomagoo the 16 oz. curl went over your head...LOL (this buds for you)

Yes, yes it did.

you can get a cortisone shot for the tendinitis in the elbow. it will only give you relief for a while if you keep aggravating it, rest is the only cure. I don't know your age but I can't see using a kayak as the primary vehicle when you fish as many days as you do. watched your video yesterday and said to myself "lot of work, is he in pain".

The only reason I fish as many days as I do is because of the kayak. A heavier boat would probably keep me off the water (but that WOULD be good for my elbow). I haven't had any issues until I added fly fishing to my repertoire.

If you must fish why not use spinning gear with circle hooks? You can cast sidearm while keeping your elbow straight and the circle hook does not need to be driven home...

I am thinking about giving my left retrieve baitcasters a rest and switching the handles on my spinning gear to right retrieve until things heal up.

If you must fish why not use spinning gear with circle hooks? You can cast sidearm while keeping your elbow straight and the circle hook does not need to be driven home...

what he said!!!!!!!!!!!

I know what your going through I have tendonitis in both shoulders and need to cast sidearm. The problem with the cortizone shots are that they break down the muscle tissue if you get them too often. You may want to try it once if the pain is constant, it should relieve the pain and give you some comfort till it heals itself. I'm sure your doctor will suggest physical therapy also.

Rest it and ice is the best advise...

Switching hands fly fishing isnt too tough just for the basics. I was kinda taught both hands when i was learning dont know if that makes a difference

I know what your going through I have tendonitis in both shoulders and need to cast sidearm. The problem with the cortizone shots are that they break down the muscle tissue if you get them too often. You may want to try it once if the pain is constant, it should relieve the pain and give you some comfort till it heals itself. I'm sure your doctor will suggest physical therapy also.

Rest it and ice is the best advise...

Yeah, using cortizone is just covering up the symptoms without addressing underlying problem. Rest is best for healing followed by changing my technique so as to avoid repeating the problem.

i actually get this after the first long trip of the year from regular bass gear (baitcaster). i think it's all that whipping motion. it may sound weird but i did that baseball style warmup beforehand where you windmill your arm for awhile and it helped.

Yea I had to go to PT for this. Bluefish fishing in the am while frog fishing in the pm did it to me. Still is better from last sept.