I had lateral epicondylitis (a big word for tennis elbow) about a year ago. Went to the sports doc, got some therapy and a shot. Helped a *little*. Then I stumbled on a supplement called Cissus Quadrangularis. I get it raw and in bulk, not the overpriced BS crap you can buy in pill form. No exaggeration whatsoever, in a month I could train as hard as ever before without pain if I let it rest afterward, and after two months I had NO pain at all, at any time. My grip strength is back to 100% as well. I have referred a few people to the stuff and they have all had positive results. It`s a natural occurring extract from a flower related to grapes. The only side effect is that it tastes HORRIBLE. I was taking a gram a day for the first two weeks, then half for six weeks. Now I only take it when I have a particularly brutal ride or workout. It`s been a good six months since I`ve used it daily and I have NO pain. It`s at least worth a look, as it`s claim is that it`s proven to actually heal connective tissue. I can vouch for it personally.

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I have both elbow and knee tendonitis. I know what makes the pain flare up, running, hiking, preacher curls, and the list goes on. Since you’ve covered the elbow, may we please have some exercises for knee tendonitis?

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Interesting. I had severe tendonitis about a year ago from swinging a hammer all day right after recovering from a shoulder injury. My physical therapist didn’t connect the dots but what you say makes perfect sense. I have been pain free for quite some time probably due to strengthening my shoulder. I’ll have to work some of those exercises into my routine to really get solid. Thanks James!

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Surprised you didn’t include arm bars as part of the prevention/treatment here? Have you gone off those?

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bikejames Reply:
May 22nd, 2010 at 2:37 pm

No, I still like them, I just wanted to run through some new things that people might be a little more familiar with. Lots of tools in the ol’ tool box…

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I guess. I’ve been doing them pretty religiously – start of every work out – and I was super disappointed when I tried TGUs and seemed to knacker my shoulder – I was doing sets of the hip raise step, with light weight, but the hip raise step seems to put a lot of tension on my lower shoulder, the one that’s supporting my body rather than the one that’s holding up the weight. Any suggestions? Or do I just need to keep trying to strengthen/rehab my shoulders with the pull aparts, push ups, and what not?

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bikejames Reply:
May 24th, 2010 at 9:30 am

@ Simon – you are probably internally rotating your hand when you go from your elbow to your hand (turning your fingers in towards the body). You have to keep the hand pointed out which will keep the supporting shoulder packed in. I just shot a video and will post it today on what I am talking about…

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