Incipient golfer's elbow due to reloading

Or so it looks like . It's not hurting bad and it's not keeping me from working, and with proper and careful warm-up, even workouting at the gym (I'm focusing more on cardio, legs and core work, nevertheless, so as to give it some rest), but it's there, and when I hit the range this afternoon I felt some noticeable discomfort (not pain, we're men here ) when I tightened my grip around the pistol or operated the mag release.

So far I haven't seen a doctor, but have checked with a friend who is a chyropractic and my gym's owner and they agree it looks like it. Definition here:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/golfers-elbow/basics/definition/con-20027964

And an interesting Wikipedia quote on what causes this:

"The condition is called Golfer's Elbow because in making a golf swing this tendon is stressed, especially if a non-overlapping (baseball style) grip is used."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golfer's_elbow

The culprit is clear. My LCT or, more precisely, the ball style grip. I had already bought, a few days ago, a roller handle at a hardware store and will have a friend who is machinist/welder make something similar to those "ergo roller handles" available in the US and not available here, or available at exorbitantly high price tags (make it double than what it costs over there and you'll only get close). Weather's been pretty miserable during the last couple of weeks and a couple of weeks ago I spent one Saturday evening reloading (over 300 rounds) and did the same on Sunday. On Monday I could definitely feel it.

So I'm switching my LCT's ball grip for a home made ergo roller handle and see how it works out, while I take a reloading break and start treating my elbow before it worsens any further. I hope the new handle will help, but if it doesn't, the Dillon 550 which was second on my wish list will climb up to the first position and will be ordered before summer.

Stay safe... and healthy

Thanks for the good wishes . It's likely that the heigth at which the press is set has to do. I reload sitting on a chair and the press on a table which is slightly taller (made on purpose) than average, so it's more of a bench thing, better to work on if I'm cleaning my guns, prepping brass or the like. Sometimes I use a taller stool, depending how I feel like. Probably the taller stool is the way to go.

This made me think of case lubrication. Sometimes I spray my 9 mm cases with the mix Mr. Lee reccomends on his book (1 part Lee lubricant+10 parts alcohol, although I'm a bit more generous with the lube) and it really makes a difference. I say sometimes because some others I forget to. I won't forget in the future. It really reduces the amount of torque required to size the case.

John C said:

A Dillon 550 will help, not only for the great roller handle, but because you're getting 4x the loaded rounds for each pull of the handle.

Good luck!

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That's exactly the point, divide the pulls by 4. My tax check is close so I'll probably invest a part of it on the 550. The LCT will stay, though, as I plan on reloading other calibers in the future and it's worth to keep it.

I'm already hearing the wife... That thing you use to make your "bullets" wasn't smaller and red?

RealGun said:

I have had chronic epicondylitis or tennis elbow and didn't conquer it until I got a steroid shot directly in the tendon area. It typically creates a light, tender patch of skin, but it gradually fades (months).

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Steroids are one of the alternatives, but as you say, physicians tend to use it as a last resort. Glad it worked for you .

Thanks for the good advice, gents. The band is on the way and I'll use it in the future. I already got some massage, stretching and anti-inflammatory treatment and it looks like it's improved some.

And yes, it looks like I'll have to take a reloading break. I know I'm gonna miss it

emb said:

This may sound somewhat silly. I regularly shoot competitive archery. I developed golfers/tennis elbow. Ice and anti-inflamatory drugs worked some, but I could never get it to settle down. It hurt while driving so I moved the seat up so that my elbow was bent. It finally settled down-almost immediately after moving the seat up. I mentioned it to another archer with the same problem. His settled down too. I do not think it coincidence.

I do not drive for a living or spend a great deal of time in my truck. I drive 20-25k a year. Once it was settled down, I could work on strength exercises, etc. Simple and worth a try. Also, ice it-a lot. You'd be surprised how much that helps-expecially right after the loading session.

Good luck.

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It doesn't sound silly at all. A lot of regular activities can, and actually do, have a negative impact on our body. Driving has a lot to do with it, as it does being improperly seated on a couch. I learned this when my L5-S1 herniated disc gave me a serious warning a couple of summers ago. Since then I lost weight and worked hard on gaining strength on my lower back and abs, by taking my gym workouts much more seriously and practicing Pilates and Tai-Chi. It worked. No problems since.

Today my elbow showed a surprising improvement. The pain is almost gone and it's not being an impediment even for my regular gym routines. I'll forget about reloading for a while, though, and whenever I resume it I'll do it in small batches, never more than a 100 rounds per session, and using always previously lubed cases.

I have another problem, though... . I had already made up my mind on the 550B. Quite frankly, I don't think I need all the bells and whistles of the 650, but some guys at my shooting club say it has some design problems on the priming system and "go get the 650 and don't ever look back". I never read anything related to 550 priming problems over here, and seriously, I trust you guys more than I do trust those fellas .