I to have a rare disease that cause chronic pain and inflammation. I had tennis elbow a couple times. Took about 3 weeks of really babying it. Also anytime I did anything I wore the strap on my forearm that has a pad that presses where the tendon connects to the bone. It seems to work when it flares up.

I have had it in both elbows, surgery on both to clean up scar tissue. It flared up again a few months ago, I did therapy, the needles were amazing. But when it did not improve I got an injection, did the exercises and am good to go. I looked into PRP, but the cost was prohibitive. One thing I tried and it worked was CBD cream, it worked better than anything the doc gave me.

Look on YouTube for Ask Dr. Jo, she is a PT and has some great videos.

I was also going to recommend CBD cream or oil. My dad has major back surgery and CBD is a huge help.

Rest, Ice, stretching. Then when pain subsides do strength exercises along with alternating heat and ice to build up strength. If pain doesn't go away then it is more than just a strain. PRP works great but takes time. I had one elbow that PRP did the trick but took 6 weeks along with the physical therapy. Other elbow the tendon was torn and required surgery. Cortisone can help with the swelling and if they combine it with lidocaine can help the pain also, but if you just go back to using it without letting it heal then you will be in the same situation once the medication wears off.

About 8 years ago , in my late 40's -- I had severe "Tennis elbow " . I tried all types of solutions , most of them took some of the pain away , all of them failed and eventually the pain would come back .
After thousands of dollars and lots of frustration , I decided to dig deeper to what was the root cause . In my case ( for most people , this is the same ) it was inflammation caused by poor diet . I decided to change my entire approach to diet . I eliminated all GMO's , all processed food , 90% of diary , no soda or sports drinks , reduced my sugar intake and started taking quality supplements ( Omega 3 , probiotics , etc...) . My recovery was not quick , it took months for the diet change to affect my health . Today --- I don't have any issues with joint pain at all . In fact , some of the other [censored] I suffered through , like sinus infections , bowel issues , catching a bad cold etc... TOTALLY Gone . The other benefit ---I have way better energy throughout my day ---all day .
When your body is toxic and when your immune system is weak , inflammation can attack " weak" area's and cause incredible pain .
Diet change is TOUGH and most people don't think about what we put in our bodies .
My 29 year old son goes on this website , ask him how I put together a diet plan that solved his Alopecia Areata .
Hippocrates famous quote " let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food " ----It works
Tight lines ,
Robb

Oh yes.....I thought the pain would never go away.
I wore a strap, began lifting weights and learned to change position of my hand and forearm when casting.
Low and behold the pain went away.

Yes the cortisone steroid I would try it first Dr. told me it was 50/50 chance but only other option was surgery and I didn�t want that .

Many years ago my tennis elbow got really bad. I fished with a brace but it still hurt. I could cast Ok but flipping was impossible. Went to Dr and got the cortisone shots and they helped a little but not much. Dr said you need to stop doing the repetitive thing that causes it. I told him he was crazy if he thought I was going to stop fishing. After dealing with the pain I decided to take a break from fishing. Stopped fishing from November til March one winter. Tough to not pick up a rod for that long but that was about 15 years ago and I haven�t had any pain since!! Highly recommend taking a short break. It will be worth it.

I've been chasing bass for 50 years. I've developed CTS in my casting arm. Gives me some grief after a day on the water. Friend told me that getting old ain't for sissies. That was funny. Still hurts though. To all you seniors who love to fish Keep going as long as you can.

yep, been there, would get it regularly for 20 years at the beginning of FB season, but would only last a couple of weeks, then last year during a tourney it never went away. Steroid packet, cortizone shot, MRI. Just wouldn't heal so had it cleaned and reattached last September. Expect about 8 weeks before you start casting and close to 12 before you pitch.

Online you can find a lot of resources on stretches and strengthening exercises, direct massage of the tendon, and of course ICE. I tried these for 6 weeks before I went to the dr.
I currently make sure I stretch the tendon before, during, and after fishing and ice when I get home.

Yes, getting old ain't for sissies:)

As a medical professional, this is the correct answer. The cortisone shot only mask the pain and actually degrades the tendon even further causing further damage, hence why it comes back and u keep getting it. One shot is probably ok but I would for sure not be getting repetitive injections. Inflammation is diet related. It boils down to the healthy gut bacteria which is finally starting to come to the forefront as the source of many issues in health.

Lateral epicondylitis Its a repetitive injury and usually from weak muscles in forearm and wrists flexors. Stretches, rehab, elbow straps to apply pressure to area, and foremost-stop doing what is hurting it for 6 weeks until it heals. Strengthen the muscles that are the issue with the stretches and exercises you see all over the internet. But you have to be religious about rehab. Its amazing what a clean diet of Whole Foods and cut out the processed junk will do for you, most just don't have the will power to survive it due to bad habits.

Yea, doubtful it's strength as I'm stronger now than when I was 25 even though I'm 59. Work out 3x a week hard. Diet is not bad but could be better. Last year I lost 25 lbs but have gained 10 back so I need to get serious like I was. I basically cut out almost all sweets and ate a lot of protein, greens, and fruits. I think most of this was I spent a couple of days at my friends farm and did a lot of side arm and pitching because the bass were under his trees and you had to skip a lure up in there or they wouldn't bite. Never had issues before that. I'll try and do as much casting more over hand when I can, get back on the diet, and look into stretching the tendon which might make a big difference. Also ice when I get home. If still doesn't work look into PRP. I was not familiar with it for tennis elbow so good to know. Wife was a hematologist but had never thought about that for tennis elbow. Thanks for all the advice.