Elbow pain !

Hi
I have been practicing every day and I guess I'm over doing it. 
Yesterday I developed pain, very sharp in the back of my elbow towards the top. As soon as I got home I iced it down, today it's just as bad. Very disappointed I practice hard all week to shoot Tuesday evening , looks like I'm going to go left handed and watch the score plummet. 
I can't be the first one with this. Trying to figure out the cause so it heals and doesn't repeat.
My thoughts are either holding the gun too tight or maybe keeping my elbow too locked,  if that is a thing.
Please advise what I'm doing to cause this.
Thank you , Tom

For pain advice, you should probably see a Doctor.
I did not when I developed elbow pain.
I think mine was caused by gripping much tighter than needed, and stiffening my arm too much.

It got to where I had to shoot looser to shoot at all, but even then the pain was still there.
I had to stop shooting completely for a couple months before the pain finally went away.

I reckon you might too.

My doctor said the inside of the elbow was golfers and the outside was tennis elbow. Why don't you try one of those bands just above the the elbow.

Actually the bands for tendonitis can be purchased at any pharmacy, etc. The band is actually placed below the elbow. You can try icing the tendon, as well. Ibuprofen or aspirin helps. The only permanent solution, I know of to relieve the pain is to rest it for a long period of weeks or months. Once the pain is totally gone, there are stretching exercises you can do to help keeping from getting it again. See a sports doctor that knows how to treat "tennis elbow".

Tennis elbow bands are legal for bullseye too btw. Closer to the wrist are considered support, and are not.

Taking it easy is the primary treatment. Are you shooting .45? Try a lighter load, or sticking with .22 for a few weeks.

I had it back in the day when we shooting real hardball and I was chasing Distinguished and I was shooting a lot of it.  I started wearing a tennis elbow band 24 hours per day since there are many things you do everyday that will set you back.  I didn't shoot for 10 days or 2 weeks, then began again.  I iced my elbow after every shooting session and took an anti-inflamatory pain med.  Even after it was no longer bothering me, I continued to wear the band while shooting for years.
Phil

Tom,

You've got good advice on the forum. It sounds like it's the first time you've had the tendonitis pain and you've asked for advice right away, instead of allowing the pain to linger. This is good.

First - do give your arm some rest immediately for a week or more.
Second - do see a doctor (an orthopedic one) and follow their recommendation
Third - icing it down does help
Fourth - a tendonitis band helps but using it INSTEAD of seeing a doctor is a BAD idea, since you will be masking this condition, not treating it.

If it sounds like I am speaking from experience - I do. I did neglect my tendonitis to my own peril.
In the most extreme cases, a surgery is recommended, but don't let it get to that point. If you act quickly, you will be out of commission for a few weeks at most.

Best Regards,
Oleg.

I found the exercises at https://spinalflowyoga.com/shooters-elbow/ very helpful. Early on I was having to hold ice on my arm after a match and the steady exercising made it a non-issue. 

Also, since I have to do a lot of work using laptop and desktop computers, I use my non-shooting hand for controlling a mouse or trackball.

I would be careful, I kept shooting through the pain for a few months. Then finally stopped shooting my .45, I haven't shot center fire for two years and my elbow still has issues.

Last summer I got a partial tear on my right bicep tendon.  I am just now beginning to be able to dryfire a little after about 7-8 months

I've had a case of tennis elbow since September. I had it years ago and it went away, but it came back with a vengeance this time. It was so bad early on, I was having to take strong NSAIDs every day. It is better now and I've been wearing a brace, but I am not sure I'll ever be able to shoot a .45 halfway decent again. I've had to completely change how I hold my arm. Can't extend it all the way. I may just be relegated to .22 from now on.

Getting old sucks. I miss being able to bounce back from injuries quickly in my 20s and 30s. And the eyesight... and the flexibility.

I had a terrible case of lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow / shooter's elbow). I spent about a year self-treating (as a physician I figured I knew what to do), taking months off at a time. Did various stretching, strengthening exercises. Wore the compression band. Didn't get better.

I finally saw a doctor who wasn't me, and started some formal physical/occupational therapy for it. Initially in-person 3x per week, combination of modalities including ultrasound, then weekly with more directed activities on my own. Wore a wrist brace when sleeping. It got completely better in a couple months and hasn't recurred even though I shoot much more now than I did then.

Point being, advice above isn't wrong, but don't torture yourself too long self-treating. You might benefit from professional help. Life's short, get well soon.