Golfer's Elbow - is the Mark Rippetoe approach worth it?

Pain & Rehab Forum [Moderated]
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Hi everybody,

I am suffering from Golfer’s elbow. Had it in the past, it went away after some physiotherapy and now it came back after I switched to Low Bar Squats. I am working on improving my grip, doing the Low Bar Squat Stretch from Horn and working on this in general. I do not have a coach that I fully trust with these issues unfortunately.

I found the approach of Mark Rippetoe where he recommends to do several sessions of 20 sets of low rep Chin Ups (I tested it, I can probably do 2-3 without exhausting myself like crazy). The idea is to increase the inflammation to a point that the self healing capabilities of the body get into overdrive and this will help with the pain. He said it always worked for everybody who he worked with.

It seems like common consensus that rest is not a cure for tendonitis, which makes total sense. Did anybody ever try the Markl Rippetoe approach? Is it sound?

Should I maybe switch to High bar squats while working throgh this? Should I skip benching for a few weeks?

I saw a video from Alan Thrall where he said that Austin recommended him to switch from thumbless grip to thumb around grip on the Low Bar Squats. I tried it initially and it felt really strange (probably because of my lack of mobility). Is this something I should try once I am getting better with the stretches?

Another question regarding the stretches: I am doing the shoulder dislocates with a broom stick. Is it correct that only my thumb and index finger hold the stick? It feels like anatomically incorrect to hold with the full hand?

Thanks so much guys!

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Our recommendations for tendinopathy are outlined here: https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/the-barbell-medicine-guide-to-tendinopathy/

I found the approach of Mark Rippetoe where he recommends to do several sessions of 20 sets of low rep Chin Ups (I tested it, I can probably do 2-3 without exhausting myself like crazy). The idea is to increase the inflammation to a point that the self healing capabilities of the body get into overdrive and this will help with the pain.

This is nonsense. While tissues need to be stimulated in order to generate adaptation, there is no single standard “dosage” that can be prescribed for this kind of thing (like sets of 20 for everyone), nor is deliberately pissing an area off by exceeding its tolerance/capacity the correct strategy for managing tendinopathy.

He said it always worked for everybody who he worked with.

This is another red flag for nonsense. There is no intervention - medical, coaching/programming, or otherwise - that is effective in 100% of subjects.

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Marc makes sense for somethings but he generalizes a lot and hes a bit, or a lot of an asshole. Hes very rude to people who write in the forums for help as well.