Wetsuit aggravates tendinitis in elbow

[fairybasslet]

It took me a while to figure out why my elbow would hurt so badly after diving. After my trip to Galapagos in June, I had to get a cortisone shot in my elbow because of the tendinitis flareup.
I couldn't figure out why diving would affect it so much. I didn't carry tanks, so I thought it was from pulling myself into the panga. Then I noticed that it would hurt after some relatively shallow shore dives. After a shore dive on Sat. (we gear up at the car and walk to the entry point, so again, no carrying tanks) as I'm breaking down the gear, I realized that the wetsuit snug against my elbow was causing me a lot of pain. I use a Mare 5/3/2 trilastic, which I thought would give me enough flexibility (for Jersey shore dives I use a 5/3 hooded vest underneath).
I guess I should look for a new wetsuit that won't aggravate the condition. Any suggestions?

 

[shoredivr]

Check where the seams are located: it could be that the stitching is creating a line of tension that your muscles need to work against. Or the resistance in the neoprene itself may be too much for you. A person who has no tendinitis wouldn't notice this, but with an existing condition, it could be the source of your pain.

You might try on the new Scubapro super stretchy wetsuits, they just came out (here in Canada), I don't know the name of them, but even the 5 ml seemed easy to get on.

Edit: I think this is the material: everflex.
http://www.scubapro.com/americas/english/scubapro-products/wetsuits/wetsuits/everflex-steamer

 

[fairybasslet]

Thanks. I'll look into this.

 

[Hoomi]

Is it the snugness of the suit, or the movements you perform to get into or out of it?

I have tendonitis in my shoulder, and I have to be careful how I move. Moving my arm certain ways - even without any real "load" on the muscles - just aggravates the heck out of the tendonitis.

I tried on a one-piece lycra rash suit this weekend, and found that some of the contortions I had to perform to pull it up over my shoulders were such that I'll need to be careful. I'm sure the thin lycra doesn't offer near as much resistance as your wetsuit, so if the potential is there to aggravate the shoulder, it could also be there to aggravate an elbow.

You might want to pay close attention to your motions as you put on the suit, and see if any of those feel like they might be aggravating your elbow. It's possible you may not need to change your suit, so much as changing how you put it on (if that's at all possible).