How Do You Get Tennis Elbow From Walking a Dog?

I have a dog-walking injury.  Sadly, I am very serious.  Rory is a puller. Squirrels, chipmunks, birds nearby?  My plans for going in a straight path are gone.   At the moment that she is watching another creature, even treats won’t move her. This is supposed to be a walk!  (Sometimes I have to get to work!) I often am unexpectedly yanked to one side of the road when something small and furry catches her eye.  This is quite often since we basically live in a forest.  Critters are everywhere.  Thus, my pulled muscle. 

After weeks of pain when I hold something more than two pounds, pick up milk, or take in the groceries, I talked to a physical therapist.  Officially I have “tennis elbow” which I think is hilarious because it wasn’t tennis that caused this mess, and the muscle hurt is not in my elbow.  She gave me simple exercises to do every day that would take about five minutes to complete, and she told me to wear a brace.   

That appointment was weeks ago.  My muscle?  Still hurts. I cannot seem to make the time to do those daily exercises, and I am totally typing without my brace right now.  Ugh.  I believe this injury would be healed right now if I just invested the time in stretching it and in wearing my brace.  Why am I not doing simple things to make myself feel better?

Lesson Learned:  Nothing learned, yet.  We will see if I soon learn to invest time in myself so that I feel the best I can.  (Actually I learned from talking to other dog owners that a front-clipping harness is better than a back clipping harness when you have a dog who likes to pull.  I switched about two months ago, and it was a game changer.  Much less pulling.)