Does Apple Cider Vinegar Help Elbow Tendinitis?

Elbow tendinitis, that throbbing, unrelenting pain in your elbow, is the result of tendon inflammation, often due to repetitive use of your arm in a singular movement. Also called tennis elbow, the condition is painful and your elbow may swell and be tender to the touch. Apple cider vinegar, an acidic product of fermented apples, is recommended by natural health advocates as a cure-all for physical disorders but there is no compelling evidence that consuming the sour liquid will cure your achy elbow.

Apple Cider Vinegar

When wine goes sour, it produces vinegar, but today’s apple cider vinegar manufacturers deliberately ferment apples more than once to produce vinegar. The first fermentation produces an alcoholic liquid, and the second fermentation turns the alcohol into acid. Once the acid forms, the vinegar is self-preserving, making it useful in the preservation, or pickling, of vegetables. In the United States, when you purchase apple cider vinegar, the acidity level with be between 4 and 8 percent.

Evidence

Although apple cider vinegar, in its raw, unfiltered form, is widely available on health food store shelves, there is no clinical evidence to support the idea that taking apple cider vinegar orally will reduce tendinitis. A 2007 case study, published in "The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association," found that acetic acid, the component that gives vinegar its sour taste, was potentially beneficial for treating tendinitis when delivered through the skin using an electric charge. The case, which focused on a 15-year-old female athlete suffering from tendinitis of the foot, reported reduced pain after six weeks of treatment.
Additional studies and clinical tests are necessary to verify the Canadian case study and to determine whether apple cider vinegar, when taken orally, will be of benefit to tendonitis sufferers. Although apple cider vinegar contains acetic acid, it is not the same as pure acetic acid.

Taking Apple Cider Vinegar

Prepare apple cider vinegar as a general tonic by stirring 1 to 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar in 8 ounces of purified water and drinking up to three times per day. Although you can purchase apple cider vinegar in the salad dressing department at your local grocery store, the type most often used in health treatments is raw and unfiltered, featuring strands of apple sediment known as the “mother” that settle to the bottom of the bottle. This type is usually found in health food stores.

Considerations

When taken as directed, apple cider vinegar is probably safe for most adults, but taking apple cider vinegar in an undiluted form can wear away tooth enamel. It’s a good idea to rinse your mouth with plain water after drinking diluted apple cider vinegar as well.
Give your elbow a rest and visit with your doctor if the pain persists longer than two weeks.