Elbow tendonitis and training

[.!.]

2 weeks ago, i did heavy skulls. normally this exercise does give my elbows discomfort but this time was the worst. after about 3 days my right elbow (inside part) was extremely extremely sore to even touch and every which way i moved my arm hurt like a bitch.

i would say from a scale from 1-10 pain was very much a 10, i 'laid off' of it for a week, now this week i slowly came back, tried to do exercises that didnt hurt it, or didnt hurt too bad. now pain is at at 5 still.

my question is this, tomorrow i start my contest prep, i am 12 weeks out, there is no way i can 'lay off' of it. Tonight i did my first full tricep workout, yes there was discomfort but i wore 2 elbow sleeves which seemed to help a lot. i have iced it many many times.

any other suggestions or anyone else here have the same issue in the past?

[LayItDown]

go see a doctor

[Keith Allen]

Go see your doctor and he'll probobly prescribe an anti inflammatory. Thats what mine did. Or possibly a shot.

But I would avoid that, because that justs masks the problem in my opinion.

[tight booty]

I get this too from any over head tricep excercises, so I avoid those at all costs. I do tricep extensions with the V bar and with rope and I can do kick backs, but basically skull crushes and over head extensions are out. Just stay away from exercises which inflame it. If you do inflame it, you will find that even pulling excercises (back) will flair it up and that can be painful.

[sam]

i've had tennis elbow in both elbows. it sucks! it got so bad that i couldn't train. i went to physical therapy. thankfully, i had good insurance at the time and was able to go for treatment at a top sports medicine school that happens to be in my area. since i got treatment for it, i've been able to keep it under control with zero pain. if i feel it coming on, i know the exercises i can do to correct it before it causes an issue. i do them while watching tv in the evening and since i catch it early now, it only takes a couple days to get it back under control.

heres the plan :

1.rest

2. ice several times a day, especially after physical activity that might bother your elbow, that includes after therapy. 20 minutes on, with a damp cloth between your arm and the ice.

3. nsaid drugs like ibuprofen. mobic is my personal favorite.

these things will help control swelling and inflammation. too much swelling will be counter productive.

4.physical therapy and avoiding aggravation - pain in the forearm and elbow, like tennis elbow and golf elbow(both tendonitis felt in the elbow), has a lot to do with what is going on in your hand. the hand is an amazing body part. it is very strong, but unlike other strong body parts, like the bicep, it is streamline, allowing us to use it for intricate activities. the strength in our hand, comes from the forearm. if you overexert your hand, the tendons in your forearm will tell you. your grip is your weak link. look up grip strength and forearm exercises online. search for golf elbow physical therapy and possibly tennis elbow therapy(it sounds more like golf elbow than tennis elbow but i'm no MD). avoid gripping weights tightly in the gym when possible. while you're recovering, use machines and smith rack when pushing to avoid having to grip the bar tightly.for now, use straps when pulling, or better yet, avoid it all together for a few, until you get this under control.

5. massage- blood flow will help to carry waste away, to allow the healing process to happen. the problem is, tendons have poor blood flow. massage therapy will speed the process up big time and help break down the scar tissue that forms on damaged tendons.

[VillainDog]

Last two replys were excellent advice. Mine are

1. avoid the movement that cause the accute pain, work around it any way you can. consider the above advise and scrap the offending lift, there are plenty of others to use.

2. message therapy. go for a 30 min session, have the therapest work one elbow then the other for 15 min.

3. ice

4. ice

5. rest

6. anti inflamitory

7. DO NOT train past the pain, train around it or it will get to a point so accute you will not be able to lift anything.

[.!.]

First thank you to all tht responded

this one is difficult bc every movemet pushing or pulling hurts it

is the pain as bad as it was last week? No still there? Yes

I have noticed the first 4 sets of any upper body lift it hurts then as blood gets in there the pain diminishes a bit

I wear 2 elbow wraps on tht elbow now even lat pull downs were killing it today

if I hold my hand straight out no pain as I rotate my palm up tons of pain!

[Formula94]

I started getting the same thing a few days ago. Runs from my elbow to my pinky. I doubled my fish oil to 5g/day, got some Cissus, aleve, and ice a few times a day.

[Suzanne]

been fighting this since dec

drs don't seem to don't shit except prescribe anti-inflammatory i have referral for PT but for my shoulders (mri should partial tear in each but they aren't causing any pain its the forearms) so pt wont' deal with the forearms (hmo's are just a battle to get anything done!!)

massages seem to help the most

do the forearm exercises like they said above

mine forearms hurt mostly during bicep work can do heavy skull crushers and other tricep work with no pain

[VillainDog]

Went dozens of times to PT. Ultra sound wand thing, cortisone electric stimulator thing. In retrospect everyone was a wast of time. End of the day message, ice and avoiding lifts that cause the acute pain was the best.

I have to add that the single best thing I ever did was totally stop taking all pain relievers, don't take any. Only for the rare headache that just wont go away. If it hurts you need to listen to the pain and very quickly make adjustments in training to avoid acute pain. Masking it with meds makes it worse in the long run. The cause of pain is usually inflammation. Avoid it and get after it when it starts was the best long term for me.

been fighting this since dec

drs don't seem to don't shit except prescribe anti-inflammatory i have referral for PT but for my shoulders (mri should partial tear in each but they aren't causing any pain its the forearms) so pt wont' deal with the forearms (hmo's are just a battle to get anything done!!)

massages seem to help the most

do the forearm exercises like they said above

mine forearms hurt mostly during bicep work can do heavy skull crushers and other tricep work with no pain

[sam]

I have to add that the single best thing I ever did was totally stop taking all pain relievers, don't take any. Only for the rare headache that just wont go away. If it hurts you need to listen to the pain and very quickly make adjustments in training to avoid acute pain. Masking it with meds makes it worse in the long run. The cause of pain is usually inflammation. Avoid it and get after it when it starts was the best long term for me.

i hear where you're coming from and i respect it, but i try to take a more middle ground approach. i think that NSAIDs can really speed the process up of recovery. i would that agree that a little inflammation can be good. blood moving in to carry away waste is of great benefit, but usually when someone is in an injured state, and experiencing a great deal of pain, inflammation is out of control and, at least in my experience, any minor aggravation only pushes that inflammation further. when it reaches that point, it's counter productive and you can't really move forward into recovery until you get it under control.
now, if someone pops 800mg of motrin, says 'hey, i'm feeling much better', and then goes to the gym and trains hard, then yes, 100%, they are simply using what could be a very helpful medicine to mask the pain!! but if someone were to follow a complete program of rest and recovery, NSAIDs can be very helpful...and in my experience, cortisteroid injections are even better. i guess it comes down to learning when it's helpful and when you're better off letting your body do it's thing.

[Mac]

Where a tight band around the injured area. I have a velcro one that works great. It keeps your forearm from bulging when lifting and it's this bulging that causes the injured area to be repetitively stressed causing the inflammation.

It is a repetitive stress injury. Wear this band when doing ANY physical activity. I wore mine all day long because something as simple as pouring a glass of milk would cause severe pain. Eventually it will heal and it could take several weeks or more.

Once it has healed, I would add direct forearm exercises once or twice a week.

[s2h]

Where a tight band around the injured area. I have a velcro one that works great. It keeps your forearm from bulging when lifting and it's this bulging that causes the injured area to be repetitively stressed causing the inflammation.

It is a repetitive stress injury. Wear this band when doing ANY physical activity. I wore mine all day long because something as simple as pouring a glass of milk would cause severe pain. Eventually it will heal and it could take several weeks or more.

Once it has healed, I would add direct forearm exercises once or twice a week.

x2...and i go toa sports chiropractor foractive release ...works great

[sam]

Where a tight band around the injured area. I have a velcro one that works great. It keeps your forearm from bulging when lifting and it's this bulging that causes the injured area to be repetitively stressed causing the inflammation.

It is a repetitive stress injury. Wear this band when doing ANY physical activity. I wore mine all day long because something as simple as pouring a glass of milk would cause severe pain. Eventually it will heal and it could take several weeks or more.

Once it has healed, I would add direct forearm exercises once or twice a week.

x3! yea, i forgot about this. it really helps reduce the stress. i keep 2 in my bag, just in case my tennis elbow starts acting up. good advice.

[TriniMike]

2 weeks ago, i did heavy skulls. normally this exercise does give my elbows discomfort but this time was the worst. after about 3 days my right elbow (inside part) was extremely extremely sore to even touch and every which way i moved my arm hurt like a bitch.

i would say from a scale from 1-10 pain was very much a 10, i 'laid off' of it for a week, now this week i slowly came back, tried to do exercises that didnt hurt it, or didnt hurt too bad. now pain is at at 5 still.

my question is this, tomorrow i start my contest prep, i am 12 weeks out, there is no way i can 'lay off' of it. Tonight i did my first full tricep workout, yes there was discomfort but i wore 2 elbow sleeves which seemed to help a lot. i have iced it many many times.

any other suggestions or anyone else here have the same issue in the past?

It's probably your radius or ulna out of alignment... believe me.... Ice it 10 minutes on 20 minutes off. I live in Florida and have a chiropractor here in home town of Merritt Island, FL. that I've been using for close to 20 years he can align your whole body, collar bones, ribs...etc, knees, talus bones....etc. you get the point....the WHOLE body.

I bring my clients from Miami Beach to Dr. Zimmerman's, 200 miles away.....thats a 3 hr drive.... a hard sell for someone who has never been.
They're amazed with the results once they leave his office.

Healthfully yours,

Trinimike