Pain!

[esplendido]

One of the things masters lifters experience is continued pain and stiffness. I was chatting with the Mrs. a few minutes ago and she's been experiencing pain in her wrists and forearms that is not resolving. She also feels stiff all the time, although it doesn't prevent her from pushing in the gym.

I, too, have those nagging aches....usually in small tendons, especially where my biceps tie into my shoulders, which act up on the negative motion of heavy benches.

What are you experiencing and what, if anything, do you do to mitigate the pain?

[Bryan Hildebrand]

low back pain is constant, but it is muscular, not structural.
just had my right shoulder injected. impingment that I have been putting off since november.
knee pain primarily from tae kwon do. kicking and sparring are not friendly at 300lbs.
I take Mobic. an ant-iinflamatory that works really really well with zero GI issues. I use it once a week as needed.

[greuceanu]

I've had severe shoulder and elbow pain years ago. What worked:

-stop using juice and creatine;
-find movements that create less pain;
-work rotator cuff.
-stretch and use full ROM.
-lower volume.
-massage.

Shoulder pain is gone, elbow pain is much improved.

Now i have an injured right wrist, mild right knee pain and left forearm pain.

What i'm doing:
-use wraps on wrists and knees;
-use straps on heavy back work and deadlifts;
-use exercises that don't create/aggravate pain when doing biceps;
-stretch.
-massage.

I generally don't like using drugs or any type of painkillers. My first response to injury is work lighter or rest,find exercises/angles that don't aggravate it, try to diagnose and correct any imbalances i might have and just be patient in general.

[SallyAnne]

I just started having pain in my left knee - so have been wearing a compression cuff and not going so heavy on squats and such.

[Asmolenski]

Every morning when I get out of bed I feel like I was hit by a truck. I sit under a hot shower for about 10 minutes and after moving around a little bit it goes away but never completely. I've asked for help with DOMS before but no one can offer any solutions - It's just part of my life now. If I dont feel sore as hell then I start feeling guilty like maybe I didn't work out hard enough etc...

[sassy69]

I've got all the joint aches & pains w/ elbow & forearm tendonitis starting in 1992, lower back / IT band in 2003 and right rotator & knees in 2006. The rotator was initially diagnosed as bursitis, but this past year an MRI indicated a bone spur, fraying of the tendon (general wear & tear for your standard BB) and some arthritis in the AC joint. Just had that all cleaned out & 10 weeks post-op now.

Generally I find that when I DON'T train everything starts to hurt more. A scheduled day off is definitely useful for recovery, but if I end up missing more than a few days, I find nothing is aligned and I get these aches & pains. I work hard to do lots of functional strength stuff, dropped weights, increase reps, incerase intensity / slower reps and LOTS of stretching.

For knee stuff, I spent a lot of time last year doing alternating leg work to enable both legs to support themselves individually. I also do a lot of ATF unweighted squats to warmup -- its a functional movement so it helps to "align" everything.

For shoulder / back / lower back / legs - LOTS of foam roller & use of tennis balls to work out knots. And a lot of sadistic deep tissue work and monthly visits to the chiro.

For elbows / wrists / forearms: consider this: BigDamRay's Guide to Elbow Pain:


Here is how to take care of your elbows.

1. Use equiblock dt or stop pain 30 minutes BEFORE training.
2. Use neoprene sleeves.
3. Flush the area with blood as a warm-up(ex. pushdownsx100)
4. Stay away from ACCESSORY movements that severely iritate it (You'll just have to suck it up on ME)
5. Ice for 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off ASAP after workout. Ice is a miracle drug!! Nobody wants to take the time or effort to use it but it actually HEALS the problem. This is the most important step of all. Just put ice in a ziplock baggie and put it on the area that hurts. Ya the ice is gonna be cold and it does hurt for 5 or so minutes but then it will feel good. I also use these velcro ice packs from http://www.sporties.net/Detail.bok?no=16
6. Take 800mg of ibuprofin 3x per day until your problem clears up.
7. Find a good joint support formula such as Joint Complex by Gearman Nutrition at http://www.gearmannutrition.com/news...?page=home.cfm or Syn-Flex and take it religously. It takes a long time to feel the results of this but you will eventually feel them.
8. Supplement your diet with fish oil capsules and Vitamin C these are both natural anti-inflammatories.
9. You must do ALL of these to help, you can't just pick one or two you must do them ALL.
10. You can also do expand your hand bands, wrist curls and hammer curls, all of these make my elbows feel better.
11. For severe issues, get a big bowl and fill it with ice, water and 2 tablespoons of salt, stick your elbow directly in it and keep it in there for 10 minutes. Dry it off and wrap it with a heating pad for 10 minutes, repeat twice.
12. If you have done all of the above and are still having problems then it's time to take a few days off.

Good Luck and I hope this will help everyone, BDR

[esplendido]

I've got all the joint aches & pains w/ elbow & forearm tendonitis starting in 1992, lower back / IT band in 2003 and right rotator & knees in 2006. The rotator was initially diagnosed as bursitis, but this past year an MRI indicated a bone spur, fraying of the tendon (general wear & tear for your standard BB) and some arthritis in the AC joint. Just had that all cleaned out & 10 weeks post-op now.

Generally I find that when I DON'T train everything starts to hurt more. A scheduled day off is definitely useful for recovery, but if I end up missing more than a few days, I find nothing is aligned and I get these aches & pains. I work hard to do lots of functional strength stuff, dropped weights, increase reps, incerase intensity / slower reps and LOTS of stretching.

For knee stuff, I spent a lot of time last year doing alternating leg work to enable both legs to support themselves individually. I also do a lot of ATF unweighted squats to warmup -- its a functional movement so it helps to "align" everything.

For shoulder / back / lower back / legs - LOTS of foam roller & use of tennis balls to work out knots. And a lot of sadistic deep tissue work and monthly visits to the chiro.

For elbows / wrists / forearms: consider this: BigDamRay's Guide to Elbow Pain:


Here is how to take care of your elbows.

1. Use equiblock dt or stop pain 30 minutes BEFORE training.
2. Use neoprene sleeves.
3. Flush the area with blood as a warm-up(ex. pushdownsx100)
4. Stay away from ACCESSORY movements that severely iritate it (You'll just have to suck it up on ME)
5. Ice for 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off ASAP after workout. Ice is a miracle drug!! Nobody wants to take the time or effort to use it but it actually HEALS the problem. This is the most important step of all. Just put ice in a ziplock baggie and put it on the area that hurts. Ya the ice is gonna be cold and it does hurt for 5 or so minutes but then it will feel good. I also use these velcro ice packs from http://www.sporties.net/Detail.bok?no=16
6. Take 800mg of ibuprofin 3x per day until your problem clears up.
7. Find a good joint support formula such as Joint Complex by Gearman Nutrition at http://www.gearmannutrition.com/news...?page=home.cfm or Syn-Flex and take it religously. It takes a long time to feel the results of this but you will eventually feel them.
8. Supplement your diet with fish oil capsules and Vitamin C these are both natural anti-inflammatories.
9. You must do ALL of these to help, you can't just pick one or two you must do them ALL.
10. You can also do expand your hand bands, wrist curls and hammer curls, all of these make my elbows feel better.
11. For severe issues, get a big bowl and fill it with ice, water and 2 tablespoons of salt, stick your elbow directly in it and keep it in there for 10 minutes. Dry it off and wrap it with a heating pad for 10 minutes, repeat twice.
12. If you have done all of the above and are still having problems then it's time to take a few days off.

Good Luck and I hope this will help everyone, BDR

Good post!

[sassy69]

Thx One of the things lots of years lifting brings, is lots of experience w/ pain & trying stuff. Interestingly as you get older, you develop more aches & pains, but you also tend to have better insurance to follow up more paths towards correction / recovery. I used to laugh at chirproactors - they always looked like they were better at manipulating your insurance, than your spine. However it was a chiro who corrected a rotated pelvis for me and I go monthly to deal w/ the shoulder stuff. I've been a HYUGE fan of deep tissue massage for the last 15 yrs. More recently I've had to suck it regarding the "lift big" tough guy approach to lifting and explore core stuff using bosu balls, fitballs, resistance bands, etc.


And my favorite invention of all time... the DonJoy Ice Machine. I got one of these w/ my shoulder surgery - you fill the cooler w/ ice & water and it circulates cold water through bladders fitted into whatever shoulder or body harnesss thingy to put over whatever sore spot you have - much better than an ice pack. Just plug it in & let it run at whatever temperature you set it at.

[sassy69]

Here's another tidbit I got from my podiatrist after my 2nd bunion surgery - when ibuprofen isn't enough for a pain killer and you don't happen toh have a bottle of Vicadins laying around .. 600 mg ibuprofen + 1 tylenol + a cup of coffee (or equivalently Excedrin Migraine .. has caffeine in it). I don't recommend taking this continuously because of the impact of ibuprofen on your stomach lining, but if you need something ... its an option.

[F.M.]

Yep, sassy69 nailed it with ice being a miracle cure! As well as tissue massage and a good chiropractor. To date, my more serious aches and pains are:

Extruded disc at L4-L5
- Ice at least once a day, sometimes 2 - 3.
- chiropractor definitely keeps me from needing perscription pain killers (which I have had to resort to a couple times)
- a firm mattress

Forearm tendonitis (near the elbow)
- tissue massage, another miracle cure! I had enough pain to interfere with both lifting and sleep until I started theraputic massage. Pain is now gone!

Shoulder pain (the infamous "benchpress shoulder")
- First the left, then it moved to the right (probably due to compensation). Interfered with quite a few lifts until I started icing my shoulder after icing my back. Pain is now gone! (and I don't do barbell bench anymore)

Over all pain, mostly aspirin (I'm alergic to Ibuprofin and I've done enough damage to my liver in my youth so I avoid Tylenol). I also take NOW's "Flex Mobility" - non-shellfish based joint support. I really can tell the difference when I don't take it.

[BigJD69]

Applied Nutriceuticals makes a product called Osteobolin-C. It aids in the repair of strained muscles, ligaments and joints, it's a potent glucocorticoid antagonist that promotes nutrient delivery into cartilage and tissue, as well as a natural anti-inflammatory, helping reduce joint stiffness and pain.

[tat2mike]

My shoulders and lowerback. Shoulders seem to hurt and click, but it is only on certain movements. I have started spend more time warming up,and it seems to help a little, but I think I need to get it checked out. There is not pain in my lowerback just soreness. I work bent over a lot with my job. So mainly I just live with it ,and make sure I really concentrate will I am doing deadlifts and squats.

[Dr. Joel Nathan]

My left knee is my weak point. I have to make sure not to stress it. For cardio, I do eliptical or bike. I just lift lower weights when legs are concerned.

Glucosamine/Chondroiten Sulfate 500/400 2 a day helps joints and decreases inflammation. It takes 3 or more weeks to reach full potential, but the anti-inflammatory effect happens sooner.

Yes, the Omega 3's help too. There is a new Rx med called Lovaza which has 1gm omega-3/ cap. It's approved for lowering triglycerides but helps inflammation, increases concentration and focus. 4 caps in AM. If you burp fish, keep them in the fridge.

[gman]

The only pain I have most of the time is an aching right SI joint.

I am thinking I am better off than most of you because I didn't start lifting until I was 43 1/2. My body isn't worn out yet!

[DBowden]

Constant stiffness and pain in shoulders from chronic rotator problems.
I do external/internal rotator exercises prior to any upper body workout session.