Is this tendonitis or what?

[archive_xtinct]

For about 5 weeks now I have been having pain in my right elbow. At first the pain seemed to be located in the joint but now it's getting harder to localize the pain -- it's somewhere between the joint and the muscles of the forearm close to the elbow.

I can extend my arm without a problem. 400+ lbs bench presses and even direct triceps exercises don't bother me at all but curling even a 25lbs dumbell is very painful. In fact, I can't do anything that involves the biceps in any way without causing more pain. Even cable flies make my elbow hurt for 2-3 days.

I have never had anything like this before. What could this be and how can it be treated?

[archive_Caligula]

Sounds like tendonitis to me. Been there done that.

The only cure for tendonitis is rest, ice, and anti-inflammatories.

Ice it 3 times a day for 15 minutes. Don't do the exercises that irritate it until it gets better. Aleve and ibuprofen work pretty well.

I use one of those neoprene sleeves and it seems to help also.

"A mind is a terrible thing to waste...that's why Bush doesn't have one."



"The Harder you work, the harder it is to surrender"

Curious

[archive_zeeman66]

Obviously this isnt medical advice......i had huge problems with thisElbow tendonitis/tennis elbow,almost to the point of considering the surgery. What helped me more than anything else was using the trigger wheel i got from elitefts,and before every workout,applying either horse liniment then a neoprene sleeve(zostrixHP works too),then doing a light warmup of about 100 pushdowns with a minimal weight then about 60-100 supinated bicep curls with about a 5lb dumbbell..then doing the recommended tennis elbow stretches before a regular workout. Ice,to me,kept it from healing...i felt much better getting blood to it than restricting blood flow to it...the tennis elbow straps and bands also did very little,for me anyway...neoprene sleeve with heat worked 300% better......after icing till i was a damn eskimo,i have joined the camp that recommends increasing the blood flow to the area to increase the healing. Ice and anti-inflammatories helped when it first became acute,but once the little micro tears were there long enuff for it to be chronic no amount of ice,ice massage,NSAIDS etc helped. I also found that since it wasnt in the joint itself,flax oil,fish oil,glucosamine/chrondroitin etc did pretty much nada...msm in high doses was slightly helpful,so were bromelain tablets. Another thing that helped was using a strongman device to stretch...a softball with an eyebolt and a really light weight hung from it for increasing time periods seemed to relieve alotta discomfort thru the stretching effect....B FOLD had a pic of one posted once,maybe someone else does as well,i dont have a pic of mine. Tendon injuries are very hard to heal because they have such a poor blood supply,so when they swell like that they're trying to heal the small tears put there from the stress.....too many anti inflammatories can almost help more than it hurts,you need to get the blood in there.... also ibuprofen inhibuts protien synthesis and you need that turnover to help it heal. One of the chief reasons it hurts so bad in the elbow is that when it does heal it develops scar tissue and also adhesions and starts to limit the range of motion the tendon has to move,causes it to shorten some,and it aggravates it twice as much, and kinda becomes a vicious cycle b/c you start tryingto use motions that limit the pain and often times put the tendon under more stress than it was originally,i learned the hard way.the trigger wheel is fantastic for it...painful as all holy hell to use at first but it works and is a cheap investment... both that and a couple of good liniments are on sale pretty often at www.elitefts.com click on the store. Tennis elbow stretches also help,hold them about 30 seconds a piece 4-5 times in a row,2 to 3 times a day,so does cross fiber massage you do yourself. I tried the ice/rest routine and all laying off training was make it sorer and stiffer.

[archive_Caligula]

I never said it was medical advice, I'm not a doctor...

Ice traditionally works better than heat...unless your trying to increase inflamation and decrease blood flow which then by all means, throw some heat on it.

Ice will remove inflammation which increases blood flow. Heat increases blood flow and loosens up muscles so it may be beneficial to do a contrast bath. I don't know though...I'm not a doctor. All I know is what worked for me and what they will do if you go to any physical therapy clinic. They also published in some medical journal or something (again, I'm not a doctor so I'm not sure what it was) that the only thing that they have substantial proof on that will help with tendonitis is Rest and Ice. So if someone disagrees with that, then they need to contact the people who are giving medical advice and tell them they are wrong.

Funny to me is that the thing that helped zeeman the most was something he bought from elitefts.com and he plugs it again near the bottom of his post. Sounds like your just trying to find a way to plug the company...

Zeeman does have a lot of good ideas to try though...so the moral of the story is to try multiple things and see what works best for you. If its heat, then use heat. If ice, then use ice. I know for me the only thing that worked after all kinds of cortizone injections, friction massage, rest, ice, neoprene sleeves, exercises and stretches...was rest, ice, a neoprene sleeve and chaging some things about the way I worked out.

Good luck

"A mind is a terrible thing to waste...that's why Bush doesn't have one."



"The Harder you work, the harder it is to surrender"

Curious

[archive_zeeman66]

I'm not trying in anyway to plug a certain company,the device i mentioned is available from several places,dont know where that idea comes from,didnt realize i mentioned it twice,i'm not affiliated in anyway with them,if i was i would surely have tried it since joining here in 2002. I copied and pasted this post form one i made on this topic on a non lifting related forum here http://signs101.com/forums/showthread.php?p=12979 which is why i mentioned the website and store in the first place,they have no idea such a place even exists...feel free as a mod to remove the link if its out of line,i understand. Caligua,I didnt think you giving medical advice,i just practice CYA as often as possible out of habit......i wasnt necessarily disagreeing with doctors advice or PT advice here...well in a way ai guess i am,i am merely relating my experience once my tendonitis became chronic and had passed the initial couple of weeks acute stage. I based my own half ass theory on it on prolotherapy causing inflammation and some good advice and ideas from a guy most of you know called B Fold The Truth, and this was my attempt at recreating it own. Sorry if i stepped on any toes.

	ASS Nelson Montana

[archive_Caligula]

No toes stepped on. Just that when someone comes here with few mosts and mentions a company more than one time it's usually a prime indicator that they are plugging a company. Just part of my job here to be on the lookout for that kind of stuff. Thanks for clarifying.

Your half-assed theories are just as good as my half assed theories. I was in a bitchy mood that day cause my percocet hadn't kicked in yet and my back was killing me...(just had surgery). So don't take any offense to that. I was just being a smart-ass. I do that sometimes..

But anyways...not to jack this thread up anymore with my whining...

Tendonitis sucks ass. Sometimes it seems to flare up for no rhyme or reason, and then it just goes away and doesn't bother you when you seem to be lifting your hardest. I think docs at times don't really completely understand why some shit acts up at times and doesn't at others. There isn't one clear cure, so what works for me might or might not work for others. And what Zeeman said fits into the same boat.

My brain may be farting here but what exactly is CYA zeeman?



Cherio

"A mind is a terrible thing to waste...that's why Bush doesn't have one."



"The Harder you work, the harder it is to surrender"

Curious

	ASS Nelson Montana

[archive_zeeman66]

cya=cover your ass

no prob,i understood why you did it

	ASS Nelson Montana

[archive_MR. BMJ]

Ya....zeeman is in the clear...good bro.

BMJ

[archive_Caligula]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="**-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> cya=cover your ass <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's funny... I thought it was some sort of exercise or massage technique for tendonitis.

"A mind is a terrible thing to waste...that's why Bush doesn't have one."



"The Harder you work, the harder it is to surrender"

Curious

	ASS Nelson Montana

[archive_xtinct]

I am starting to wonder if I have a tear in my brachialis rather than tendinitis. I can do some light biceps exercises now but the pain gets more intense as the load shifts from the biceps to the brachialis. How can I tell the difference between tendinitis and a muscle tear? I would think that the treatment would be somewhat different, right?

[archive_Killer]

Hey Xtinct,

You really get tendinits in the brachialis. Chances are you do have a strain/tear. I have done it before and so has Bjarkki.

I imagine it hurts on rows too, especially a high row when you have increased elbow flexion (bending). Several years later, I still get some pain with these from time to time.

There are a couple threads on the rehad board regarding this, I will try to find them later.

Treatment is not all that different. Ice after activity, avoid activity that causes pain, you can try an elbow sleeve, and cross friction massage (taking your thumb and rubbing across the sore spot) EOD for about 5 mintues after activity and before iceing.

[archive_xtinct]

Just got back from the doctor and he thinks it's a small tear in the brachioradialis or the brachialis. He based that on the fact that my pain is mostly in the muscle belly rather than where the muscle inserts.