elbow tendons

[flenser]

I'm finally able to press (bench, OH, etc) relatively heavy after nearly a year of shoulder issues. I say relatively heavy because I'm only just now hitting around half my old PR on most things. But I'm making rapid gains, adding weight every workout, and not really pushing all that hard.

The thing is, with all the rapid gains my freaking elbow tendons are starting to stay inflamed all the time, especially the triceps tendons just above the elbow. It's bad enough to make loading the bar difficult. Just picking up a plate and raising it to the bar is painful.

I probably already know what everyone will tell me, but is there a way to work around this? Do I need to just back off the weight, or take time off?

 

[Hendrix91]

Just add weight slow and over time man.. work your way back into it. Even if you can add weight every workout, it doesn't mean you should. Also stay in the higher rep range, and maybe try some peptides?

 

[HuckingFuge]

you are going to have to take it slow. slow and steady wins this race.

 

[flenser]

No magic arm wraps, huh? I was afraid of that.

 

[MassTurk]

@flenser Do you ice after workout ? I have it On My both elbows. Right somewhat got better with taking time off. Left is slowly getting worst now. It has been months of pain

 

[flenser]

I haven't been icing as much as I probably should. There several hours between when I lift and when it's convenient to ice. I could probably do it on my commute right after I lift, though. It would make driving interesting : )

 

[MassTurk]

I do Stetch exercises right after lifting. It is very painful to stretch but it helps with immobility and pain slot. It was one of meso members who suggested these stretches while back. It has been very helpful . I will try to locate it sometime today. Got to get ready to coach six year olds run after a soccer ball

 

[flenser]

Good luck, that's like herding cats..

 

[Demondosage]

it's tendon issues, and stretching will do very little to help that. #1- lgmedsupply.com, order a tens unit for $40 and blast that fucker every night to keep scar tissue down. #2- Buy some bio-freeze to put on there during the day #3- buy some DMSO gel and get yourself some ibuprofen tabs and crush them up with a hammer into a powder, and rub it into your tendons before you go to the gym, its a transdermal pain killing system. #4- Back off any direct tricep work, especially skullcrushers!!! Your triceps will get hit enough through chest workouts to keep size until your healed up more. #5- stick to machines for awhile and focus more on constant muscle tension instead of going heavier. There is no reason you cannot stay big and make gains like this. Work smarter, not harder

 

[flenser]

Thanks DD! I will give it a shot. I already have everything but the Biofreeze. I'll pick some up tomorrow.

Never heard of using DMSO and Ibuprofen together. I assume you mix them?

 

[tileguy123]

What's DMSO I need to look that up ...

I agree with the above ..
Also elbow wraps the ones with the air sack help for me while lifting if I'm flaired up.

Deep tissue massage and foam rolling my tris . I take a bar of soap in the shower and scrape the arm violently to break scar tissue . Also I put lotion on me knee and grind the elbow to it and inflamed tendon . I put rice in and sock and heat it and keep it on the skin as long as tolerable . Careful of palm up excercises , Rowing , chin-ups etc .
Machines are great for injuries

 

[Masters Power]

Not sure it will help because I haven't seen you bench but it is worth trying a false grip and consciously tucking your elbows as you bring the bar down. The false grip forces you to press the bar from directly above your elbows and tucking your elbows obviously keeps you from flaring them. Both of these things will take stress off of the elbows. If done properly, may take you several workouts to get in the proper groove, it will also greatly reduce the stress on your shoulders.

 

[flenser]

What's DMSO I need to look that up ...

I agree with the above ..
Also elbow wraps the ones with the air sack help for me while lifting if I'm flaired up.

Deep tissue massage and foam rolling my tris . I take a bar of soap in the shower and scrape the arm violently to break scar tissue . Also I put lotion on me knee and grind the elbow to it and inflamed tendon . I put rice in and sock and heat it and keep it on the skin as long as tolerable . Careful of palm up excercises , Rowing , chin-ups etc .
Machines are great for injuries

Dimethyl Sulfoxide, it passes through the skin to muscle tissue easily, and carries other mixed in compounds with it. A lot of people use it by itself or with something like aloe to relieve muscle strain. I've used it on calf tendons that get inflamed by my arthritic knees. Never heard of mixing in ibuprofen with it. Haven't tried it yet.

The tens unit DD recommended has actually been doing a good job on breaking up scar tissue. I've only ever used it on my neck which has a pinched nerve from a car crash I was in decades ago. A lot of the stiffness in the triceps tendons went away in just one day.

Instead of my arthritic knees, I've been using a tennis ball on a table to grind my elbow tendons.

 

[flenser]

Not sure it will help because I haven't seen you bench but it is worth trying a false grip and consciously tucking your elbows as you bring the bar down. The false grip forces you to press the bar from directly above your elbows and tucking your elbows obviously keeps you from flaring them. Both of these things will take stress off of the elbows. If done properly, may take you several workouts to get in the proper groove, it will also greatly reduce the stress on your shoulders.

I started using a false grip after I injured my shoulder. I even rotate my hands in as much as the bar allows to get my elbows closer together. I still get the shoulder pain occasionally, and have to really concentrate to get past it. I suppose the elbow pain is what I get for avoiding the shoulder pain..

 

[Masters Power]

I started using a false grip after I injured my shoulder. I even rotate my hands in as much as the bar allows to get my elbows closer together. I still get the shoulder pain occasionally, and have to really concentrate to get past it. I suppose the elbow pain is what I get for avoiding the shoulder pain..

Sounds like isn't your form causing the issue. Don't know if you are doing dips or not. I love weighted dips but they can definitely be tough on the elbows so I would drop them for a while if you are doing them.

I'm sure you aren't doing skull crushers if you have elbow issues but stay far away from them. I'm firmly convinced skull crushers have caused far more elbow problems than they have added muscle.

 

[flenser]

Sounds like isn't your form causing the issue. Don't know if you are doing dips or not. I love weighted dips but they can definitely be tough on the elbows so I would drop them for a while if you are doing them.

I'm sure you aren't doing skull crushers if you have elbow issues but stay far away from them. I'm firmly convinced skull crushers have caused far more elbow problems than they have added muscle.

I actually don't do much direct arm work at all. After the compound stuff I do regularly, I rarely have time left for accessories. I did do skull crushers for a while when my shoulder was screwed up. For some reason those didn't bother it at all. But as soon as I was able to bench again, I forgot all about arms..

 

[flenser]

The DMSO with ibuprofen mixed in seems to work pretty well. Maybe too well, because my elbows started hurting a couple hours after I left the gym, but didn't bother me at all during the workout.

Still, they are a lot better than if I had gone in and lifted heavy. I just did seated OHP on the Smith machine, and some light DB work, but I kept the volume very high. My delts definitely know they were worked.

 

[tileguy123]

where'd you grab the dmso flenser? and you crused up nsaids in it? lmk. very curious about this. been cranking on my tens unit, makes my tendons jump like a mofuka

 

[DTdr2]

You can buy it online, or Cost Plus Nutrition carries it where I'm at. I've used liquid, & the cream. My preference is the liquid form which runs +/-$26 for a good size bottle.

 

[flenser]

On Amazon. The stuff from pet supplies is way cheaper, and I would normally go that rout, but I initially got it for a knee issue my GF was having. She would have freaked out if I had tried to use pet meds on her!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000S83KRO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I used 4 ibuprofen tabs (800mg) crushed up, and just sort of mixed them in as I rubbed in the DMSO. I doubt I got the whole 800mg into my body, though. I could probably do it better with less waste.

Thinking of trying it on my knees after lifting as well. Not sure about side effects and such, though. At least the ibuprofen only gets one shot at my liver this way.