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Elbow pain after weight lifting

C

Corporate Thug

Lifer
I get a pretty solid pain in my left elbow after lifting...I did some poking around online and it sounds pretty common but I can't seem to find any treatments. Thoughts?
 
I get a sports massage and have them spend 10-15 min on it when it flares up. Mine is from a stupid injury and my triceps still has some issues from time to time but it's getting less common. In general I'd say if you're having recurring pain to a specific body part you're probably not doing something correctly. Or you're getting old. If you can't fix it with squats or fish oil you're probably gonna die.
 
Huh, I have the same injury. It's been plaguing my military presses, I think I hurt my elbow when I was trying out one of the Yoga classes and they asked us to plank off one leg and one forearm.
 
Which lifts specifically aggravate it? Could be a couple of things from arthritis (if you're middle aged, it's a bit more likely) to triceps tendonitis/strain. If it's something you're concerned about, see a healthcare professional.
 
SociallyChallenged said:
Which lifts specifically aggravate it? Could be a couple of things from arthritis (if you're middle aged, it's a bit more likely) to triceps tendonitis/strain. If it's something you're concerned about, see a healthcare professional.
Click to expand...

It's only my left elbow (I'm 28 so I doubt it's arthritis).

Aggregating lifts:

Skull crushers (is this what they are called?)
Military Press
Bench Press
Barbell Rows

I ordered a brace to see if it will help. I also noticed that the pain is only there the day after and will be gone in 36 hours.

I did some curls yesterday and when I woke up today, my forearms felt like it was bruised! Very odd, no? I also have very small/weak wrists...I'm wondering if this is factoring into it as well.
 
Corporate Thug said:
It's only my left elbow (I'm 28 so I doubt it's arthritis).

Aggregating lifts:

Skull crushers (is this what they are called?)
Military Press
Bench Press
Barbell Rows

I ordered a brace to see if it will help. I also noticed that the pain is only there the day after and will be gone in 36 hours.

I did some curls yesterday and when I woke up today, my forearms felt like it was bruised! Very odd, no? I also have very small/weak wrists...I'm wondering if this is factoring into it as well.
Click to expand...


what sort of warm up are you doing prior?
 
Do you squat? I'll bet it's from squats if so. I used to suffer from severe elbow tendinitis and narrowed it to squats. What happens is during the concentric phase of my last few reps my form goes to crap and i pull down on the bar with my arms unconsciously as a means to maintain balance. This puts a lot of unnecessary stress on the elbow which manifests as tendinitis several hours later.
 
mple said:
Do you squat? I'll bet it's from squats if so. I used to suffer from severe elbow tendinitis and narrowed it to squats. What happens is during the concentric phase of my last few reps my form goes to crap and i pull down on the bar with my arms unconsciously as a means to maintain balance. This puts a lot of unnecessary stress on the elbow which manifests as tendinitis several hours later.
Click to expand...

I do but have stopped in the last two weeks due to a potential hernia.
 
Corporate Thug said:
Tennis elbow stretch is basically the only thing I can think of as to the elbow/forearms.
Click to expand...

That's not a warm up.

I would imagine jumping into Skull Crushers without a proper warm up could lead to elbow issues.

Try one of the following....

10 minutes on an arm bike machine.
or
3 sets light tricep extensions
followed by 3 sets of light dumbell curls (12,10,10)
or
Try warming up with Skull Crushers but start REALLY light and then work up using small increments
10 reps, 8 reps ,6 reps ,4 reps ,2 reps ,2 reps ,1 rep (each set add 2.5 - 5lbs)
After that last rep (this all using less weight than you usually use), take a few minutes and move your arms a bit, rub the tissue around the elbow and get it nice and loose. Stand up. Walk around. Get a drink of water.
After a wee bit of rest NOW do your Skull Crusher work set.

Stretching is not a warmup.

For squats you may want to walk for 10 minutes or do light leg extensions\curls (I prefer walking)

I used to have similar issue years ago. The method above got me past it.
 
I had this for a maybe a month, until I rested it for a week, and when I started lifting again was extra careful with my form. It hasn't been back now for a year, so I figure I just got a little careless.
 
pauldun170 said:
That's not a warm up.

I would imagine jumping into Skull Crushers without a proper warm up could lead to elbow issues.

Try one of the following....

10 minutes on an arm bike machine.
or
3 sets light tricep extensions
followed by 3 sets of light dumbell curls (12,10,10)
or
Try warming up with Skull Crushers but start REALLY light and then work up using small increments
10 reps, 8 reps ,6 reps ,4 reps ,2 reps ,2 reps ,1 rep (each set add 2.5 - 5lbs)
After that last rep (this all using less weight than you usually use), take a few minutes and move your arms a bit, rub the tissue around the elbow and get it nice and loose. Stand up. Walk around. Get a drink of water.
After a wee bit of rest NOW do your Skull Crusher work set.

Stretching is not a warmup.

For squats you may want to walk for 10 minutes or do light leg extensions\curls (I prefer walking)

I used to have similar issue years ago. The method above got me past it.
Click to expand...

I'll try this, thanks.
 
I had problems with joint pain until I switched away from using weights and started doing bodyweight-only exercises.
 
xian37 said:
do some stretching first 🙂 to avoid some situation like yours 🙂
Click to expand...

Actually, if it's a muscle or tendon issue, stretching prior to exercise increases risk of injury. That's because it weakens the connective tissue bonds prior to actually putting significant force through it. A dynamic warm-up (i.e. warm up sets) are way more appropriate.
 
Sounds like Tendinitis caused by lack of stretching and blood flow. Massaging and ultrasound therapy will help to resolve this. Hot and cold compresses before and after to help blood circulation. Be careful or this could turn permanent.
 
power_hour said:
Sounds like Tendinitis caused by lack of stretching and blood flow. Massaging and ultrasound therapy will help to resolve this. Hot and cold compresses before and after to help blood circulation. Be careful or this could turn permanent.
Click to expand...

It could be a lot of things - you can't just diagnose based on the few facts he gives. Ultrasound is overrated - massage, stretching, exercise re-education, and tensioning of the muscle are ideal. That's essentially physical therapy. And it's doubtful it will turn "permanent" as you say. It may become chronic, but would likely be able to be addressed still.
 
Could it be bursitis? I have bursitis in my right heel right now that gets aggravated when running, riding the stationary bike, etc. It's been annoying because it's been there for a few months - the doctor prescribed a cream but I can't say it's helped much.
 
SearchMaster said:
Could it be bursitis? I have bursitis in my right heel right now that gets aggravated when running, riding the stationary bike, etc. It's been annoying because it's been there for a few months - the doctor prescribed a cream but I can't say it's helped much.
Click to expand...

Olecranon bursitis (scholar's elbow) usually has a characteristic look to it like:
230px-Bursitis_Elbow_WC.JPG


All in all, this thread is full of what if's and "I've hads." If the OP is serious about it, he should see his physician. If it's ruled to be something musculoskeletal, he should then get referred to a physical therapist.
 
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