Another sad elbow over here

[firenze11]

Well, I'm starting to feel embarrassed, it seems like I'm always coming on here with a new problem.

I seem to be having an elbow dilemma (but not nearly as serious or painful as LPH, yowza, I hope you heal quickly if you see this!)

I decided since I'm still at school and away from my bike that I'd try a strength training class at the gym. It turned out to be a nightmare for me. It was a strange mix of high impact cardio with resistance training thrown in. It was the hardest class I've ever taken and I thought I'd be sore the next day but it seems I've gone and done something stupid.

Both of my elbows are hurting. It's at the back of my arm close to the actual elbow. It only hurts when I try to straighten them or curl my arm up past 90 degrees. I'm pretty sure what caused this was the use of a 13 lb body bar to do tricep work both alone and while lunging. (I'm beating myself up for going along with this. I should have known better.) At the time I felt like I was getting a really hard workout but didn't think I was going to get injured.

This happened Monday night and I woke up with the pain Tuesday morning in my left elbow and the right one developed later in the day. It's sort of a deep kind of aching that radiates a bit especially on my left. I've been taking advil and icing them today and the right one feels a bit better but the left one has only gotten worse and I'm starting to worry. This morning I could just barely wash my hair and put it up into a pony tail but now the left arm won't even go there and I couldn't get it up to my face to wash it. The right arm is doing all the work now but still hurts quite a bit, too.

So I guess my question from you experienced athletes is should I wait and see what happens (unless of course I wake up tomorrow morning and I'm much better) for the next few days or do I need to go into a doctor or nurse asap? I'm still really new to all this athletic stuff and I've never had a real strain/sprain/pull/injury quite like this so I don't know what to base it on.

Thanks, I hope I'm not just being too sensitive and reactive.

[Tokie]

Uh-oh....I'm sure someone here can give advice. I've heard from my older and wiser friends at the gym that those classes with music and weights and rather fast repetitions are a set up for injuries. It always looks so fun though. good luck - elbows are hard to do without! Tokie

[lph]

oh i've had that too! sorta. 5 years ago (or so) i was climbing, locked off for too long and overstressed my right arm, and got a very irritated elbow. at its worst it was an intense shooting pain at the very tip of the elbow trhat wouyld wake me up at night. it would go away and resurface as a dull ache either at the elbow or in my bicep

still don't know what it is, but if i climb too hard too much too fast it comes back. do take it seriously even if the pain goes away, it could easily come back. warm up lots, light reps, and remember that adrenaline is a painkiller and can mask it.

[OakLeaf]

If you're in that much pain you're DEFINITELY not being "too sensitive and reactive." Sheesh, give yourself a break, mentally AND physically.

I am NOT a doctor or anything like it, and the usual cautions about diagnoses over the internet... but your description sounds like the triceps tendon?

Rest, ice and anti-inflammatories (both topical and systemic) are good (and be serious about resting for a day or two - yes it's extremely difficult to rest your arms, but really do it) - and I would look for trigger points in the triceps as well. You can massage them using a small-ish ball like a tennis or lacrosse ball, pressed between your triceps and a wall. "Search for the small spot of exquisite tenderness that typifies a trigger point. Six to twelve strokes constitute a treatment, but repeat the treatment several times during the day."

I just last week got the Trigger Point Therapy Workbook which has been highly recommended by several TE'rs. (which the above quote about general technique is from) It's DEFINITELY helping with my calves/ankles.

I think, with an injury like that, there's not much more a doctor would do for you short of steroid injections. But a referral to a good physical therapist never hurts, so that might be a reason to make an appointment. Hope you start feeling better soon.

[firenze11]

Thanks Tokie, LPH, and Oakleaf. My family is kind of strange about injuries. My Dad is more likely to say go to the doctor over stuff and my Mom tends to not go until it gets really really serious so I'm always trying to find the middle ground, haha.

I didn't realize the class was going to be integrated cardio and resistance like that, it definitely seems like they are easy to get injured in. I was hoping for a nice, slow, controlled resistance class but I guess they don't have that here. I signed up for pilates instead and tried it the day after and really liked it (but I don't think helped my arms in this situation)

Oak, I had forgotten completely about trigger point therapy. I've been using tennis balls for my hip and back when they're tight but it didn't even cross my mind to try it on my triceps. I know there's a couple of really tender spots just to touch so I'll see if it helps, thanks.

I think what is worrying me the most is that although my right arm still hurts, it's getting it's range of motion back a little bit each day. But my left arm just seems to be getting worse and losing it's range of motion. I had to sleep with it on a pillow last night because it was aching and I kept falling asleep and trying to roll over with it and that was not pleasant.

Maybe I'll just go and see what they say, even if they can't really give me much more advice than you have. Thanks again!

[Jolt]

I am NOT a doctor or anything like it, and the usual cautions about diagnoses over the internet... but your description sounds like the triceps tendon?

Rest, ice and anti-inflammatories (both topical and systemic) are good (and be serious about resting for a day or two - yes it's extremely difficult to rest your arms, but really do it) - and I would look for trigger points in the triceps as well. You can massage them using a small-ish ball like a tennis or lacrosse ball, pressed between your triceps and a wall. "Search for the small spot of exquisite tenderness that typifies a trigger point. Six to twelve strokes constitute a treatment, but repeat the treatment several times during the day."

I just last week got the Trigger Point Therapy Workbook which has been highly recommended by several TE'rs. (which the above quote about general technique is from) It's DEFINITELY helping with my calves/ankles.

You pretty much said what I was going to say. And on a side note, isn't that book great? I've definitely found it helpful.