sore elbow

[fitharp]

Cathe,
I am trying this again. I posted my question earlier but it never appeared.
When I do chest work I feel it all in my elbow not chest. My elbow will even really start to hurt. I have tried keeping a loose grip on the weight and lowering my weight but that doesn't seem to help. Any ideas why this is happening?
Thanks
Michele

 

[annie2867]

Not Cathe, but interested in responses to this question. I have had a painful elbow for a long time and one of these days I will go and get it checked. I found the same thing happening to me when I did chest work so I had to switch from a barbell to dumbbells and lower the weight and this really helped. I can't do straight up dumbbel curls either I have to do them at an angle so that it doesn't hurt as much. I know I should give my upper body a rest for a couple of months, but I can't bear the thought of losing all my good work and having to start from scratch. I did have tennis elbow on my other arm and after about 6 months it did go away, this other elbow is taking a lot longer.

 

[Stebby]

Try doing wrist curls (palm up, curl weights up towards your forearm) and wrist extensions (palm down, curl weights up towards your forearm). These are some of the standard treatments for tennis elbow and golfer's elbow.

 

[NittyGritty]

Okay, does it hurt after your workout is over? Or do you only feel pain when you are lifting?

When you lift things outside of a workout (a pot off the stove, a grocery bag by the handles, etc.) do you feel pain?

When you feel this pain, is on the inside of the elbow or on the outside?

 

[lesliew]

I get elbow pain too, when I do dumbbell curls. I've been trying to increase the weight from 10 to 12 pounds, because I know my biceps can take it, but my elbows can't! I don't notice this problem with a barbell. Incidentally, I can't do wrist curls or extensions because that bothers my carpal tunnel. My pain usually goes away after I do the workouts. And it's definitely in the joint. I'll be interested in any answers!

 

[fitharp]

Thanks for the replies. For more info:
It hurts if I use either dumbbells or barbell - doesn't matter.
It only hurts when I am doing lying down chest work. I can do other arm work and it is fine.
It only hurts when I am lifting - no pain outside of workout.
I think it mostly hurts on the outside.
Michele

 

[annie2867]

OK, mine is different. Mine is on the inside of the elbow (it feels like there is a bone there), and it only hurts when I lift although if I press it I can feel discomfort. I also could go heavier on biceps if not for the pain. I've had mine close to a year. Thanks for the message about the wrist curls, I know that those exercises are on Cathe's S&H so I got busy and did them this morning.

 

[NittyGritty]

Okay, listen up. You are an athlete now, and an athlete needs to take care of herself. You need to find a sports doctor, one who specializes in orthopedic and sports medicine.

You want to find one sympathetic to weight-trainers, so ask around. You might even call some local health clubs and ask for recommendations, too.

When my elbow was killing me, my husband talked me into going to his sports doc (he used the "You are an athlete now" speech, which is why I'm using it on you!)

I put off going for a long time because I was afraid the doc would just tell me to stop lifting but he didn’t. All that worrying for nothing!

Instead, he gave me a cortisone shot at the point of pain to reduce inflammation, gave me two braces to wear (one for daytime and one at night) and said I should lighten my weights and go for more of an endurance-style workout.

He said I’d stressed the joint and the tendons by moving up too heavy too fast, which I knew. He recommended many reps, lighter weights, until my elbow recovered, and it’s been working so far.

Good luck to you!