Anyone else experience this?

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  • just_Jennie1
    just_Jennie1 Posts: 1,233
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    Its only hurts when I do tricep press (or as someone called them skull crushers :) ) and tricep pull downs with the cable. Overhead extensions does doesn't hurt.
    I keep my elbows in, and arms straight when I do tricep press. I've probably working off and on for 20 years and have never had any kind of pain like this.

    Do you do a warm-up set before you do your workout? My husband was having similar pain when he worked his biceps and has since started doing a light warm-up set of 12-15 reps before and it seemed to work. Also as others have said check your form.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
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    I'm a few years older than you & went down the same road. I've started hitting weights about 30 years ago off & on my whole life. Took off about 5 years after retiring from football at the age of 33.

    Then I got diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis which is an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks its own joints and organs. So I really pay attention to what I'm doing in the weight room and my joints as well as my doctors documenting everything.

    You probably have tendonitis. if you feel pain on the inside elbow closest to your body, the term is "golfer's elbow". If its on the outside of the elbow, the term is "tennis elbow". The terms were given as kind of a slang because of the athletes of those sports would complain of pain of that particular area when their tendon was flaring. I've had both at one time or another for about a decade.

    One thing that isn't working for you is your age. Your relatively young, but the body doesn't recover as quick as when we we're younger. So when you hit the weights the way you are accustomed to a few years back, your body might send you signals that something isn't right.

    I have to pay extreme attention to my joints as I am in pain 24 hours a day from the disease. The pain increases even more when my form is lacking or increased weights too fast. One more reason to ease into the heavy side of lifting.

    Hopefully you have a good doctor that can diagnose you correctly the first time. :)

    I would strongly suggest that you don't try to work through the pain, rather take the time off from any exercise(s) that causes you pain in the first place. Its no fun taking the time off, but it the long run it certainly won't hurt you more. I'm just started to do OHP & Deads the past month after taking 3 months off on overheads press & dead lifts.

    One thing that should help on the pain is a elbow brace, or even tendonitis elbow brace if in fact it is your tendon. You can buy one at any drug store, if your doctor feels is the problem.

    Update when you get the news & good luck!
  • GGDaddy
    GGDaddy Posts: 289 Member
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    I've battled the same thing in my right elbow. Finally found a really good doc who diagnosed tendinitis from the tendon rubbing over a sharp part of the bone that was messed up in a motorcycle accident. He recommended I wear a neoprene elbow wrap to keep the tendon warm during workouts. It made a huge difference, I was able to increase my weight, and the pain actually decreased.

    That was 20 years ago. I'm 46 now, and have to carefully pick which triceps exercises make it bad, and which ones I can get away with. It's trial and error, I recommend checking out the exercises on exrx.net to see which ones will work:

    http://www.exrx.net/Lists/ExList/ArmWt.html#anchor122387

    Good luck!
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,020 Member
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    I have....it's a sharp pain right? :tongue:
    It'll go away after a while. If it doesn't, you'd have to check with your doctor, but I doubt very much it's due to arthritic changes.

    Arthritis is usually something you 'warm' out of if you can get over the hump, at least that's what I've heard.
    Anyhow...just wanted to say I've had that pain you're talking about & if it's in both elbows, it's more likely to be due to the increase in weight training load.

    ETA: I also felt the pain with extension vs flexion, it didn't last for days though...try NSAID's and see what happens.
    Weight training not only works your muscles but your tendons and ligaments as well.

    I would try the NSAID's for now but decrease weight a bit, and ease into the increase. It may be more than your connective tissues can handle.

    Yes its sharp and in both elbows. I haven't increased the weight by much. I was doing tricep press at 60lbs plus bar and now I'm at 90. But maybe it is too much of an increase. I would rather avoid medication for now. Thanks for your input.

    You increased the weight by 33%. Do the bars only go in 30lbs increments? I would have added slower if that option is available.

    Actually, he increased the weight by 50% !!! Let it heal (probably connective tissue if the pain is at the elbow), and then try increasing by smaller amounts.
  • jsukhan
    jsukhan Posts: 149 Member
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    Its only hurts when I do tricep press (or as someone called them skull crushers :) ) and tricep pull downs with the cable. Overhead extensions does doesn't hurt.
    I keep my elbows in, and arms straight when I do tricep press. I've probably working off and on for 20 years and have never had any kind of pain like this.

    Do you do a warm-up set before you do your workout? My husband was having similar pain when he worked his biceps and has since started doing a light warm-up set of 12-15 reps before and it seemed to work. Also as others have said check your form.

    Did you mean a warm up set for every exercise I do? No I don't. By time I get to my tri ceps I have already worked my shoulders and bi ceps so I thought my arms would be sufficiently warmed up. But I can doing a warm up set for everything I do.
  • jsukhan
    jsukhan Posts: 149 Member
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    I'm a few years older than you & went down the same road. I've started hitting weights about 30 years ago off & on my whole life. Took off about 5 years after retiring from football at the age of 33.

    Then I got diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis which is an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks its own joints and organs. So I really pay attention to what I'm doing in the weight room and my joints as well as my doctors documenting everything.

    You probably have tendonitis. if you feel pain on the inside elbow closest to your body, the term is "golfer's elbow". If its on the outside of the elbow, the term is "tennis elbow". The terms were given as kind of a slang because of the athletes of those sports would complain of pain of that particular area when their tendon was flaring. I've had both at one time or another for about a decade.

    One thing that isn't working for you is your age. Your relatively young, but the body doesn't recover as quick as when we we're younger. So when you hit the weights the way you are accustomed to a few years back, your body might send you signals that something isn't right.

    I have to pay extreme attention to my joints as I am in pain 24 hours a day from the disease. The pain increases even more when my form is lacking or increased weights too fast. One more reason to ease into the heavy side of lifting.

    Hopefully you have a good doctor that can diagnose you correctly the first time. :)

    I would strongly suggest that you don't try to work through the pain, rather take the time off from any exercise(s) that causes you pain in the first place. Its no fun taking the time off, but it the long run it certainly won't hurt you more. I'm just started to do OHP & Deads the past month after taking 3 months off on overheads press & dead lifts.

    One thing that should help on the pain is a elbow brace, or even tendonitis elbow brace if in fact it is your tendon. You can buy one at any drug store, if your doctor feels is the problem.

    Update when you get the news & good luck!

    I'm only 6 years younger than you. So if I'm still young, so are you. :) The pain is right behind the point of my elbow not any particular side more than the other.
  • jsukhan
    jsukhan Posts: 149 Member
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    My doctor thinks it is more of a muscle issue than tendon. But she referred me for physio. Time to find out what how coverage I have from the college health care plan.
    Once again thank you all for your information and advice.
  • jsukhan
    jsukhan Posts: 149 Member
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    Finally found time to go to a sports injury clinic. I have tendonitis. Was prescribed anti inflammatories and physio. Happily both are convered under the college health care plan.
  • Shawshankcan
    Shawshankcan Posts: 900 Member
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    I always have something tweaked and twisted and banged up, this is what I use to keep going

    http://www.roguefitness.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=voodoo floss&Trigger=ac

    With that, for other pain, I have a lacrosse ball and a foam roller.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,659 Member
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    This happened to me, too. I was doing an intense strength training class in the summer of 2012, and the instructor had us do multiple sets (maybe up to 8 with 12 reps each) of tricep kickbacks. I kept going to these classes and my right elbow hurt so badly that I almost dropped my tray at Panera (that'll teach me to eat there!) I also teach and writing on the blackboard or whiteboard was killing me.

    I ended up resting a bit and developing my own routine until it healed. For a while, I was using only 3 lb. weights and I had been doing 8 (I'm little).
  • spicegeek
    spicegeek Posts: 325 Member
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    sounds like some kind of tendonitis - but sharp pains generally need rest and slow reintroduction of the offending exercise - and if they do not go away in a week or so - medical attention

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