Movements that cause elbow pain??

PackPariah · July 2017

Hello all,

I am having elbow pain which I have never had before and cannot attribute to some sort of external (outside of exercising) event.

Background info: I am about 100 pounds overweight and my main goal is losing excess body fat, however, I am also working on strength training (started April 12) with a focus on establishing proper form (not too heavy of weights) and laying the proper foundation for future lifting. I also only workout 3 days a week.

Back to my question, I am having problems figuring out which exercise(s) is causing this pain in my elbow because it never hurts during lifting. It seems to only hurt after and in the past week has been happening more frequently.

Has anyone every narrowed down which movement causes elbow pain?

For example: Exercises that bend at elbow (dips, curls, benching, tricep extensions, etc..) or is it movement that require you to keep elbow fixed (lateral raises, chest flyes, etc...).

I think my main goal is to establish which movements might cause the pain and focus on insuring proper form (or reducing weight) that involve those movements.

Any help or advice in this matter is greatly appreciated.

rybo · July 2017

Do you work on a computer a lot or excessively use your phone?
Where is your pain specifically?

PackPariah · July 2017

Computer: I would say maybe 2 to 3 hours a day writing reports (have been in my current position for about 5 years and have never had any elbow pain)
Phone: No, not excessively (I am assuming you mean one of the mindless zombies walking around with it in front of their face 24/7)

I would have to say in the middle of the joint. Feels more of a sharp joint pain, and not a muscular/fatigue pain.

pondee629 · July 2017

Heavy bicep curls have aggravated my elbow on occasion. If you're doing curls, try lowering the weight and see if that helps.

DopeItUp · July 2017

Pushing motions tend to cause tennis elbow.

Pulling motions tend to call golfer's elbow.

So basically, it depends on where the pain is.

__TMac__ · July 2017

I have some elbow pain as well. I have it narrowed down to either push-ups or playing my musical instrument. But I'm leaning toward the push-ups because I don't think I've changed my instrument-playing technique. After some rest, I'm going to substitute bench presses to see if that makes a difference.

rsclause · July 2017

I had lots of pain in my fore arms and was losing my ability to grasp anything heavy. I felt like my arms were atrophying. I could not figure out what was happening and delayed going to seek medical advice because I was applying for a life insurance policy. I went on a ski trip and was worried that it would be difficult to pole my way on the flat portions. I didn't have any trouble. When I returned a rainy spell kept me from running the next week. After a two week break I was putting my running jacket on which had also become painful and realized I didn't have any pain. I went for a run and when I went to take my jacket off any the pain was back. What I am getting at is that is can be something simple that you are not looking into. In my case I am a runner and wear my phone on my arm. The elastic was badly worn so I kept both elbows at a 90 degree angle to kept the phone from slipping down. I bought a new arm band and allowed my arms to be in a more downward position and the pain is gone. Who knew?

beautifulwarrior18 · July 2017

Keep in mind, pain is not normally caused by a movement or injury, it's usually caused by tight muscles. I have elbow pain and experience it mostly when I am trying to put my seat belt on, adjust my bra strap, or at the gym, in the front rack position. I have experienced elbow pain also doing triceps exercises.

The problem is not my elbow or the movement its that my triceps are tight. I do a few things for treatment. #1 I roll it on a Lacrosse ball multiple times a day. It hurts like hell, but being a bit bruised sure beats not being able to work out. The second thing is that I see a Chiropractor that specializes in athletes. He does muscle manipulation, grasting, and puts electrodes on my triceps. Its slowly getting better and some days are worse than others, but I can at least still work out.

I've noticed this in most of my body though. When my knees hurt, its because my quads are tight, back is glutes, neck and shoulders are some muscles in my upper back. Foam roll like he'll, get a lacrosse ball and smash your arm (triceps, shoulders and forearms) with it and really focus on mobility.

If that doesn't help go chat with a sports chiro or a physical therapist.

HockeyGoalie35 · July 2017

Tricep extensions used to destory my elbows for a few days when I was conventional lifting

canadianlbs · July 2017

have you tried just using your own fingertips to do a general poke and explore all around the bone of your upper arm? i've had a lot of tricep tenderness and tightness that i didn't even know about until i did that. tightness is usually the thing that manifests to me as 'sharpness' inside actual joints, for what that's worth.

it needs a certain kind of touch to find it. the arm you're exploring should be relaxed enough that the muscles are 'soft'. and for me, the best pacing is a bit slow. i line up my fingertips, push gently into the tissue and wait maybe a second to see if the pressure sinks in or not. feels like about 1/8 of an inch but that almost certainly depends on how muscly you are.

it's the 'sink in' part that shows up the spots where i'm sore. and then when i find something i trace it; it usually follows the shape of the muscle so you can learn a lot about how your own body's put together just by fiddling around.

i really like pin-and-stretch movements lately. you find a sore spot, pin it down gently against the bone, and then you move that arm in any way that [GENTLY] activates the muscle.

PackPariah · July 2017

Thank you all for your replies.

rsclause wrote: »

. In my case I am a runner and wear my phone on my arm. The elastic was badly worn so I kept both elbows at a 90 degree angle to kept the phone from slipping down. I bought a new arm band and allowed my arms to be in a more downward position and the pain is gone. Who knew?

I have felt the same pain, but I am no runner. About a year ago I started jogging at my heaviest and wore my phone in an arm band. I started to feel the elbow pain you are describing and determined it was the arm band causing it. This pain, to me, feels different from that pain.

beautifulwarrior18 wrote: »

Keep in mind, pain is not normally caused by a movement or injury, it's usually caused by tight muscles. .

Yes, you may definitely be on to something. I have been needing to do some sort of stretch routine. I know just their have been exercises that I felt my flexibility was hindering me from achieving proper form.

canadianlbs wrote: »

have you tried just using your own fingertips to do a general poke and explore all around the bone of your upper arm? i've had a lot of tricep tenderness and tightness that i didn't even know about until i did that. tightness is usually the thing that manifests to me as 'sharpness' inside actual joints, for what that's worth.

I have, I can't seem to narrow it down using this method. I mean it really seems to be in the joint where I cannot touch it from the outside.

I know I can make it hurt by gripping something tightly (though this is not consistent) or doing a twisting motion (found this out when I was applying tension to a band saw blade at work.

beautifulwarrior18 · July 2017

As athletes we are hard on our bodies. You definitely need to stretch and improve flexibility, but its more than that. Some of the best self care tools out there are lacrosse balls, foam rollers, e-stim therapy and of course massage therapists, physical therapists and select chiropractors.

Movements that cause elbow pain??

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