How can you overcome elbow pain/injury!

[Oliver Bjerregaard]

Hey folks!

 

This is not a question, but an article regarding the method i used to overcome my elbow pain/minor elbow injury. (You are warmly welcome to ask questions or comment)

 

How did the elbow pain start?

 

Too much straight arm training (planches, iron cross, etc) and too much one arm chin up training. I trained straight arm training 5 times a week without any preparation or rehab at all. 
 

​What did i do to overcome the pain? 

 

I cannot tell if this method will work on YOU since we're all very different, but it certainly worked for me! I don't feel any pain or soreness in my elbows anymore. It's all gone. 

 

Of course, the most effective way, is always preparation! As Coach Sommer says: preparation, preparation, preparation! It's the most efficient way to avoid injuries - especially when we're talking about straight arm elements!

The most efficient way to overcome my elbow pain, is by doing trigger point therapy. This therapy method is GOLD. If you don't know anything about it - google it and buy the trigger point therapy workbook right away!

On the picture below you see my little lacrosse ball i use to massage my joints and elbow. (some use a foam roller or do foam rolling - i did not benefit from it). Many of your probably know trigger point therapy already!

 

 

I usually push the ball against a wall (or lay on the floor) and i press my elbow against the ball. Then i roll the ball up and down (with a huge pressure on the targeted spot). It's supposed to hurt very much. I usually massage my triceps(the hole horseshoe), biceps, forearm and the front of my elbow and the back of it. (look at the pictures below). I haven't demonstrated all the spots on the pictures below, but it should give you an idea of what i mean!

 

 

It definitely most efficient to use something with a tough mass - like a lacrosse ball or golf ball. A tennis ball works, but it's not as efficient at all. The first period of trigger point therapy is painful and i personally felt i had bruises

 

How often can you do this? 

I personally do this 2-3 minutes x3 times a day. AND i do it 10 minutes after all my training sessions. 
 

Stretching exercises for my elbow:

 

Beside trigger point therapy i do some stretches and i HANG a lot! Hanging is crucial for stretching the elbow and shoulder health. I usually do 2x sets of 30 seconds normal hang and 2x sets of 30 seconds eagle hang(reverse grip hang) after my training sessions. I also do the classic bicep stretch 2x30 seconds, which i find fantastic for stretching the elbow. (this is the classic stretch i talk about)

 

 

How could a short elbow rehab program look like?
 

I usually do trigger point therapy for my elbow 2-3 minutes THREE times a day. Morning - midday and afternoon. After each session i use my own little rehab program: 

 

2x30 sec normal hang

2x30 sec eagle hang

2x15 seconds one arm hang and one arm eagle hang. 

10-15 minutes of trigger point therapy only for the elbow. 

2x30 seconds bicep stretch. 

 

And i always do wrist rehab together with my elbow routine. 

Another very important factor is warm up. Warming up with elastic bands is very efficient (i don't want to dig into that now, you can google thousands of warm ups or look up many forums on this site as well) 

 

I do not want to go into any strength elements or other movements regarding elbow health, i know them very well and you can find many articles on this forum. I hope you'll enjoy  !

 

Ask if there's any questions. Thank you!

Oliver

[Sean Whitley]

What sort of elbow pain was it (medial, lateral, inside the elbow etc)? How long did you have it before before starting this? How long did it take to recover after starting this routine?

[Connor Davies]

Very thorough explanation.  Thanks for posting!

[Boris Mikael Taube]

I have the same problem now. its the 3 time the elbow problem coming back really frustrating.

I read also a tread that coach say it help to take fish oil and vitamin C. Also do bicep curl after session like a prehan excercises 3*5-10 with 10 second eccentric. tried this yesterday and it fellt great. 

[Daniel Burnham]

I have the same problem now. its the 3 time the elbow problem coming back really frustrating.

I read also a tread that coach say it help to take fish oil and vitamin C. Also do bicep curl after session like a prehan excercises 3*5-10 with 10 second eccentric. tried this yesterday and it fellt great.

If you have gotten an elbow problem 3 times you are doing too much and should focus on the prep first.

Listen to your body. You should not have recurring injuries or pain. Prepare yourself

[Boris Mikael Taube]

yes i know. but the first a barely felt it. and it dissapear unntil in june. when i worked much on rings. After that i take a pause and rest and do som rehab and triggerpoint. And i fellt good untill i suddenly started to feeling it again 1 week ago. Ive been very carefuel and not overdoing thing after that. I just do the foundation now 4 times a week. I will say the things ive been doing is very easy for the joints and the elbow if you compare to what ive been doing before. So i dont understand why its coming back... 

[Oliver Bjerregaard]

What sort of elbow pain was it (medial, lateral, inside the elbow etc)? How long did you have it before before starting this? How long did it take to recover after starting this routine?

Hey again!

I had it  badly for 5-6 weeks or so. Then i took a break for about two weeks and i started again. And the pain continued a month or so. I really underestimated the my joints. I recovered in two-three weeks with this method. The program i showed in this post was something i did two times EVERYDAY for two weeks. The hole program + 3-4x trigger point therapy of 2-3 minutes throughout the day. For me, personally, it works like magic. But you have to be consistent, otherwise you won't experience any progress  

But i have prepared my elbows really good now, and i'm working on all my old skills again, and continually doing my rehab programs. Never having pain at the moment!

[jl5555]

Yes, a very classic golfer's elbow from overtraining.  I went through this also and agree that forearm massage (trigger point therapy, etc) is very helpful for moving through it.  If you have access to a jacuzzi or some other form of water therapy that also can do wonders when the jet is aimed directly at the elbow and forearms.  

[Sean Whitley]

I going to try adding hanging (and getting my lacrosse ball back out) to my DIY rehab program. All my forearm/elbow problems seem to have started since I moved and lost access to climbing. Unfortunately climbing now causes pain, but maybe hanging will help fix it

 

My pain doesn't seem to be golfers elbow though. Its from the fleshy lump between the medial epicondyle and the bicep tendon, occasionally to mid forearm, when my arm is straightened from 150 to 180 degrees (full extension) under tension. Pain in that area occurs while tensing doing the lowermost part of a bicep curl with no weight for example. My best guess (since the physio i saw was as useful as talking to my wall) is that maybe at full extension my ulna bone is pushing an aggravated pronator teres tendon/muscle?