Whats up dude?
I got a question for you. My gf gets pain in her elbow (right in the joint) with upper body pulling exercises, particularly curling. She's otherwise healthy. As far as i know it's always been like this too.
What do you think the issue is/and how should she remedy it? Is it just a matter of strengthening? If you need more info, let me know and i'll ask her.
-doug-
Is the pain specific to any part of the elbow? You said, "right in the joint". Can you be more specific.
What king of pain? Burning, stabbing, aching, stabbing, shooting, ect.?
Does it always happen with every pulling motion?
Has she tried anything to help the pain? If so what has been effective and what has not been effective?
How long does the pain last after training?
Is it only under stress that the elbow hurts?
Does the pain get better or worse as training progresses?
I'll have to ask her these questions. Thanks for the response. I'm pretty sure she said that it only hurts AFTER she exercises... i'll have to double check.
-doug-
"Is the pain specific to any part of the elbow? You said, "right in the joint". Can you be more specific."
She said its pretty much right in the joint. No more specific of an answer.
"What king of pain? Burning, stabbing, aching, stabbing, shooting, ect.? "
She said it "feels like it's stretching." (bear in mind she's not as athletic as you or i).
"Does it always happen with every pulling motion?"
Any pulling motion where her arm extends straight and she's got a lot of weight. Once it jurts, any pulling motion will aggrivate it. Pushing motions will at that point as well, but they wont initiate pain.
"Has she tried anything to help the pain? If so what has been effective and what has not been effective?"
She has put ice on it, which numbs it. Otherwise, no effect.
"How long does the pain last after training?"
It hurts for two days after she does a pulling motion. It doesnt hurt during.
"Is it only under stress that the elbow hurts?"
I only hurts after that when she uses it, not all the time.
"Does the pain get better or worse as training progresses? "
It doesnt hurt durning the lift if that's what you mean. Only after. If you mean over a few months of working through the lifts, she isnt really consistent enough with gym stuff to find out. I think it bugs her in BJJ sometimes, like if someone armbars her (she resists alot i think).
Thanks for the help JR.
-doug-
Keep in mind that diagnosis is out of my scope, but here goes. If it was nerve she would probably be experiencing burning, electric or shooting types of pain that radiate from the source. If it was muscle it would get better with time, and/or it would feel better after it got warmed up.
So that leaves cartilage or ligament. It's common with cartilage problems to produce locking or clicking problems within the joint. However, not always. If it was ligament she would probably be feeling it as the joint progresses through it's range of motion. It is of some interest that it also hurts with pushing motions when it's flared up. This, and the pain seeming diffuse inside the joint lead me to think that it is most likely a cartilage injury. If it's not locking or clicking then it's probably not too bad.
Best to have it checked by an orthopedist to see if he/she thinks it's bad enough to warrant further diagnostic testing.
Best in Health and Training, J. R.
Thanks JR. She got armbared pretty bad once by my dumbass coach (yeah i'm talking about you chris!) and that definitly yielded the problem with the right arm. However, she feels it in the left too, and apparently for longer then she's been grappling?
She's been a striker for a while though, you think maybe it could be from overly snappy punches?
You've been a great help. Thanks!
-doug-
Doug, it is VERY likely that it is from striking. Actually that makes more sense than anything else. If she is really snapping her punches and/or letting them extend too far then that can cause a bit of a problem with a lot of different connective tissues. Her problem was a bit odd because it sort of fell into a few categories, but with the new information it makes sense. Sorry I didn't think to ask if she did a lot of punching in my initial questions.
Best in Health and Training, J. R.
Hey man, you were a big help. No apologies needed. I can't beleive i didn't think of it before myself.
She actually came to the same conclusion on her own yesterday. In her kickboxing she is taught not to snap or fully extend the punches (as they do in TKD and karate) but she's been at it since she was six. Sometimes it just happens by accident. Over the years stuff like that accumulates.
As far as funny sounding symptoms i dont think that she is very aware of how to describe injuries and stuff. Probably something lost in communicative noise.
Thanks again JR.
-doug-
Doug, one last thought comes to mind. Have her be sure that her form is good at the point that she is making contact with her target. If she's hitting a heavy bag or a hard target and her arm is locked out and she "pushes" her punch into the target that can cause undue stress on the cartilage of the joints as well. Any wrist of hand problems?
J. R.
none reported. I'll ask.
-doug-
ART, ART, ART.