Can you heal golfers elbow in a calorie deficit?

Training
1

Hi,

I’ve been dealing with some moderate (not terribly painful) golfers elbow on my right elbow, and very slightly on my left.

Before this happened, I’d ran a gaining phase for about 16 weeks, and then went on a cut and slashed my volume to around a third of what it was (12-15 sets per week became 4-6) while keeping the intensity.

The injury happened around the end of the gaining phase; I pushed overhead cable extensions a little hard, and from then on, I have tenderness in the inner elbow. Doing curling movements apart from hammer curls make it worse, but I can do pretty much anything else.

I ignored it for a good few months while I got on with my cut (not a good idea I know), and have now started to look into addressing it. I also noticed my patella tendons feel a little achey - not full tendinitis like the elbows, but just a bit tender.

Given that I’ve been training hard for nearly two years with the only deload being during the cut (which I know defeats the purpose from a recovery perspective), and that now all four limbs are feeling a little off, I’ve decided to just take a full week off from the gym. I’ve just been doing some light cardio and eating at maintenance, while keeping my protein high.

In the meantime, I’ve been looking into rehabbing the injury. I’ve never had anything like this before in my five years or so lifting, but from what I’ve researched, it looks like it’s going to take a while. I’ve been doing some isometric stretches daily, as well as using the Tyler twist with a flex band, which is apparently the gold standard. I’ve also been massaging both elbow tendons daily (as well as my patella tendons for good measure and doing some Spanish squats).

The week off is mostly just because I think I’d benefit from a break - I’m aware the tendons are going to take longer to heal than that, but it did get me thinking: Am I able to go straight back into my cut once this week is over, and carry on doing my rehab exercises at the same time?

Obviously, you’d expect healing to be slower during a cut, but providing you’re getting protein and are eating high quality foods, is it still possible to recover from these injuries in the while I get the last four to six weeks of this cut done? I’m still lifting heavy but low volume as I say.

Any past experiences with this would be much appreciated. Thanks!

2

I don’t think you have to be in a calorie surplus to heal an injury effectively. The difference is probably negligible. However, I wouldn’t make a deficit too severe either. Maintenance calories and sleep.

1 Like
3

It’s golfer’s elbow, not a hip replacement… I can’t imagine it’s calorically taxing. I don’t know what much you can do for it besides avoid offending movements and try, somehow, to get some blood in there. It’s an irritating injury.

@j4gga2 may have real advice.

4

I echo the thoughts/recommendations from @TrainForPain

1 Like
5

Golfers elbow often takes about six weeks to heal. I don’t think a small reduction in calories is likely to change the fact that time is the most significant factor in healing.

Taking a week off to allow some general recovery is a good idea. I suspect you are okay continuing a mild calorie reduction and doing prescribed rehab exercises after this time. The tough part - the part you do not want to hear - is you would likely benefit not lifting anything very heavy (even with lower volume) with the affected elbow for 4-6 weeks to avoid re-injury. This does not mean you cannot lift by working around the pain and joint with other exercises, or using machines that isolate arm muscles more effectively.

As always, (disclaimer) Internet advice is worth what you pay for it, and seeing an appropriate medical professional who can assess you and take into account your personal circumstances is usually wiser and recommended.

1 Like