Hi everyone. I haven’t posted in years, but have always enjoyed the site. I lift, nothing crazy but have been lifting 3 x a week for many many years. My favorite cardio is racquetball. but every time I play I over extend / hyper extend my elbow at the end of my swing. It started happening a year ago so I took a long time off. over 6 months. it was hard because I enjoy the game so much. but as soon as i made it back to the court i did it again. it is bad pain for a few minutes & then goes away, but I can do it 5 x during a couple games and it really makes me hold back - & i hate holding back.
Any suggestions on strenghening the elbow joint to help this out? I went to a PT & she suggested tri push downs but no luck. I was religious for many months & it didn’t help a bit. Plus I’d been doing tri work for years. I wasn’t optimistic when she mentioned it.
Thanks for any help.
CT
If it is actually a hyperextension injury to the elbow, tri push downs would be one of the last things you would do to rehab the area. You would want to work on the eccentric strength of the elbow flexors to try and control/slow down the movement into elbow extension.
WIthout a physical eval to see where your weaknesses/limitations are, it is very difficult to give much advice. I’d suggest going to see a practitioner who is familiar with athletics to give a formal diagnosis.
Thanks for the advice, unfortunately I live in a very rural area & the drs. here have very limited experience, I really don’t put much faith in them. Typically they will tell you to rest it & give you a script of vicadan. I’m really not in pain except for those occasions during the game when I have to really reach for the ball & my elbow goes beyond straight. It hurts bad for a few minutes & then nearly goes away. I usually have to stop the game for a minute to recover then siss around for the next couple volleys. Racquet ball is really the only thing that I do that triggers it. Thought about checking out tennis forums. I’m sure i’m not the first person in racquet sports to develop this problem. Thanks, CT