hey i just need some advice or links on exercises and stretches to do for arm pain. elbow tendinitis i believe it is? i get it at bout sides of my arms close to the the elbow when i do exercises which involve keeping my arms straight, which is front/back levers, rock climbing and also when i do weighted pull ups.
the approach i have taken was to stop doing front/back levers (10-12 months ago)which is upsetting as i did get the strength to do a full front lever, stop doing weighted pull ups but also leave a slight bent in my elbows when i do normal pulls which i read to do here (Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Pull Ups) i massage my arms with a foam roller and medicine ball and stretch my biceps in various ways. (i foam roll and stretch everywhere before i train)
so basically i want to be in a position to do front levers and heavy pull ups again without pain any idea?
p.s i do plan to gradually work both of these exercises in and work slowly on the weight with pull ups and focus on tuck levers to start with.
i also plan to take more omega 3 fish oils which i should of done years ago!!
any replies of ideas or things for me to read or watch would be much appreciated =)
cheers kieran
Tendonitis is tenacious and unfortunately isn’t resolved easily, but ice and NSAIDS (whatever is popular and cheap in England) are probably your best friend. You may have some bursitis also, but it is impossible to truly know without being evaluated. I highly recommend physical therapy if it doesn’t resolve with conservative measures, such as decreasing repetitive movements, compression, etc. stretching across the body with arm fully extended, above head interlocked fingers, and straight leg-foot touching all will help isolate this. Stretching should be after being warmed up and after your workout for a solid 5 minutes. These are just some basic physical therapy/nursing concepts, by no means do I claim expertise. Hope that helps, and by all means, hope you feel better!
John, RN
As far as meds that are effective to some, Glucosamine and Chondroitin are useful for bone-on-bone pain, but may help with this since it has been going on for so long if you’ve not already tried this. Vitamin D is also helpful hormone in healing in addition to the vast benefits of omega 3 fatty acids. Make sure to take enough that you are getting a daily dose of 1000mg of DHA and EPA, otherwise you are really not getting enough to benefit your heart (the label should indicate how much of this you are getting, and it’s usually much less than the total amount in the capsule). Freeze them if you want to avoid the smell of fish oil in your burps since the oil will stay on the surface of your stomach acid and can be rather unpleasing. Another alternative is Krill Oil, which does not usually have this problem. Co enzyme q-10, aka Ubiquinone, is very useful in anti-inflammation and should be considered to add to your daily regimen if you are feeling fatigued without any relief, or if you are taking a statin, as these inhibit your liver from producing them and then people tend to have leg fatigue from their absence.