Bro's, please help me with my joint/elbow pain!

[Huskykid000]

Alright guys, quick bio........29 yrs old, lifting for 8 yrs....done 1 cycle in the last 8 yrs. My job is a very intense sales job which requires a lot of lifting for about 10-12 hours a day. Ive had this job for the last 12 months and ofcourse have been lifting 4-5 days a week along with it. So about 2 months ago, i started getting the most intense pain in my elbows, on the inside and outside.... i didnt think much of it and worked through it. Then I started getting pain in my knuckles and fingers, like an aching feeling..the elbows feels like someone is driving a nail into them. Long story short, ive stopped lifting any weight, advise from my doctor last week. He took blood from me yesterday to test for a battery of things.....including arthritis... so as you guys could imagine, im devastaded....... the pain has been so bad that ive worked out 4 or 5 times in the last month...i do cardio, legs and abs but who gives a fuck....no weight training...and work is miserable..... if any of you guys have any advise or similiar situations i would love to hear about it...... this blood work thing is freaking me out.....he's like it could be a joint disease or many other things..... the dr also told me that i would have to stop lifting for atleast 10-12 weeks.....and he looked at me and said and i mean NO lifting......!!!!! Shit! Help guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[stuck]

Alright guys, quick bio........29 yrs old, lifting for 8 yrs....done 1 cycle in the last 8 yrs. My job is a very intense sales job which requires a lot of lifting for about 10-12 hours a day. Ive had this job for the last 12 months and ofcourse have been lifting 4-5 days a week along with it. So about 2 months ago, i started getting the most intense pain in my elbows, on the inside and outside....

Sounds like either arthritis or tendonitis. Did he give you any ideas what he thought it could be? For tendonitis the only treatment is rest and heat. You may also want to look at the way you carry / lift things. Doing something very minor such as changing your group or your placement of your hands (at work or in the gym) can make a huge difference.

 

[Huskykid000]

Hey Stuck thanks for the advice..... he actually didnt speculate on what he thought it was....he was more waiting for the blood work to come back, he put me on Methylprednisolone last week to try and bring down any swelling that i might have in my elbows....I just got a script filled tonight of Diclofenac 75 mg's.... once a day. I think that i grew so fast in the last 8 years and with that my constant physical work...ive just overstressed my joints and tendons.... but it could be something else, who knows... but i know that rest is the best thing, as hard as it is to hear that! My sales job is with a really big food company, they pretty much own everything thing in a grocery store! lol so Im constantly 10-12 hours a day pulling 400lb carts around, stocking shelves, building displays, which doesnt sound like much but its pretty brutal.

 

[Huskykid000]

C'mon guys! Any help?!

 

[Shoes82]

Hey hk, it definatly sounds like tendonitis. I've suffered with it in my elbows many times before and I'm actually going through it right now. It happens to me when I try to do something strenuous without warming up (actually got it from armwrestling once.) I don't know if you are prone to get it more often once you've had it, but I would speculate so. The most frustrating thing is that the ONLY way for it to heal is absolute rest. Alternating heat and and ice mixed with ibuprophen will help you along the way. I've also found that wearing a lite brace helps me get through the day with less pain. Once the pain goes away, try doing some stretching and then always remember to get some blood flowing before doing any heavy lifting. hope this helps.

 

[shockNawe]

I'm not a doctor by any means but glucosamine helps joints recover faster which means less joint pain... tendonitis is another story tho only thing you can do there is rest... goodluck bro

 

[criffer]

would really suck but could be rheumatoid arthritis, or best case your just overdoin it and have some tendonitis and need rest

 

[Gman1]

glucosamine, and all that joint stuff will help, also, i dont know why anyone didnt say this but if your are still lifting? you might wanna have a go at a little deca, i mean it will lube up your joints, add that w/ the joint helth supplements like were suggested, and it could help, but before going and starting a cycle, i would suggest you just try to get it healed, try rest!!!!, i know you cant w/job but try! but the next cycle you do, look into deca, might like it for your joints...

 

[jpr5690]

Ibprofen 800! (or 4 Regular Ones) Make My Workouts Possible But Be Carefyl It Numbs You Up Good Enough To Really Hurt Something If Ur Not Careful

 

[Ozz2001]

probably tendonitis got that in lower elbow in forearm, now i got it in top by elbow!
It suxs nothing you can do but wait or make it worse,or lift very lite and hope it goes away.If its the joint itself that hurts that comes from lifting to heavy to much..Try 2 months heavy 1 month lite usally helps.Body seems to not beable to handle crazy loads for a long time on joints,that just my findings...Also lifting the same way to much all the time at work can cause joint problems like tennis arm ect...That was what helped to blow my shoulder out rep lifting all day and then working out..Body needs rest now matter how you look at it.

 

[stuck]

Sounds like either arthritis or tendonitis. Did he give you any ideas what he thought it could be? For tendonitis the only treatment is rest and heat. You may also want to look at the way you carry / lift things. Doing something very minor such as changing your group or your placement of your hands (at work or in the gym) can make a huge difference.

I just reread this and wanted to clarify a typo. I meant "changing your grip" not "changing your group".

For example, I usually do bi's + tri's on the same day as back + shoulders at the end of my workout. A couple years ago, I figured I'd try something different and split out arms to their own day. By the end of the session I had tendonitis in both elbows, because I could lift alot heavier than normal since I hadn't burned my biceps doing shoulders beforehand. That heavier weight, combined with a standard bicep curl grip on an ezcurl bar, enflamed my tendons for weeks. So, I went back to my old routine.

What I did discover was, if I shifted from a curl grip to a hammer grip, I had less stress on the tendons in my forearms and elbows. But it was too late by then, and the tendonitis took weeks to go away. It can be frustrating, but it's something you should experiment with to try to alleviate, because once you have it, it's a pain in the ass to recover from if you keep re-aggravating it.

 

[digimon7068]

Although it's not outside the realm of possibility, arthritis is probably not all that likely. If your job requires a lot of lifting and repetitive motion, that is more likely the root of the problem. If you want to continue lifting, look for a different career (or at least a promotion). Also, if the doc didn't already do it, get yourself tested for lyme disease.

 

[reigninghard]

Glucosamine Chondroitan..find it at any supplement store....I dare say GNC

 

[El64]

C'mon guys! Any help?!

sounds like tennis elbow and golfers elbow. i had both at the same time in the same elbow, and could barely lift a pint glass. i tried rest, ice packs etc and they made no difference. ask your doc for a cortizone injection. this worked wonders for me and it was gone within 3 days. this isnt an ideal cure and your doc will only give you 3 or 4 jabs a year but it definately did the trick for me. i find certain exercises trigger it off (skull crushers for example) and make sure you warm up properly before lifting heavy, it really makes a massive difference.
btw, the injection hurts more than the ailment!! but at least its only temporary!!

 

[Huskykid000]

I really appreciate all the feedback bro's, as many of you know who suffer from this it sucks! The new anti inflam i mentioned above i started today. Maybe its just in my head but i worked 12 hours today of constant lifting and pulling and I had little to no pain! But trust me, Im not pushing it in the gym.. I still have to go and do cardio and legs, abs.......I cant stay out! And atleast I can look at ass now instead of concentrating on my workouts the whole time! To answer the question of being tested for lyme disease, my dr just took blood and told me that they were going to check for a number of different things...as ya'll know, you blood can tell you more about your body than you probably want to know! Oh and skull crushers have always killed my elbows, even when i first started lifting my elbows never agreed with it. I also think, obviously, this was a progressive injury...I played competitive golf for many many years, then got into power lifting and body building, along with very physical jobs.....there is one thing ive finally learned getting older...... put your pride down and listen to your body......thank you again to everyone who gave advice......ive been coming on here since about 1998 for a reason!

 

[BigCracker]

Although it's not outside the realm of possibility, arthritis is probably not all that likely. If your job requires a lot of lifting and repetitive motion, that is more likely the root of the problem. If you want to continue lifting, look for a different career (or at least a promotion). Also, if the doc didn't already do it, get yourself tested for lyme disease.

This likely what you don't want to hear, but instead of looking for the magic pill, a career change to something less physical is probably the long term answer. Personally, instead of having a job where I was active where time flies by, I'd rather have a boring job where I stared at the clock all day long so I could invest all of my physical energy in my training.

It sounds like your job is what's preventing you from recovering fully. I'd bet that a lot of guys that have been doing the same job awhile are popping Ibuprofen and Doan's Backache Pills like they're M&M's. Just because you're active and workout regularly doesn't mean your body won't eventually say "Fuck you!" by slamming you with these annoying joint probs. Ask yourself how important working out is in making you happy in your life. If it's important enough to you, you'll figure out another way to bring home the bacon that's more workout friendly.

 

[omoplata]

huskykid000, I've had the same problem over the years. Besides the ice and rest the best solution for me turned out to be forearm workouts. Wrist curls. reverse wrist curls, rotational work and grip work all but cured the pain. It took a few months of work, but I have not had a problem for several years now.

 

[paridhm]

hk, you should try some growth hormone. It is great for rehabilitation of injuries.

 

[monster2929]

Rest, Use A Cryocup After Training, Maybe Deca But It May Worsen Ur Symptoms Afterwards, Try Doing Only Negative Training It Sounds Funny But You Can Grow From Negatives Only And They Will Not Be Anywhere Near As Painful But U Will Need Atraining Partner To Hoist The Positive For You, A Cryocup Is Basically A Dixie Cup With Ice In It U Can Buy A Cryocup Or Just Make Ur Own But Rub Baby Oil On The Area So U Dont Burn The Skin, Wrap Ur Elbows Too Bro

 

[digimon7068]

hk, you should try some growth hormone. It is great for rehabilitation of injuries.

Have there been any studies on GH and joint injuries? I haven't been able to find any and I've gots me some baaaaaad knees. . .not quite bone-on-bone but not that far off. I'd love to find some studies if possible. I'm 40+ and my doctor would almost certainly give it a try if I could give him some clinical evidence.

 

[jpr5690]

im telling ya ive had randome joint pains for years and the only thing that works really well is ibprofen.. i kinda stumbled Across it while using a eca stack now instead i do a ecI stack and it works great!!!! just try it out take some aleve (neproxin sodium) or advil (ibprofen) their usally 200mg per tab so id start out with the std dose of 400 and see if you have any luck... ive been doing this for a few months now and i can lift without it.. it makes that much of a difference (for me)!!! be careful though, beacouse if you do incur an injury your not likely to thinki ts a big deal ntil the ibprofen wears off, so ya really gotta listen to your body.. as of now if i feel any little ake i stop for the day and i havent been really hurt yet!

 

[missionpossible]

I responded to another thread about this and it may interest you. I experienced tendonitits to where I could barely do any bicep exercises anymore. I tried everything I could find and found that 3000mg of glucosimine a day in two doses works ok. I found that when I added Shiff Lubriflex glucosimine with hyalauric acid and herbs that I got the most relief.

Now, the relief wasent so great that I could lift alot s I deceided to try a friends suggestion of going to a real chinese acupuncturist. I had 6 or 7 treatments of acupuncture and within two week after I did, the severe bicep pain was gone. I can now do curls without any sharp pain at all. This has stayed this way now for a few months. I still have some elbow pain and I continue the Glucosimine, but it seems to be stabilized, so I would highly recommend the acupuncture. Giveit as try, eastern medicine is very different but it can be remarkable sometimes.