WTF-Now Elbow Pain!!

[Zyglamail]

I can't imagine any doctor who would suggest that you NOT keep inflammation down to help the joint heal quicker. Just let it be inflammed??? You can't be serious...it is NOT going to heal while it is inflammed. I can't imagine you or anyone else just training through pain...and if you have I highly doubt that it was any kind of SERIOUS pain. Who knows though...you may be one of the tougher men on Earth and I may be a big wuss...

On the contrary, most doctors dont treat injuries, they treat pain and symptoms. Pick up ANY decent medical text that covers the healing cascade and you will see inflamation is an essential part of healing. You circumvent inflamation with NSAIDS/ice you circumvent healing. I took my kids to the local museum last spring and the had an exhibit on the human body and a neat little interactive display covering the healing process laid out with cute little cartoons and such so a younger person could relate. The healing process is clearly linked to inflamation and is thuroughly documented, its not rocket science and is tought in junior high.

Now, dont confuse muscle soreness with chronic pain. Ive had chronic tendonitis so bad that I had to stop lifting. I took a couple weeks off loaded up on ibuprofin and aleeve and I felt like a million bucks. First session back in the gym, it started throbbing like I never gave it a break and it simply continued to get worse. I do not advocate "lifting through the pain" if it is severe and does not seem to heal. If and when that occures masking the pain and circumventing inflamation and hence healing is going to do more long term damage than good.

Now, in tzan's case he is stating his pain is getting worse and worse which to me indicates it is not healing. Its of course tzan's decision which path to choose but more often than not, inflamation is not the problem, its the symptom of an underlying problem so simply dealing with the symptom as you suggest rarely is a long term fix but instead a short term bandaid.

 

[Zyglamail]

For a little more info on the healing cascade, here is a little power point presentation from the Cardiovascular Reseacrh Group.

http://www.shef.ac.uk/~md1pw/mbb334/Lecture-10.ppt

 

[tzan]

Is this pain kind of on the outer knob of the elbow? If so it likely tendonitis(often referred to specifically tennis elbo). I had it so bad last winter in my left elbow I couldnt curl a 20lb dumbell.

Thanksfor the replies. The pain is actually on the inner side of the elbow on the knob, not on the outside. The pain really just started last week. It does hurt if you touch it with some pressure.

 

[Lucky]

Good info Zyglamail.

 

[Zyglamail]

Thanksfor the replies. The pain is actually on the inner side of the elbow on the knob, not on the outside. The pain really just started last week. It does hurt if you touch it with some pressure. [/B]

Well, the same rules apply, if you can stand it continue to work out etc, but if it continues to get worse, I highly advise you ease up on training and give it some time to heal. Dont stop training because training actually helps circulate blood and all the healing elements it carries, but definatly lighten the load and avoid anti inflamatories to give it time to heal. If it persists and just wont get better on its own or you simply tired of waiting for it to heal prolo is something I would look into.

I myself have a hard time backing off training for any length of time, call me impatient, so I chose prolo for my chonic pains and so far its has worked in everyone and I only miss a couple workouts a month.

 

[tzan]

I hear ya Zyg on the not wanting to back off onthe training. I'm 2 weeks into my cycle, so I deffiantly don't want to stop now. I'm going to do as you said and continue to lift hard with prolo being a worst case scenerio option. What would be better ice or heat and when should I ice it or heat it??

 

[Zyglamail]

Ice will constrict blood flow and reduce inflamation, it will make it feel better but it is not beneficial to healing and will actually hinder the process. Now, most docs as I have mentioned feel successfull when the pain is gone and for the average person they are happy with being pain free, largely because performance inst an issue. FOr those of us that live athletic lifestyles when we choose the route of comfort we sacrifice athletic ability because the injury heals much slower. Heat on the other hand should actually aid in healing and may offer some releif but it may also cause more discomfort. I just had prolo done tues on my elbow, back and foot. It was some sore shit yesterday and elbow was blown up like a ballon. It feels much much better today and my back muscles have actually relaxed due to the inflamation in the tendons/ligaments taking up the slack in my spine allowing the muscles to relax. If healing is your ultimate goal, then deal with the pain and avoid exercises or weights that make it very uncomfortable. Heat may aggrivate it from a pain standpoint but will aid in healing. The biggest problem with these types of injuries while on cycle is strength increases dramatically which puts additional stress on the tendons/ligament.

 

[tzan]

The biggest problem with these types of injuries while on cycle is strength increases dramatically which puts additional stress on the tendons/ligament.

You hit the nail on the head my friend. This is my main concern and worry. As of now, I can stand the pain, so I'm going to suck it up and heat it in hopes of curring the injury.
Thanks

 

[b fold the truth]

I am not going to sit here and argue with you and I believe that we are arguing about something different anyway...

You also seem a lot more intelligent than I am too...

I have bicep tendonitis from time to time and I refuse to just take off from training because of it. My elbows hurt often also... I do not choose to train through it or stop training...I do what I can to get through my workouts. That includes ice, heat, icy hot, zostrixHP, ibuprofen, etc... As long as I can keep the pain away MOST of the time through those methods...I can always remove them slowly and be fine without them... It seems as if I can keep the inflammation down to a minimum then it starts to heal.

B True

 

[Zyglamail]

Im not trying to put you down B fold, your a great asset to the board and your veiws are very common, even in the medical community. Howere as I mentioned above Dr's nowadays seem more interested in helping with the pain than actual healing and for the average person that is fine. However, as athletes we need to not only be pain free but our joints need to be healed to be at 100%. It seems to me you are confusing pain and healing, which most people do. Its as if you think the lack of pain means you are healed, but that is often not the case.

Just as an example of what I mean, There are a few studies floating around that were done to determine the ffectiveness of an MRI in determining joint problems. I dont remember the exact figures, but out of the people in the study a very large number of those who complained of pain in a given area showed no signs of injury with the MRI. On the other hand, of those with no complaints of pain/injury a large portion actually showed severe tendon or ligament damage. So what that tells us is lack of pain does not mean your injury free and also the existence of pain does not necessarily mean your injured...or at least not where the pain is occuring.

If you find that you are continually having to take NSAIDs for a specific pain then chances are its not really healed. Its likely the inflamation has subsided enough that the pain ceased but as you continue to train hard the inital problem rears its ugly head and the inflamation and pain returns. If the pain you get in your elbows gets bad enough without ice/nsaids etc that it affects your lifting then there is likely a worsening problem. Left unhealed joint laxit can lead to arthritis in the long run. If your tired of living in pain, theck check into prolotherapy. One treatment every 4-6 weeks for 3-8 sessions and you only miss a couple days in the gym after each workout and you will likely be pain free. goto getprolo.com to find a doc in your area.