~Tendonitis/Elbow Pain Trick~

[kjetil1234]

Flossing the painful area is usually a symptom reliever at best (which is fine btw, as long as you're aware), as the pain usually comes from being overworked, tightness in forearms and/or upper arm musculature.

If you're gonna floss, make sure you floss toward the heart (start distally not proximally) unlike what he does in the video. You don't want to trap all that blood in the end of the extremity as it could burst veins and cause damage.

 

[Seira_1337]

It's another way of a massage technique: pin and stretch. Its so awesome.

 

[PillarofBalance]

Flossing the painful area is usually a symptom reliever at best (which is fine btw, as long as you're aware), as the pain usually comes from being overworked, tightness in forearms and/or upper arm musculature.

If you're gonna floss, make sure you floss toward the heart (start distally not proximally) unlike what he does in the video. You don't want to trap all that blood in the end of the extremity as it could burst veins and cause damage.

It also comes from a lack of bloodflow. The floss addresses all of those things so I think it's more than just symptom relief although you certainly get that too. It loosens the muscles that are keeping the tendons under a constant load.

Overworking it though is tough to avoid. I try to squat with a cambered or safety squat bar to keep the pressure off it. I use straps when doing rows so I don't have to wrap my thumb around the bar. But bench seems to be unavoidable and where I have the biggest problem. Flossing before I bench and sometimes later that night after keeps me pressing. Before it would shut down training days on me.

 

[kjetil1234]

It also comes from a lack of bloodflow. The floss addresses all of those things so I think it's more than just symptom relief although you certainly get that too. It loosens the muscles that are keeping the tendons under a constant load.

Overworking it though is tough to avoid. I try to squat with a cambered or safety squat bar to keep the pressure off it. I use straps when doing rows so I don't have to wrap my thumb around the bar. But bench seems to be unavoidable and where I have the biggest problem. Flossing before I bench and sometimes later that night after keeps me pressing. Before it would shut down training days on me.

Why would there be a restriction if blood flow other than tightness? Scar tissue, perhaps, but training an area in general should break that up. Usually you'll find tightness and triggerpoints distally from area of pain. I'm not saying the floss is a bad idea btw.

If your elbows hurt during squat, work on ext rotation (stretch subscapularis) if it hurts during bench, it could be many things. Food, stress, volume, tightness, etc. I'd check tightness first if I were you.

All the issues you're mentioning are common when something's tight and causing problems. Look for triggerpoints in your arms bro, and even them out.

Again, I'm not saying the flossing is a bad idea. Just adding some perspective.

 

[BrotherIron]

Pulling down on the bar... pulling the bar into your back as you should when squatting can and does cause pain in the elbows from even just the stress. Training alone is not enough to break up scar tissue either.

 

[PillarofBalance]

Why would there be a restriction if blood flow other than tightness? Scar tissue, perhaps, but training an area in general should break that up. Usually you'll find tightness and triggerpoints distally from area of pain. I'm not saying the floss is a bad idea btw.

If your elbows hurt during squat, work on ext rotation (stretch subscapularis) if it hurts during bench, it could be many things. Food, stress, volume, tightness, etc. I'd check tightness first if I were you.

All the issues you're mentioning are common when something's tight and causing problems. Look for triggerpoints in your arms bro, and even them out.

Again, I'm not saying the flossing is a bad idea. Just adding some perspective.

I agree it's not the end all be all. But it can keep you training while working out the other issues.

Scar tissue can build up from training and seems worse in Powerlifting than bodybuilding from my experience. I have had graston technique done and even do it to myself and you can see with your own eyes blood flow returning to areas.

Two things cause the elbow pain for me. When i squat if my hands are too narrow I get radiating pain down to the elbow. It's probably the bicep tendon getting pinched...

When i bench it's because my elbows are genetically "fukked" to put it clinically lol. They are not aligned with my forearms like they should be and are always tight. I get nasty trigger points in the forearm and bicep that are a constant battle.

My training takes about 2 to 2.5 hours 3 days per week. My rehab prehab mobility takes damn near as long!

It's a struggle man!

 

[kjetil1234]

AFAIK, strength training is used to break scar tissue. It's common to work on soft tissue (like ART or graston as you mentioned) in combination with moving weights. I wasn't aware that lifting causes scar tissue unless you're damaging the tissue somehow, like bad bad overtraining, or stopping the natural inflammation with NSAIDS etc. I'd like to learn more about this if I am wrong?

Haven't looked at you so I can't say anything for sure, but regarding the radiating pain, have a look at your scalenes and pec minor. Sounds like a blocking of the brachial nervous plexus.

Could also be worth while to assess the lats and teres major, if it's radiating whilst pressing aswell.

Constant returning triggerpoints is a sign of dysfunction. Probably too much volume, could be worthwhile moving some things around in your training program.

Wish you the best recovery man.

 

[BrotherIron]

And one other thing that hasn't been brought up..... age. The age of the lifter and time spent lifting ie. years takes a toll on the body. We're not all 20 somethings on here. Some of us are in our 30's, 40's, and even 50's.

 

[kjetil1234]

And one other thing that hasn't been brought up..... age. The age of the lifter and time spent lifting ie. years takes a toll on the body. We're not all 20 somethings on here. Some of us are in our 30's, 40's, and even 50's.

Good point, I agree. The joints should however be able to recover to some degree? MSM (sulphur) is promising for sure. Hyaluronic acid is also helpful. Two ingredients that are often lacking in the diet and are both criteria for cartilage regeneration.

I have friends (they're in 20-30s though) that bang their joints badly in fighting sports like MMA, and they all supplement MSM to keep elbows from hurting.

It's cheap and definitely worth a try. Also helps with DOMS, some research suggests.