Medial Epicondylitis

J

JenicaS

New Member
Hi there. New to the boards here, so if I'm putting this in the wrong place or if you can recommend another website on which to ask this question, please let me know.

That said...when I started seriously lifting about eight months ago I spaced out during a behind-the-neck dumbell curl (I don't do those anymore). I gave myself Medial Epicondylitis (Golfer's Elbow) in my right arm. After about six weeks of taking it easy I was able to slowly work back up to training again at the pace I was before. Unfortunately I seem to have reinjured myself while cleaning the carpet.

I've been out of commission for several weeks now for all upper body lifting and I'm getting really frustrated. I can't seem to work anything in my arms, my shoulders, my pecs, or my upper back without causing pain and inflammation. The doctor tells me just to keep waiting it out, that things like this can take months to heal.

Now I know most of y'all are probably not legally qualified to give medical advice, so that's not what I'm asking for. What I'm wondering is if anyone can suggest any stretches (and hopefully some strength training exercises of some sort! ) that won't exacerbate the problem.

I'm dying over here, missing my workouts.
sad.gif


Thanks in advance,
Jenica
 
Hi Jenica. Welcome to the board. What ou have is an overuse injury. Basically, it is a vicious cycle of inflammation and pain.

I am personally just getting over some serious lateral epicondylitis (tennis elbow). It got so bad I couldn't even open a jug of milk without pretty intense pain.

What's the solution? Kill the inflammation. You have to interupt the inflammation/pain cycle. That is really the only solution. There are no exercises to fix this because exercise is what causes it.

If your doc didn't give you an anti-inflammatory, you can use over-the-counter versions of NSAIDs. I prefer ibuprofen.

Your doctor will prescribe a week-long course of daily NSAID thereapy using a fairly high dose (usually 800mg twice daily). Take it with meals to avoid gastric upset.

I would also recommend use begin using 1 grams of EPA/DHA per day. That usually about 4-6 gel caps of the low potency fish oil products.

Keeping your carbs in check will also help.

As you mentioned above, my advice is for entertainment purposes only. :D
 
If you do a pubmed search on "eccentric and tendonitis" there is a lot of (+) work using eccentric only training as a treatment for tendonitis conditions. I have chronic ME and this allows me to still do some training and can actually do full training once every other week. It worked very well for me, probably worth a try.
 
Yes, eccentric training often does the trick. Takes quite a while of regular training doing the exercise though (up to 12 wks). If it´s an inflammation NSAID´s or a cortisone shot can be of value. Stretching have been shown not to be effective.

Sometimes this condition is a "pseudo tennis elbow" which quickly responds to a specific mobilization technique developed by Brian Mulligan (physical therapist). Not all physical therapists know how to do this mobilization though.
 
I had ME, and I feel for you....it was horrible and wore horribly on my psyche.

I have a pretty non aggressive doctor and first I had to go through a month of physical therapy which I found to be rediculous. They started with the ultra sound which did almost nothing and then tried something (can't remember the name) where they hooked up a device and it shot the medicine in with small electrical shocks (felt like needle pokes) and that did relieve some pain, but didn't come near to fixing the problem.

Finally I got my Dr. to give me a cortisone shot and instantly I felt better. He suggested I give it a week to heal but I gave myself 2 weeks because I was scared of re-injurying it.

I started my first HST cycle back last month which is great for me because the 15's help take care of your tendons. I make sure and where a forearm brace which helps to act as a fulcrum and take some pressure off of the affected area. Also when I do pulling exercises I have a set of hookers. They're wrist wraps with a metal hook attached to them to wrap around the bar you're pulling. The downside to this is until I feel comfortable enough to not use them that my forearms really aren't getting much work, but well worth it to not go through another lay off.

I asked initially about it and I believe Blade (if it was someone else please except my apology) informed me to start out with some light hammer curls for a couple of weeks to help get it back in shape.

Remember, ME is small tears in the tendons that connect to your elbow, and when it first happened to me, I didn't stop working out. This was back in Febuary and I persisted through May, then didn't get back to working out till late July. So when you all feel that strain, take it easy and don't push it till you hurt yourself.

Also with the Ibuprofen, hopefully you don't have the same problem I did. I took it with food and still my stomach was tore up. Took them till I couldn't handle it anymore cause I was running for the bathroom and other times my stomach just always felt like it was in knots.

Hopefully your arm isn't as bad as mine was, but if the symptoms persist, a cortisone shot is wonderful....just wish I would have done it sooner.

Good Luck
 
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