T Nation

TENDON ADVICE

Pharma
#1

I’ve been lifting on and off for the past 20yrs and pretty hardcore for the past 18 months… ~ 6 months ago, after fighting with long recovery periods and struggling with gains, I went to my dr and had my blood work done… Test level was really low, getting old :frowning: and he started me on androgel, hcg, and arimidex… Started to feel a bit better, test level went from 150 to 350, but after four months results started to drop and I also got annoyed with the gel, it was a pain to apply, having it stick to my clothes, and looked all ashy… Dr put me on test shots, 200mg per week along with HCG and arimidex, that definitely woke things up and the gains were great…

As my strength shot up, my tendons began to hurt, specifically in my left arm… Ended up talking to dr about pain in forearm, he schedule an MRI and turns outs I have a partial tear in my distal bicep tendon… dr told me stop lifting and start physical therapy twice a week…

I tried to keep at training, but the added stress place on my other left arm muscles now have caused a similar pain in my lower triceps tendon, inside elbow - laying off of upper body training and just focusing on legs, core and abs…

OK, my question is, what is available to strengthen tendons? My muscles had no problems growing, by it seems my tendons couldn’t keep up…

I have another appointment with dr in a week and I wanted to ask him about HGH but I’ve read a bunch of mixed reviews on it’s ability to repair tendons and strength them - Hoping some of the forum experts would make some suggestions that I could discuss with dr…

Huge thanks in advance

#2

I have struggled with tendon problems ever since starting gear. I do indeed believe that muscles can grow and strength can increase far faster than tendons can keep up with. I kind of knew this but wasn’t disciplined enough to hold back and have paid the price. Just something I have tried to learn to work around. One thing I did for a while was use the ‘back off’ period to learn the Oly lifts…since they are so technique intensive, my maxes were far smaller than my actual strength would indicate (for example, when I first started, I could simply press far more than I could properly jerk). I manage to get a pretty good workout and improve my overall coordination and movement skills without over stressing my damaged parts. It is still a challenge to find ways to work around injured parts (herniated discs this month), but at 54 yrs old, that’s the name of the game - just get in the gym and do SOMETHHING!

I have considered ugh for it’s supposed ability to repair connective tissues, collagen synthesis, etc, but have not been able to find a consensus that it actually works in that regard and am unwilling to spend the necessary dollars on the off chance that it might.

Good luck, and hope you can find a way to work through it

#3

I’ve had the same thing. I used anti-inflamatories such as Flameout and 81mg aspirin. Always used a band around my sore arm when I lifted. I backed off a little weight. Massaged it a lot to increase blood flow. It finally healed.

#4

Thanks for the responses…

Been hammering legs, abs and some cardio while laying off of upper body until my next Dr appointment on the 7th…

I’m also massaging it during the day and using a heating pad at night. I also starting taking Naprelan which does seem to help with the discomfort.