T Nation

Tennis Elbow

Beginners
#1

I’ve developed what (according to Internet diagnosis) is tennis elbow on my right elbow.

I can barely do bench presses because of it. Military press is better, but I can still feel the pain. Pushups surprisingly don’t cause any pain at all. Dips are completely impossible.

I’ve tried not lifting for an entire month, but the pain isn’t any better.

Running my elbow under cold/freezing water between each set kind of helps in that it makes the pain bearable, but it’s still there.

Anything I can do about this? It’s completely thrown a wrench into my workout plans.

#2

More ice more frequently. Have you tried putting a compression wrap (like a cho-pat strap) around it when working out?

#3

Did you get this injury from the Bench Press?

If you did, then it’s not likely to be tennis elbow, as this is caused by flexion of the wrist while holding something too tight, and can be fixed by making the grip of the item thicker.

My advice would be to get a professional diagnosis on it. If it is something like tennis, or golfers elbow, and you let it go, then you will get a build up of scar tissue that will become a real pain in the neck to get sorted.

#4

Tennis elbow is lateral epicondylitis, more of an extensor mechanism than flexion. Repetitive motion flexor injury produces medial epicondylitis (golfer’s elbow).

Not trying to be argumentative though and I certainly agree that if it continues and causes enough disability in spite of conservative treatment then of course it should be professionally evaluated.

#5

Your absolutley correct. Sorry for that.

I’ll look things up in future, rather than trying to remember my Sports Injuries classes from 12 years ago :slight_smile:

#6

No worries Mzungu,and thank you.

#7

Tennis elbow pain comes out of the outside of the elbow at the bone (not sure which one) and weakens the whole forearm.

I’ve gotten it from non-weight lifting activities (construction work) and it can be hard to overcome. I’ve done exercised for it, the strap helps as well to take the load off the tendon.

Good luck to you and heal fast.

BG

#8

Wrapping definitely can help. I would also suggest you start taking fish oil caps, those have helped my aches and pains a great deal. You can also try taking IBuprofen a few hours before you work out.

#9

see an orthopedic surgeon and see what he/she recommends. i got tennis elbow from over usage in hockey. a cortizone shot and a month of rest helped out significantly. i am starting to get back into training my forearms to help strenghten the muscles gradually… what also helps is proper stretching of the forearms. see if lifting with less weight and more reps helps any.

#10

I just kind of self diagnosed this a week ago lol. But seeing as how you guys suggest professional help, I might just do that. My arises very similarly to the OP, but I haven’t tried pushups with the pain yet. Maybe I’ll try it out.

#11

Look into getting some ART and do a search for Heavythrower’s elbow pain thread