I have recently strained my tricep. At first I thought this was a Latissimus dorsi strain from doing too many pull ups, now I am inclined to think this is a tricep strain. The pain originates in the tricep when ever I use my arm to pull something close to me (opening a door, starting a pull up, etc.). I have had this pain for two weeks now and I’d like to figure out an appropriate way to rehab it while still training.
I have noticed that if I start out doing light lat pull downs the muscle gets “warmed up” and the pain goes away after a few sets. After this warm up I can do deadlift and barbell rows w/o issues, pull ups however still hurt a bit. The pain returns a few hours later or the next day. I’ll admit I have not given the tricep much rest the last few weeks and have been still been doing pull ups three times a week.
This week I was going to cease doing any heavy rowing or pulling movements and just do light pull downs and deadlifts. Is there anything else I should be doing to rehab this strain faster?
Most of the pain is felt at the top of tricep by the arm pit. The pain is associated with two types of movements (1) trying to pull something down or pull myself up or when I reach behind my back with my arm. The pain is sharp between a 6-7.
I cannot think of the exact moment that caused it. I just remember one day about three weeks doing pull ups and the feeling the strain/pain for the first few reps. I did not want to nocebo myself so I kept training but over the week it got worse.
As far as load management, does this apply to exercises that cause the pain directly or all exercise that involve the muscle? For example, when I warm up on deadlifts the first few sets I can feel/notice the strain although it does not hurt.
The expectation should be symptoms will be a part of the process but you don’t want to be left feeling debilitated after training. Adjust loading (external) to allow for a training stimulus without excessive loading (individualistic) that your symptoms worsen and you feel incapable to go on the rest of the day or into the next day unable to complete daily tasks/training. Keep in mind, just because you are experiencing symptoms with a particular exercise, doesn’t mean the exercise is damaging or making things worse. If you need individualistic programming help, we’d be happy to consult with you: Contact Us | Barbell Medicine.